NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
61
Reports and Returns.]
This report should reach Government not later than the 27th
of the month to'which it relates. "Whenever a place previ-
ously included in the list of infected areas is considered to be
entirely free from plague, the Collectors concerned should,
submit a special report to Grovernment so that it may be
excluded from the list.
100. Each Collector should keep in his office a plague
record, to which officers on plague duty in his district should
be requested to contribute brief notes on any matter they may
consider of importance in perfecting measures against the
disease, or desirable of being placed on record with a view to.
adding force to theories already assented to, or controverting
them from(l) an administrative, (2) medical, and (3) sanitary
point of view. Weekly extracts from this record of the
portion bearing on sanitation should be sent to the Sanitary
Commissioner.
100-A. In the event of recrudescence of plague in towns
or villages which have been free from the disease for any
length of time, particular efforts should be made by the local
.
/
authorities to ascertain whether any definite facts bearing on
the probable cause or source of re-infection are available, and
a special report should be submitted by the Collector to
Government through the Sanitary Commissioner. Informa-
tion sufficiently reliable and relevant to be of value will be
communicated to the Government of India.
101. In Mysore, the amildars and deputy amildars in
charge of taluqs and sub-taluqs bordering on the British
districts are required to give immediate information of the
occurrence of plague within their jurisdiction direct to the
tahsildars of the neighbouring British taluqs, and deputy
commissioners have been requested to keep the Collectors of:
adjoining British districts promptly informed of the occurrence-
of plague in the neighbouring districts in Mysore. Collectors
of British districts bordering on Mysore should arrange to
give similar information direct to the officials of the darbar.
Similar arrangements are in force with regard to districts
bordering on the Nizam's Dominions. A system of inter-
communication among the Sanitary Commissioners of the
various provinces has been sanctioned by the Government
of India with regard to news about the progress of plague,
under this system, the appearance of plague should be
telegraphed at once by the Sanitary Commissioner in whose
area -cases occur to the other Sanitary Commissioners on-
receipt of: a report of a first case in taluqs and important-
towns.
62
[ Correspondence.
Plague Correspondence.
102. All correspondence about plague should be addressed
to the Secretary to Government, Local and Municipal depart-
ment, and should be marked with the word ' Plague ' in red
ink on the outside covers and on the left-hand corner of the
papers. Telegrams should be addressed to " Madras, Plague."
All communications, .except reports or returns on printed
forms, should be forwarded with a docket sheet, copies of
which are supplied by the Superintendent, Government Press.
103. All references regarding account matters should be
addressed to, or forwarded through, the Accountant-General.
104. Plague correspondence should be entered in a separate
current register, and the papers shown against a new item
' Plague ' in the quarterly business returns. A separate series
of numbers should be given to the disposals, and the question
of destroying or retaining them settled in accordance with
the mode indicated in .Board's Proceedings, No. 101, dated
18th April 1898. As regards passports, however, they are of
no use after the expiration of the ten days' period of observa-
tion and may then be destroyed except in cases where they
are required or likely to be required in connection with any
prosecution or for any special purpose. In Appendix P is
given a list of plague records with a note against each item
as to when it may be destroyed.
105 Copies of printed Government orders relating to
plague matters need not ordinarily be supplied to medical
subordinates, sanitary inspectors or chairmen of unions, or to
each member of a municipal council. Where necessary, district
circulars should be issued to subordinate officers embodying
the purport of the Government orders. Spare copies of
Government orders are at present distributed in accordance
with the statement printed as Appendix Q.
106, Copies of all important orders passed by the Govern-
ment in regard to the prevention and suppression of plague
will be supplied from the Government office to the Deputy
Adjutant-General, Madras Command, and the General officers
Commanding Districts, who should also be furnished by Collec-
tors . . . with similar orders issued by themselves.
107. The Superintendent, Government Press, should
supply ail Collectors with the required number of copies
of notifications of lists of plague-infected areas for circula-
tion with District Gazettes. Vernacular translations of these
notifications may be prepared and issued by the Collectors
themselves.
63
Regulations .3
Plague Regulations.
108. . . .
109. Collectors and presidents of district boards and
chairmen of municipal councils should exercise prudence
and care in working the regulations and obtain the best
medical, sanitary or other advice before taking action.
110. The regulations apply to all alike without distinction
of class or rank but should be enforced only against persons
with regard to whom there are reasonable grounds of suspi-
cion. Due notice will, be given by Government as soon as it
is considered safe to relax any of the restrictions now imposed
on trade and on the movement of passengers. Until then,
they should be carefully observed.
111. In Cantonments, the military authorities are imme-
diately responsible for carrying out the plague measures, and
Collectors should delegate to them the necessary powers under
the plague regulations.
