No. 3054—IV.20.
FROM
J. McSWINEY, ESQ., M.A., I.C.S.,
DIRECTOR OF LAND RECORDS AND AGRICULTURE, ASSAM,
To
THE SECOND SECRETARY TO THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER,
OF ASSAM,
Dated Shillong, the 1st July 1913.
SIB,
I HAVE the honour to forward the Annual Report of the Civil Veterinary
Department, Assam, for 1912-13, together with a synopsis of the report on the
Veterinary Administration of Manipur State, which was forwarded by the Vice-
President of the Durbar and is reproduced as an appendix.
2. General administration.—Mr. Harris held charge of the office of Superin-
tendent of the Department throughout the year. He was on tour for 200 days,
but did not succeed in inspecting each of the Veterinary Assistants, of whom,
however, all were visited by the Inspector. Now that we have three Inspectors,
instead of two as in the year under report, no Veterinary Assistant should in
any circumstances he left without at least one annual1 visit from a departmental
officer: endeavcurs will be made to ensure two visits annually by the Inspector
to each plains Assistant and this should be possible, even allowing for large
outbreaks requiring the Inspector's attendance. One of the difficulties in connec-
tion with the touring of the Superintendent is that he cannot remain absent
long from headquarters on account of the continual receipt of slides requiring imme-
diate microscopic examination to confirm or reject diagnoses made by the Assistants,
and Mr. Harris for this reason expressed to me his inability to frame lengthy tour
programmes. The result is that a considerable amount of time is usually spent in
going to and fro over the same ground in short excursions from Gauhati. I was
able to inspect considerable number of Veterinary Assistants, including several not
inspected by the Superintendent, but of course my inspections were not professional
and hence wanting m value. It is difficult to propose a standard for inspection, and
in last year the Superintendent's attention was taken up for a considerable time with
the outbreak of rinderpest in Dibrugarh subdivision ; but I would suggest, now that
the Superintendent's charge has been considerably reduced with the reformation
of the province of Assam, that he should inspect the work of each Veterinary. Assist-
ant at least once in two years. The Officiating Superintendent, Mr. Hickey, will
endeavour to inspect during the present rains all the plains Veterinary Assistants not
seen by Mr. Harris last year.
3. Veterinary instruction.—Pour Assam students were nominated for the last
year's stipends, but none of them joined the college, and one stipend was subsequently
awarded to a private student. The results of the Government stipendiaries at the
college are far from satisfactory : only three out of seven students passed the class
examinations. The number of students admitted from Assam is very discouraging:
practically no private students take up veterinary work and we find it very difficult
to find young men prepared to accept stipends. The reasons are not far to seek.
A Veterinary Assistant undergoes as long a course as a Sub-Assistant Surgeon,
but he has practically no prospect of private practice, while a life of touring does
not appeal to the majority of our young men. In addition, those born in the
Brahmaputra Valley are not anxious to go as far as Calcutta for their training, while
the Veterinary Assistants from this Valley complain that their claims for promotion
are overlooked. There is little doubt that in Eastern Bengal and Assam they were