Sessional_Paper_1902 — Page 527

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It has been suggested to ine that cremation of the bodies thrown into the street would stop the practice, but I am loath to recommend a measure which would probably hurt the religious feelings of the Chinese.

The method which I suggest does not hurt the religious susceptibilities of any. one, but it brings home to all through their pocket that each Chinese resident has certain responsibilities and duties to perform with reference to the prevention of 'plague, and, doubtless, when this is thoroughly understood, the Chinese of Hongkong will soon organize among themselves a system of reporting instead of as hitherto giving no assistance.

22. It is essential and only fair at the same time that every household in the Colony should be informed by means of hand-bills what are the causes and symp- toms of plague and what should be done in the event of plague breaking out in the household. The vast majority of the population is ignorant of the wishes of the Government and of its benign intentions in the matter of plague prevention. Instead of viewing any regulations which they may hear of as intended for their benefit, as well as of the community at large, and in the carrying out of which everyone is nterested, they treat them with the greatest suspicion and alarm and as just objects for evasion.

Certain hand-bills have been printed in English and Chinese giving informa tion about plague and its prevention. I would recommend that, with some modi- fications, at least 100,000 copies be printed on coloured and attractive looking paper and that they should not only be distributed so that every householder, shopkeeper, caretaker and godown holder should be given one or more copies but that a copy should be posted on every door of a household, in a conspicuous place in every junk, sam- pan, native vessel, steamer, craft, workshop, restaurant and factory. In this hand- bill special prominence should be given to the destruction of rats and equal promi- nence to the addresses of the places where sickness can be notified. Enormous sized posters should also be placed in prominent places in the streets and also in the more public resorts of the Chinese. A conference of Chinese doctors should also be held and the necessity of notification and early reporting should be explained to them; similarly the Chinese contractors of labour and, if possible, the heads of the guilds, should be made fully acquainted with the wishes of the Government.

23. Another and additional method of improving the intelligence branch of the plague department and locating the disease is the bacteriological examination of all rats daily secured by the rat catchers. It was with this object that I recom- mended three doctors trained in this kind of bacteriological work. As the number of rats secured are gradually mounting up and, I hope to see over 1,000 disposed of in a day, probably more doctors will be required for this bacteriological examin- ation. It may be taken as a fact that an infected rat in a house or in a locality means plague in that house or locality sooner or later unless prompt measures are taken to eradicate the infection. Even the Chinese in their villages recognise the fact that when rats are dying in a house, it is dangerous. For the purpose of locating plague, the daily examination of the rats bacteriologically gives most valuable information and it is all important that this information should be promptly acted upon. By this means the infection can be localised and the measures of prevention concentrated on the infected area.

24. Having organized the machinery for the early discovery of human and rat plague together with the machinery for tracing out its ramifications and conditions of extension, the plague department is in a position to deal with the disease. In January a case of plague in Jardine's Bazaar was reported to the Medical Officer of Health by a European medical practitioner. The plague patient was the Chinese wife of an Indian who always employed a European doctor. It was merely accidental then that this case came to the knowledge of the authorities. On careful enquiry,

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