112. By Command Order, No. 687, dated 18th November
1898, all ranks in the Madras Command are directed to obey
the plague regulations, and any infringement of them is
punishable as a military offence. Military pensioners have
been warned (Superintendent's circular No. II, dated 14th
December 1898) that any disobedience or wilful neglect of the
regulations or obstruction to any official on plague duty will be
treated as a breach of the good conduct required by Govern-
ment as a condition of the continuation of their pensions, and
that any pensioner being guilty thereof will be liable to have
his pension stopped forthwith, and the same reduced or
permaneritly withdrawn.
113. The plague regulations being orders promulgated,
i.e., formally made and issued, by Government under the Epi-
demic Diseases Act and not by any public servant, no sanction
is required as a condition precedent to prosecution for disobey-
ing them (Judgment of the High Court in Criminal Appeal
No. 551 oE 1899).
114. If the Police are informed that a person is evading the
plague regulations by giving a false name or a wrong address,
they can act under section 57 of the Criminal Procedure
Code, and detain the person until satisfied that they have got
his true name and address. Failing information as to true
name and address or the execution of a bond, the Police can
forward the person to a Magistrate.
64 [Appointments & Allowances.
Plague Appointments and Plague Allowances.
114-A. In municipalities or districts imminently
threatened with an attack of plague, the Collector should
make all arrangements for being able to concentrate imme-
diately when desirable an ambulance staff together with such
O
equipment as may be prescribed by Government from time to
time. The ambulance staff may be constituted as follows: —
Sanitary Section.
One certificated sanitary inspec-
tor.
One dlioby.
Two male toties.
One female toti.
Two dhooly bearers.
Disinfectors (any number up to
50 for a single section, to be re-
cruited locally in the infected
area, if sepoys be not employed).
Medical Section.
Two hospital assistants.
One componnder.
One or more trained nurses.
Four male ward attendants.
Three female ward attendants.
One dhoby.
Two cooks.
1
When he sees fit, the Collector shall concentrate and hold
in readiness either section or both sections of the ambulance
staff.
114-B. The Collector may, with the sanction of Govern-
ment, strengthen his own office and that of the district medical
and sanitary officer by the employment of such temporary
clerks as may be required. He may, at his discretion tem-
porarily close any existing hospital or dispensary and transfer
the whole staff to plague duty, and may also warn for such
duty in communication with the heads of their respective
departments as many police, salt and abkári, and revenue
peons as can be spared.
115. All appointments on account of plague require the
sanction of Government. In the case of appointments which
are added to an existing establishment in consequence of
extra work occasioned by plague, and the cost of which is
under the standing orders debatable to the ordinary service
heads, the application, for sanction should be forwarded with
the prescribed proposition statement through the head of the
administrative department concerned. No proposition state-
ments are necessary in the case of temporary appointments
which are not additions to existing establishments and which
have been created solely on account of plague. Appointments
sanctioned without reference to limit of time require renewal
of sanction every six months.
116, .
-
65
Appointments & Allowances.]
117. Collectors . . . should prepare every month
printed list of officers of all classes, including troops, employed
on plague duty, in accordance with the instructions con-
tained in Plague Commissioner's Proceedicgs, No. 762, dated
22nd November 1898, No. 1047, dated 28th December 1898,
and G.O., No. 1504-P., dated 17th October 1899, and
No. 656, dated 7th March 1899. The Inspector-General of
Police . . . should prepare similar lists of all police
engaged in plague work, and the Surgeon-General should also
submit a return showing all medical officers on plague duty
and all temporary doctors obtained from England, with their
stations, pay and allowances. The lists should be submitted
not later than the 5th of each month and should be distributed
as follows :—
Three copies to the Chief Secretary to Government,
Financial department.
Four copies to the Secretary to Government, Local and
Municipal department.
Two copies to the Accountant-General.
118« The charge of plague operations in an infected district
must be regarded as part of the general duty of an executive
officer. No encouragement should be given to an impression
that duty connected with the plague involves greater risks or
is deserving of more favourable treatment than attendance in
the infectious wards of a hospital or in a camp afflicted with
cholera, which is accepted as part of the officer's ordinary
duty. Save in exceptional cases no recommendation should
be made for the grant of special salary, allowance or pension
for plague duty. The Government of India has, however,
authorised the grant of special allowances to medical officers
for plague duty performed in addition to their ordinary work
in cases where it is sufficiently arduous to deserve special
remuneration. The Local Government may also sanction
local allowances under article 187 of the Civil Service Regula-
tions to officers of other classes provided their plague duty
lies entirely outside the ordinary and legitimate duties of
their offices. The Secretary of State has also sanctioned
the grant of extraordinary pension to the families of police
men who die of plague contracted in the execution of their
duties in plague-stricken localities, provided such duties entail
imminent risk from plague.
