2
4. The first measure adopted for the protection of POOD a from the plague
was the appointment of a medical man on September 30th, 1896, to watch
passengers from Bombay at the Poona Railway Station. At the same time
sheds were erected near the Sassoon Hospital for the reception of plague patients·.
There was at that time, however, no legal means of compelling sufferers to go
to the sheds against their will. From October special attention was paid to the
general conservancy of Poona City, but till January 1897 no application was
made by the City Municipality for special powers to deal with the disease. At
a meeting held on January 13th, 1897, the City Municipality took into
consideration the question of obtaining special powers under Section 73 of
Bombay Act VI of 1873 for the suppression of the bubonic plague, and regula-
tions under that section were finally sanctioned by the Commissioner, Central
Division, for Poona City on January 29th. An Assistant Health Officer had in
the meanwhile been told off for plague duty on the 25th of that month. At
the beginning of February the Sanitary Commissioner for the Government of
Bombay directed Surgeon-Captain Lloyd Jones to proceed to Poona and take-
charge of the office of the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner, Central Registration
District, as he considered that an officer of some standing was required to assist
and guide the Poona City Municipality in their efforts to put an end to the
outbreak. His proceedings were approved in Government Resolution No 689
of 9th February 1897, General Department, Surgeon-Captain Lloyd Jones
having in the meanwhile arrived at Poona on February 8th. From that day
till my arrival he exercised a general control over such operations as were in
progress.
5. By Government Resolution No. 1134 of 10th February 1897, Pveveiiue-
Department, I was appointed to be Assistant Collector, Poona, and to have
charge of the operations against plague in Poona City. I assumed charge of
my appointment on February 19th. My first duty was to ascertain the extent
to which the disease had already spread. On examining the current death
register of the Poona Municipality and the mortality returns for previous years
I discovered that the mortality of the City had been growing at an alarming rate
since the beginning of January. I learnt that there was no abnormal sickness
in the city other than plague, and I came to the conclusion that the epidemic-
was far more widely spread than the Municipal returns of plague attacks and
plague deaths indicated. In my letter No. 3 of 20th February 1897, to the
Collector of Poona, I suggested that Collectors and Political Agents in the
Bombay Presidency should be informed that bubonic plague was firmly
established in Poona with a view to their dissuading persons residing in their
charges from visiting that city. On the same day in my letter No. 6 to the
Collector I pointed out that Poona had become a very dangerous plague centre
and suggested the making of additional arrangements for the examination of
passengers proceeding by rail from Poona to unaffected parts of India. Orders
for the examination of passengers by rail at Dhond and Rájewádi were finally
issued by Government in Government ßesolution No. 1235/728 of 6th March 1897,
General Department.
6. After bringing the dimensions of the epidemic to the notice of higher
authority, I engaged in the preparation of a scheme for eradicating the plague
from Poona City, in which task I was assisted by Surgeon-Captain W. W. 0.
Beveridge, A.M.S., who was posted to Poona as my special assistant for plague
purposes by Government Resolution No. 1000/480P of 24th February 1897, and joined
his appointment on 23rd February 1897. Up to the time of Surgeon-Captain
Beveridge's arrival, the use of anything but civil agency for dealing with the
epidemic had not been considered. That officer, however, who had had consider-
able experience of the plague in Hongkong and the methods adopted there for
stamping it out, formed a decided opinion that the help of soldiers would be
desirable in Poona, especially for the purposes of searching for sufferers from
the plague, their removal to suitable hospitals, and the disinfection of plague-
infected houses. His views were embodied in a report dated 25th February
1897, which I forwarded to Government with my No. 54 of 27th February 1897.
At the same time I submitted to Government a draft set of rules under Act III
oí 1897, which I considered would be needed if the plague was to be effectually