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A PLAGUE THEORY,
rice
on io
THE HONGKONG WEEKLÝ PRESS AND
PROVIDING FOR WIDOWS AND ORPHANS.
(Daily Pres, July 25th.)
(Daily Press, July 24th.) Our recent observations on the plague epidemics have prompted a correspondent
It does not appear from the discussion in a neighbouring port to send an extract which took place at Thursday's meeting from the well-ku wa paper Das Echo with of the Legislative Council that the Civil the remark that he has never seen the Servants of the Colony ever had any theory advanced in the extract discussed in very solid grounds for objecting to the connection with the epidemics in Hongkong transfer to the Government of the Widows' and the neighbouring country. The extract and Orphans' Fun- and of the management which has been reproduced by our German and control of the pensions of widows and contemporary from the Lancet, the leading orphans. The fact that twelve months ago
medical faculty, organ of the British
the great majority of the contributors and mentions that an Indian chemist, Mr. all the directors, except the Chairman, were BOUCHER, bas found out that the so-called opposed to the transfer of the Fund," where- rice-worm is the cause of plague. It
as now the objectors do not namber more infects rice, which is eaten by rats, and from than 6 per cent. of the 610 subscribers the fleas of the rat the disease is communi- clearly shows that the discussion of the cated to man. But the extract states the scheme which has taken place among the most important fact to be that rice flour, contributors during the past twelve months used generally in India for cheap Indian has resulted in a better comprehension pastry, is the direct cause of infection in and appreciation of the advantages which men. Pastries of this kind analysed by the the new scheme possesses over the pre- chemist have been found to contain an
sent arrangements. The lucid explanations enormous quan ́ity of bacilli, and plague is given by the COLONIAL SECRETARY in the found prevalent among people accustomed course of the discussion at the Council to eat pastry made of this infected fice flour. meeting on Thursday should go far towards If this theory is correct, our correspondent converting the small minority who still remarks that it not only explains how rate object. From one point of view the general get the plague, but suggests that the cause of public are not greatly concerned in the the decline in plague in the latter half of question; it is prima facie a question between the year in Hongkong is due to the new rice the Civil Servants and their employer, the being brought into the market. Pr. sumably Imperial Government, We gather that i is the grain worm, which is the larva of the
the desire of the Imperial Government grain moth, is in the rice as it comes from to secure uniformity in the matter of these the field, but its power for mischief increases Pensions in the various Crown Colonies, with age.
It still remains to be explained since Civil Servinis may be transferred why the grain worm should convey the from one Colony to another. This appears plague bacillus to
city to be a very sound reason for the change. and not in others close by. That is a The advantage of having a uniform scale of question which we must leave with the contributions as well as a uniform scale of experts. The discovery of the plague pensions in the various colonies to which bacillus in food is not new. Dr. HUNTER, members of the Service may possibly be the Government bacteriologist, soon af er he transferred is obvious. Unless there is this came to the Colony set about an inquiry as uniformity it is conceivable that transfer to to the possibility of the infection in plague another Colony may in this connexion give being communicated to man by way of the cause for dissatisfaction and entail har ship food. He examined thirty-two samples on the contributor's family in the event of and reported that rice was the only food his death. As the Imperial Government which he found infected. "Further in- makes it a condition precedent to joining the vestigation would probably have led t service that the officer sball contribute a other positive results, but the extension of fixed percentage of his salary to the fund, the inquiry was impossible at the time." it should be incumbent on the Government The medical theory then was that the plague to assure the solvency of the Fund as well bacillus entered the body by way of the as the permanency of the rate of con- alimentary tract. Dr. CLARK, the Medical tribution. Both these things are done Officer of Health, showed himself in one of under the new scheme, and furthermore his reports to be sceptical on the subject. the COLONIAL SECRETA Y states that it as- He pointed out that the rice eaten by the sures the payment of peusions unter Chinese was always well cooked and that in more favourable tables. What more fact their use of chop-sticks, instead of the contributors in reas n desire? Their knives and forks, made it necessary for all attitude seems to be one of suspicion; their their food to be completely cooked. We do standpoint, as stated by the Hon. Mr. not know whether this remark would apply MURRAY STEWART, is that until a new to the rice-flour pastry. It is against this valuation is made it is unfair to ask them kind of food that the chemist in India in-
to relinquish their rights?" On the other veighs, but rice-flour cakes are not such a hand we have the COLONIAL SECRETARY BY- prominent item in the diet of the Chinese ing "it is provided that officers already in as of the people in some parts of India. the service sbal not get le-é" under the new To what extent rice is infected has ap arrangement than under the old. Surely parently not been investigated on any the Government guarantee in that respect large scale: the discovery that plague, like should be good enough? If there is any malaria, is spread by an insect has ren- complaint to be mad in the matter at all, dered such an investigation of no pressing the rivil-ge of complaining belongs to that importance. It adds to the public know-long-suffering personage, the taxpayer ledge on the subject to know that the rice- aud he usually takes full advantage of his worm infects the rice, but it remains for opportunties in that respect. some patient investigator to establish how and by what means the rice-worm gets the infection (in some cities and not in others) and then we shall need to know how to get rid of the rice-worm! Meanwhile the extermination of the rats that eat the rice that the worm infects will continue to be the most practical measure for the prevention of plague.