119, The special allowances given to certain classes of
officers for plague duty and the salaries attached to special
I
66
[Budget and Accounts.
temporary appointments created on account of the plague
are given in Appendix E. All questions relating to the
grant of such allowances should be referred for the orders o:
Government,
Plague Expenditure and Accounts.
120. No expenditure in connection with plague establish-
ments or for the carrying out of works shall be incurred
without the previous sanction of Government. Collectors
are, however, authorised to incur, subject to the existence
of budget provision, expenditure on the following items in
connection with plague preventive measures :—
(1 ) Petty repairs to sheds.
(2) Compensation for destruction of grain, clothes,
roofs of houses, &c.
(8) Entertainment of temporary servants on daily
wages for short periods for disinfection purposes
or for attendance upon stray plague cases in
out-of-the-way places.
(4) Purchase of fuel and tacks for disinfecting
machines.
121. All Collectors, the Surgeon-General, the Inspector-
General of Police, . . . and the Sanitary Commissioner
are required to submit quarterly estimates of plague ex-
penditure. These estimates should be forwarded direct to
the Financial department so as to reach their destination
not later than the 5th of the first month of each quarter.
The estimate submitted by the Surgeon-General includes
provision for all medical officers, nurses, &c., who have been
sent out by the Secretary of State and are temporarily
attached to hospitals, &c., in Madras prior to their being
posted to duties in connection with plague work .
122. In order to enable Government to obtain an approxi-
mately correct revised estimate of plague expenditure for
inclusion in the preliminary edition of the civil budget
estimate which is forwarded to the Government of India, the
estimate for the third quarter shall be submitted so as to
reach its destination on the 5th November instead of the 5th
October and shall show (1) actual expenditure up to the
81st October, (2) estimate for November and December, (3)
estimate for the last quarter of the official year, and (4) total.
67
Budget and Accounts.]
estimate for the year. This estimate shall be accompanied
by an estimate for the ensuing official year based on the
conditions existing at the time of framing the estimate.
This latter estimate need not provide for each quarter of
the year separately.
123. The estimates shall cover all plague charges—direct
and indirect—under provincial, local, municipal, and canton-
ment . . . funds. Provision shall be made therein for
requirements based on conditions existing at the time of
framing the estimates.
124. Collectors, chairmen of municipal councils and other
officers should see that plague expenditure is kept as near as
possible to the latest plague estimates sanctioned by Gov-
ernment. If they find that their estimates as passed by
Government are inadequate, it is their duty to apply for extra
grants at once. It should be clearly understood by all
officers that expenditure can be incurred only against the
quarterly allotments passed by Government, and that although
it is not the intention that plague operations should cease,
because it is found that the allotment is being exceeded in
any quarter, the officer concerned will be held responsible
for exercising proper supervision over the expenditure and
applying at the earliest possible moment it becomes apparent
that funds are becoming exhausted. In any case, therefore,
where the expenditure is found to exceed the latest sanc-
tioned estimate, the officer concerned should report the fact
to Government and state if the amount also exceeds the
provision made in the annual budget. Balances arising
from the fact that the quarterly estimates do not utilize fully
the allotments existing in their sanctioned annual budgets
shall not be utilized for non-plague purposes.
125. Collectors can themselves effect transfer of funda
from one detailed head to another under the same minor head,
and subject to budget provision, they may also sanction all
deviations and excesses in estimates previously sanctioned by
Government up to a limit of 5 per cent, of the total amount
of each estimate. In the case of urgent works and repairs
costing Rs. 25 or less, estimates may be dispensed with pro-
vided the bills are passed by the Collector, and the usual
certificates are furnished by the officers responsible for the
work being properly carried out.
126. Forms of the estimates will be printed and supplied
by the Accountant-General. No changes shall be made in the
68
[Budget
and Accounts.
form without the approval of the Financial department. The
figures for each municipality shall be given separately.
127. Each municipality shall bear its own plague charges.
As regards district boards, the measures adopted in frontier
districts proper, i.e., those districts which adjoin plague-
stricken areas outside the Madras presidency, while benefiting
those districts themselves as being nearest the seat of infection,
at the same time have the direct result of protecting other
portions of the presidency as well. This condition is also
fulfilled, in some measure, by districts in which railway
inspection stations have been established by notification in
the Fort St. George Gazette. Expenditure incurred by district
boards in such districts on plague preventive measures is
therefore distributed by Government in the ratios of one-third
in frontier districts proper and of one-fourth in railway inspec-
tion districts against the district in which the expenditure
is incurred, the remaining two-thirds or three-fourths, as the
case may be, being contributed by the other districts of the
presidency rateably to their annual receipts as shown in their
budget estimates for the year. The estimates shall, however,
provide for the gross expenditure to be incurred by each
district board, credit for the contribution being taken as
subsequently advised by the Accountant-General.
