Sanitary Department.
FBOM
DEPUTY SURGEON-GENERAL HEWLETT, C.I.E.,
Sanitary Commissioner for the Government of Bombay,
To
THE SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,
Military Department.
Camp Poona, 10th September 1883.
SIB,
I have the honour to submit to you, for the information of His Excellency
the Bight Honourable the Governor in Council, a report of my proceedings with
regard to the special duty Government was pleased to appoint me of investigating
into the causes of enteric fever at stations occupied by British Troops in this
Presidency.
2. On receiving Government Resolution, Military Department, No. 2852,
dated 30th March 1882, containing letter No. 1122, dated 15th April, from
the Surgeon-General, Her Majesty's Forces, in which he expressed his opinion
that this enquiry should not be commenced before October, I brought to his
notice that it was extremely desirable that it should be undertaken during the
rainy season, and he was pleased to recommend Government to accede to my
request: but I was not relieved of my duties as Deputy Surgeon-General, Sind
District, before the 12th August, when I proceeded to Bombay and Poona, and by
the end of the month to Mhow, where I was present during the latter end of the
rains.
3. From Mhow I went to Indore and thence to Neemuch; but a few days-
after my arrival there was suddenly recalled by telegram from the Surgeon-Gene-
ral to Poona to take charge of the office of the Sanitary Commissioner. Whilst
at Mhow I was accompanied by the Travelling Water Analyst, whose services-
had been kindly placed at my disposal by Mr. Lumsdaine, but his appointment
was shortly afterwards abolished by order of the Government of India, and he
had to return to Bombay. On representing, however, that I urgently required
him to accompany me to the various stations, the Government of India was pleas-
ed to accede to the request of the Government of Bombay that I might be-
allowed to retain his services for the purposes of this enquiry, and in November
he followed me to Nasirabad and afterwards proceeded to other stations:
4. From Nasirabad I visited Mount Abu, Deesa, Ahmedabad, Baroda,.
and returned to Bombay in December, and then went back to Neemuch, from
which place I returned for a few days to Mhow and then proceeded to Asirgarh,.
Ahmednagar, Poona and Kirkee, Sátára, Kolhápur, and Belgaum, and returned
vid Poona to Bombay. I have thus visited all the large stations occupied by
British Troops in this Presidency with the exception of those in Sind (with
which I was intimately acquainted) and Aden.
5. In the commencement of this enquiry I saw that in reality it opened
up the whole question of the sanitary conditions affecting the soldier from the
time he leaves England and demanded a consideration of all the circumstances
under which he is placed in India, and as a preliminary step I thought it would
be useful to submit reports on certain Cantonments (Nasirabad, Neemuch and
Mhow) to illustrate the effect local conditions exert in their relation to disease,.
6. The etiology of enteric fever in India is at present so enveloped with
doubt on points of cardinal importance, which must be worked out by skilled
pathologists before any definite conclusions can be arrived at as to the exact
conditions necessary for its production, that I cannot hope that the report
which I now have the honour to submit .will do more than indicate some points
which I believe are especially prejudicial to health and which it must be admitted
powerfully predispose the young soldier to the attacks of disease, whether it be
enteric fever or other disease.
B 357—a