can
As the responsibility is cast upon the taxpayer of assuring the solvency of the fund, it is the taxpayer who seems to be most concerned in the results of the up-t date valuation for which the Hon. Mr.
MURRAY
STEWART pleaded on ehalf of the protesting minority of Civil Servants. Mr. STEWART was on good ground when he said the Hongkong Public might be
[August 8, 1908.
pardoned for desiring to know a little more definitively than they do at present the nature of the liability to which this Ordin- ance commits them. Happily, there is no question as to the present solvency of the Fund and the community has the word of the COLONIAL SECRETARY for it that there is no prospect of insolvency. However, it cannot be ignored that a Fund od such a comparatively narrow basis as this might not always be able to maintain the equili- brium between assets and liabilities, and some risk to the taxpayer is therefore in- volved. But the Civil Servant under the arrangement is relieved of any Ecora. The risk is uneasiness on that transfered to the broad shoulders of the taxpayer, and we think we may safely say that the community are much more prepared to accept whatever risk there may be in this respect than to countenance any act of injustice on the part of the Government towards the contributors or beneficiaries of the Pension Fund.
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FRANCE AND CHINA.
(Daily Press. July 27th.) The correspondence which the Times has published from its Peking correspondent, Dr. MORRISON, with regard to the French demands for reparation for the violation of the Tongking frontier appears to have given no little offenca in France, and the Temps particularly has more than once-deprecated the line Dr. MORRISON has taken in the We do not know the nature of the matter. dispatch which excited the wrath of the Temps just a fortnight ago, but the earlier evoke l criticism are dispatches which contained in copies of the Times already to hand by
mail. We can find in than a
them, ho vever, nothing more moderate presentation of the views which are
taken of the demands in Chinese Government circles ia Peking. Dr. MORRISON telegraphed that the Chinese deeply regretted the incidents on the Tong- king frontier and desired to make full reparation, but they condemned three of the demands as unjust and uureasonable, and he mentioned the demand for a railway concession as being considered to be a retura to the policy of former days, " long since abandonel by all Legations." Since that dispatch was telegraphed from Peking the comments which have appeared in the that Dr. Chinese papers have shown MORRISON had accurately gauged the feeling among the Chinese in the capital. Chinese Public Opinion, a amall newspaper printed in English, which has recently been started in Peking to represent the point of view of the Chinese on questions of international lo- terest, published a very strongly worded article on the subject about a fortnight ago, bearing the captio. “Racru lescence of the Gunboat Policy," in which it referred to the French demands as bluster and browbeating, and said that, hal the Chinese Government with malice prepense attacked and slain half the lookine-e army, France would scarcely have been justified in demanding more than she has doue. the French authorities allege that the troops concerned in the incidents for which repara- tion is demanded were regular Chinese troops, but on the part of the Chinese this is denied and the French authorities have been challenged to produce the proof. If the stat-in-nts which were published in the Tongking papers at the time are reliable there should be very little difficulty in furnishing this proof, but we gather from the Chinese papers that France has not been prompt to do so. However, it is interesting to note that the Chinese contention, le, tha
As is well known,
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