NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
APP. IX.]
spread of infection by sea.
26.1
8. Disobedience to any of the above Rules Nos, 1 to 6, will
subject the offender and all persons aiding or abetting him
to a prosecution under the Indian Penal Code.
No. 78.
BENGAL.
Notification by the Government of Bengal, No. 3, dated the loth February
1897.
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 2 of the Epidemic
Diseases Act, 1897, and by the Notification of the Government of
India in the Home Department, No. 202, dated the 4th instant, the
Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal is pleased to prescribe the following
regulations for the inspection of ships or vessels leaving the Port of
Calcutta, and the detention thereof, or of persons intending to sail
therein :—
1. Before leaving the port all vessels, including buggalows and
other native crafts, shall be inspected by the Port Health Officer, who,
if he finds no reason for suspecting that any person on board is in-
fected with bubonic plague, shall deliver to the master a bill of health
in the form annexed.
2. If any person on board is suffering from, or is suspected by the
Health Officer to be infected with, bubonic plague, the Health Officer
shall order the vessel to be detained for not less than seven days at
the quarantine anchorage appointed by the Port Officer and to be
thoroughly disinfected before departure.
3. The Health Officer shall at the same time cause any person
suffering from the plague to be removed to a plague hospital, and any
person suspected of being infected to be kept under observation for
not less than seven days in the place appointed for this purpose by
the Medical Board.
4. If during the period of detention no fresh case occurs on the
vessel and no person on board shows suspicious symptoms, the vessel
may be permitted to proceed ; and if during the same period the
persons detained under observation are proved not to be suffering
from plague or any other infectious disease, they may continue their
voyage,
5. No pilgrim or other native passenger shall leave the Port of
Calcutta for any port in the Red Sea unless he has been under con-
tinuous medical observation for at least seven days in a place appoint-
ed by the Lieutenant-Governor for that purpose, and is pronounced
free from infection before departure by the medical officer in charge
of such place.
262
Measures to prevent the
[ APP. IX.
Bill of Health.
This is to certify that the ship (or steamer)
sailing under
the
flag
and under the command of Captain
of
* Including officers and able-bodied
tons bound for
with a
seamen.
crew of
persons* and
pas-
sengers and laden with a cargo of
is at the time of leaving this
port in a satisfactory sanitary condition, and that no case of infectious
disease dangerous to life exists among her officers, passengers, or
crew, all of whom have been inspected by me.
† Or as the case may be.
It is further certified that the town and port of Calcutta are at
present† free from epidemic cholera,
plague, yellow fever, and all other
dangerous epidemic diseases.
No. 79.
No. 226-T.— M , dated Darjeeling, the 28th May 1897.
From —H. H. RISLEY, Esq., C.I.E., Secretary to the Government of Bengal,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India, Home Department.
Under orders contained in the Home Department letter No. 395,
dated the gth February 1897, I am directed to submit, for the in-
formation of the Government of India, a copy of revised Plague
Notification No. 3, dated the 25th May 1897, prescribing rules for
inspection of vessels leaving the ports in this Province for non-Indian
ports.
Notification by the Government of Bengal, No. 3, dated Darjeeling, the 25th
May 1897.
In exercise ot the powers conterred by section 2 01 the epidemic
Diseases Act, 1897, and by the Notification of the Government of India
in the Home Department, No. 302, dated the 4th February, and in
supersession of Plague Notification No. 3, dated the loth February
1897, which is hereby cancelled, the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal
is pleased to declare that all vessels and persons leaving the under-
mentioned ports in Bengal shall be subjected to the rules in the
Regulation hereinafter set forth : —
Calcutta.
Chittagong.
Balasore.
Chandbally.
False Point.
Puri.
Rules.
1. No person shall be permitted to embark on board a vessel,
buggalow or native craft, within any of the above mentioned ports
bound for any port out of India, who has within the preceding ten
days resided in or visited a part of India believed by the Health
Officer of the Port to be infected by the plague.
APP. IX. ]
spread of infection by sea.