128. If any district board or municipality finds its funds
unequal to the burden of plague charges, it shall revise its
budget by omitting all avoidable expenditure, and in the last
resort may apply for an advance from provincial funds or for
a loan from the Government of India. Care shall be taken
that advances granted by Government to local bodies to meet
plague expenditure are applied to the precise purposes for
which the advances were made, and are not utilized to relieve
their ordinary funds of expenditure on sanitary, medical and
other objects.
128-A. The clothing specified in rule 9 will be supplied
to the troops regimentally ; and as soon as it has been issued,
and the bill countersigned by the Collector . . . the
military department will debit the cost to the civil depart-
ment in the exchange account rendered by the Controller of
Military Accounts to the Accountant-General, who will make
the necessary adjustments and recover the amount from the
local body concerned.
129. The Accountant-General shall submit monthly state-
ments of charges—direct and indirect—under provincial and
Budget and Accounts.]
69
local (audited) and under municipal, . . . and canton-
ment funds, together with summaries under each head show-
ing totals to date and the latest grants for each district.
These statements shall also include all expenditure incurred
in connection with the plague which has not been brought to
book as direct or indirect, e.g., the emoluments of officers and
establishments forming part of existing departments or ser-
vices and not replaced by substitutes, but exclusively engaged
on plague duties, and shall reach Government early in the
month succeeding that in which the accounts are received by
the Accountant-General.
130. The Appendix T shows the proper classification of
charges commonly incurred in connection with plague :
(i) "Direct" plague expenditure means expenditure
exhibited in the Government accounts under the head 24-D.
MEDICAL—Grants for Medical Purposes—Expenses in connec-
tion with Bubonic Plague. "Indirect" plague expenditure
means extra expenditure due to plague but brought to account
ander the ordinary appropriate service heads.
(ii) The amount of indirect plague expenditure is
therefore not ascertain able from the ordinary provincial and
incorporated local fund accounts and special statements are
prepared in the course of audit by the Accountant-General
in the case of expenditure from general revenues and by the
treasury officer in the case of expenditure from incorporated
local funds.
(iii) To facilitate the preparation of these statements
all officers who draw bills for indirect plague expenditure
should write conspicuously at the head of each such bill,
beside the account head, the word PLAGUE in red ink.
If only some of the items in a bill are indirect plague
charges, the word PLAGUE should be written against each
such item instead of at the head of the bill.
(iv) It is to be noted that pay and allowances of officers
and establishments forming part of existing departments or
services whose employment on plague duty does not involve
the payment of salaries to other persons for the performance
of their legitimate duties (even though they may be exclusively
engaged on plague duties) and not receiving extra allowances
on account of plague, do not constitute indirect plague
charges (and of course are not direct plague charges) because
they do not involve extra expense. A statement should be
forwarded to the Accountant-General by the 20th of each
70
[Duties of the Railway Staff.
month showing the pay and allowances, drawn in the
previous month, of officers and establishments so employed.
(v) From the above it will be seen that the distinc-
tion between direct and indirect plague expenditure affects
the accounts of incorporated local funds expenditure and
provincial expenditure. As regards excluded local funds
this distinction is unnecessary and all extra, expenditure, i.e.,
expenditure which would not have been incurred but for the
occurrence or imminence of plague may be shown under the
head Plague.
(vi) Contingent expenditure on account of plague, e.g.,
stationery, postage, telegrams, office furniture and such like
should be charged against the heads of account to which the
salaries of the officers incurring such expenditure are debited.
In regard to establishments newly entertained to deal with
plague, the principle that officers of superior grades should
be charged to PROVINCIAL, and those of inferior grades to
LOCAL, should be applied. With regard to establishments
dependent on officers newly entertained to deal with plague,
the principle that the charge should follow the pay of the
officer on whom the establishment is dependent should hold
both in regard to establishments and contingencies. The
cost of tents supplied to officers on plague duty will follow
the debit of the pay of the officers.
131. Fines recovered in prosecutions under the plague
regulations should be credited to fines under Law and
Justice.
Duties of the Railway Staff.
132. The following are the duties of the railway officials
under the plague regulations :—
(1) To prevent passengers from infected areas from
alighting at any station other than an inspection station, and
to insist on their proceeding to the inspection station if it is
suspected that the passengers are evading the inspection by
so alighting.
(2) To see with the aid of the platform police that
passengers alighting at a railway station do not leave the
premises except by the proper exit.
(3) To see that the railway tickets issued in an infected
area and the fresh tickets issued to persons from infected
areas who rebook are punched or clipped as prescribed.