263
2. No vessel shall leave any such port for any port out of India
until she has been inspected by the Health Officer of the Port, and
the master or person in charge of such vessel has obtained from
such officer a bill of health in the form given below, stating that the
master or person in charge, officers, crew and passengers (if any) of
such vessel are free from the bubonic plague.
3. Should the Health Officer of the Port be of opinion that any
person on board of any vessel so inspected is suffering from the
bubonic plague or is not free from the infection of the plague, he shall
refuse to give a bill of health as aforesaid unless and until such
person and his relations and non-medical attendants are removed
from the vessel to a plague hospital or place of observation appointed
by Government, and such parts of the vessel as have been frequented
by such person or his relations and attendants shall have been dis-
infected to the satisfaction of the Health Officer. If the vessel has
no medical officer on board, the Health Officer shall order her to be
detained for not less than ten days at the quarantine anchorage
appointed by the Port Officer, and to be thoroughly disinfected before
departure. If during the period of detention no fresh case occurs on
the vessel and no person on board shows suspicious symptoms, the
vessel maybe permitted to proceed, and if during the same period the
persons detained under observation are proved 'not to be suffering
from plague or any other infectious disease they may continue their
voyage.
4. After the master or person in charge of the vessel has obtained
a bill of health or certificate under the provisions of these rules, no
person or cargo shall be admitted or taken on board such vessel
before she leaves the port unless such vessel is again inspected by the
Health Officer of the Port and another bill of health obtained from
such officer by the master or person in charge of such vessel.
5. No port clearance shall be delivered to any vessel bound from
any such port to any port out of India unless and until the master
or person in charge thereof shall produce the bill of health so to be
obtained as aforesaid ; and it shall be the duty of Customs officers to
refuse delivery of the port clearance without the production of such
bill of health.
6. The duties of Health Officers under these rules shall be
discharged by the medical officers named below, or by such other
medical officer as may from time to time be appointed for such
purpose by the Lieutenant-Governor :—
Health Officers.
Calcutta ...
...
Port Health Officer.
Chittagong
...
Civil Surgeon,
264
Measures to prevent the
. [ APP. IX.
Health Officers.
Narainganj
Balasore ...
Chandbally
False Point
Puri
Civil Hospital
Civil Surgeon.
Civil Hospital
Ditto,
Civil Surgeon.
Assistant, Narainganj.
Assistant, Chandbally.
Jambu.
Bill of Health.
* Including officers and able-bodied
seamen.
This is to certify that the ship (or steamer)
sailing under
the
Hag and under the com-
mand of
as master, of
tons bound for
with a crew of
persons* and
passengers and laden with a cargo of
is at the time of leaving this port in a satisfactory sanitary
condition, and that no case of bubonic plague exists among her
officers, passengers, or crew, all of whom have been inspected by me.
t Or as the case may be.
It is further certified that the town
and port of
are at present†
free from plague.
No. 80.
No. 355-T.-M., dated Darjeeling, the 12th June 1897.
From—H. H. RISLEY, Esq., C.I.E., Secretary to the Government of
Bengal, Municipal Department, Medical Branch,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India, Home Department.
No. 855, dated ist June 1897.
I am directed to submit for the information of the Government of
India a copy of a letter from the
Bengal Chamber of Commerce and of
its enclosure representing the inconvenience caused to vessels by rule
4 of the revised Plague Notification No. 3, dated the 25th May 1897
(a copy of which was communicated to the Government of India
No. 341, dated nth June 1897.
with my letter No. 226-T.-M., dated
28th idem) together with a copy of
the orders passed thereon by the Lieutenant-Governor.
No. 341-T.-M., dated Darjeeling, the nth June 1897.
From —H. H. RISLEY, Esq., C.I.E., Secretary to the Government of
Bengal, Municipal Department, Medical Branch,
To—The Secretary to the Bengal Chamber of Commerce.
1 am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 855,
dated the 1st June 1897, submitting for the consideration of Govern-
ment a copy of a representation from the Committee of the Liners'
Conference, in which they point out that if the provisions of rule 4 of
the revised Plague Notification No. 3, dated the 25th May 1897, are
APP. IX. ]
spread of infection by sea.
265
enforced, vessels which have finished their loading and are otherwise
ready to start will still be liable to a further detention of not less
than 24 hours by having to wait for the port clearance until the Bill
of Health has been granted by the Port Health Officer. The Cham-
ber suggest that the provisions of this rule might be carried out with
a minimum of inconvenience to the vessels if the loading of cargo
(which is not inspected by the Health Officer) were allowed to be
proceeded with until the last moment, and if the Health Officer were
permitted to give the ordinary Bill of Health to enable the vessel to
obtain port clearance and leave, provided that when passengers are
carried, she be accompanied down the river by one of the assistants
of the Health Officer, who shall inspect the ship and passengers and
grant a final Bill of Health on board.
2. In reply I am to say that in order to meet the wishes of the
Chamber as far as possible, Surgeon-Captain Jay Gould, at present
an Inspecting Officer under the Epidemic Diseases Act at Khana
Junction, will be appointed an additional Port Health Officer for the
purpose of conducting the inspection of vessels under the Regulation,
and Dr. Banks, the present Superintendent of Emigration, will be
employed on the same work in addition to his own duties. The Port
Health Officer will be instructed to arrange for the distribution of
the work between himself and the additional Health Officers in such
manner as may be convenient with reference to the departure of
vessels.
3. The Collector of Customs has been authorised to grant port clear-
ance under section 66 of the Sea Customs Act on a guarantee being
given by the agents of a vessel that within 48 hours of departure they
will produce a duplicate copy of the Bill of Health as finally granted,
signed by the Port Health Officer or an additional Port Health
Officer, and that if for any reason the Health Officer should refuse to
grant the Bill of Health, they will bring the vessel back to her moor-
ings.
4. As regards cargo I am to explain that although, as the Chamber
observe, the Port Health Officer does not inspect the process of
loading closely, the general nature of the cargo is stated in the Bill oí
Health, and in view of the apprehensions of foreign nations in respect
of certain kinds of goods, it would not be advisable to omit all refer-
ence to cargo.
5. For the reasons stated above, the Lieutenant-Governor does not
consider it necessary to amend the Regulation, which corresponds
closely to that in force in Bombay and Madras ; but lam to express the
hope that the appointment of additional Port Health Officers will
remove the inconveniences complained of,
c 34
266
Measures to prevent the
[ APP. IX.
No. 855, dated Calcutta, the 1st June 1897.
From—W. PARSONS, Esq., Secretary, Bengal Chamber of Commerce,
To—The HON'BLE H. H. RISLEY, I.C.S., C.I.E., Secretary to the Gov-
ernment of Bengal, Financial Department.
On the 28th May I had the honour to address to you the following
telegram :—Telegram begins. Representations have been made to the
Committee that clause 4 of Plague Notification Number 3 of 25th
May will entail great inconvenience and delay to steamers sailing for
foreign ports and also cause great inconvenience to passengers who
would have to embark the day previous to vessel's sailing. Com-
mittee trust His Honour will agree to hold working of clause 4 in
abeyance until full representations have been made to Government.—
Telegram ends. And have now to acknowledge receipt of your
message of 30th ultimo in reply, reading as follows:—Telegram
begins. Lieutenant-Governor cannot suspend rule 4 of revised Plague
Notification 3 which is in force both in Madras and Bombay, but will
consider any representations submitted.—Telegram ends.
My telegram was despatched in consequence of an urgent repre-
sentation made by the Committee of the Liners' Conference (which
comprises all the regular lines of vessels sailing from this port) point-
ing out that under rule 4 of Plague Notification No. 3 of the 25th May
no cargo or passengers could be taken on board a vessel after the Bill
of Health had been granted, and that if this rule were strictly enforced,
it would mean, ordinarily, an extra delay of 24 hours to the
vessel ; possibly in the event of a vessel finishing her loading on
Saturday, a delay of two days and occasionally if the vessel missed a
tide by waiting for the bill of health and the port clearance, a delay of
three, four or even five days according to the state of the river.
2. The Committee of the Chamber and the Committee of the
Liners' Conference have no desire whatever to ask for a modification
of any regulations which appear to Government absolutely essential
to prevent the spread of plague, but, as pointed out in the letter
received from the Secretary of the Liners' Conference, a copy of which
I enclose, and which contains a very clear statement of the position
as it appears from the point of view of steamers' agents, it was
thought that possibly, when the present notification was issued, the
full consequences in the way of pecuniary loss and personal incon-
venience were hardly realised, and that a way might be found of
altering the rule so as to minimise this loss and inconvenience with-
out in any way increasing the risk of the spread of plague. The Com-
mittee note from youf telegram that the same notification is now in force
both in Madras and Bombay ; but they would point out that although
a certain amount of inconvenience must also be experienced in those
APP, IX. ]
spread of infection by sea.
267
ports, the departure of vessels therefrom is not surrounded by the
same difficulties as attach to a port like Calcutta, one hundred miles
from the mouth of a dangerous tidal river.
3. The Committee would venture to suggest for the consideration
of Government that the provisions of rule 4 might be carried out with
a minimum of inconvenience to vessels if the loading of cargo (which
is not inspected by the Health Officer) were allowed to be proceeded
with as formerly until the last moment, and if the Health Officer
were permitted to give the ordinary bill of health to enable the
vessel to obtain port clearance and leave, provided that (if passengers
were carried) she be accompanied down the river to any point which
Government may indicate, either Garden Reach, Budge Budge, or,
if necessary, Diamond Harbour by one of the Health Officer's assist-
ants, who shall, as convenient, inspect the ship and passengers and
grant a final bill of health on board. This course, it appears to the
Committee, would, to a great extent, meet the difficulties which have
now been submitted to Government, and I am instructed to add that
the suggestion now made has the approval of Mr. Raker, the Collec-
tor of Customs, and of Dr. Forsyth, the Health Officer of the Port.
4. The Committee in conclusion would venture to place before
Government the personal experience of the Hon'ble Mr. C. Turner,
Vice-President of the Chamber, who recently embarked at Madras
on board the S.S. GoorJcha. Mr. Turner writes as follows :—
I was on board the S.S. Goorkha by 11-30 A.M. and all cargo
work was stopped at 11-45. The Health Officer of the Port was on
board and made casual examination of the passengers who, like
myself, had embarked at Madras. He left the ship at noon to
give his bill of health to the agents' clerk, who then had to take the
bill to the Custom House and obtain a port clearance. At 12-30 we
received notice that as the Health Officer had noticed passengers
embarking subsequent to his inspection, he would not give the bill
of health, before making another inspection between 4 and 5 P.M.
It appears that two second class passengers from Calcutta had left
the ship early in the morning unknown to the Commander, and return-
ed as the Health Officer was landing on the pier steps after leaving the
Goorkha. I presume he watched them on board and then wrote to the
Agents. We were thus detained pending the pleasure of the Health
Officer to visit the ship again. He returned soon after 4 P.M., and
we obtained port clearance at 5 P.M. The loss of this time meant
arriving off Colombo on Wednesday morning instead of Tuesday even-
ing, and was a clear twelve hours' loss to the ship on her home
passage, The same thing may happen again at any time.
368
Measures to prevent the
[ APP. IX.
Dated Calcutta, the 28th May 1897.
From—The Secretary, Liners' Conference,
To—The Secretary, Chamber of Commerce.
In continuation of my letter of yesterday, and in response to the
request of your Committee, I address you more in detail with regard
to the new rules published in the Calcutta Gazette of 26th instant,
page 608, respecting Bills of Health.
Under these rules, paragraph 4, no cargo or passengers can be
taken on board a vessel after the bill of health has been granted.
To those conversant with the management of ships it would at
once be apparent that, if this rule is adhered to, vessels must be
detained 24 hours in port after they are ready for sea. But in order
to make this generally clear, it may be necessary to explain that it
has been the invariable custom to obtain the bill of health, port clear-
ance, etc., while the loading is being completed, so that a vessel may
leave the next morning. In the case of steamers, work usually goes
on throughout the night and often up to the very moment of starting.
Under the rule now issued this cannot be done, for a vessel com-
pleting her loading, say this Friday evening, in place of clearing to-
day and starting tomorrow, must wait until then for the bill of health
which, when obtained, has to be presented at the Custom House for
port clearance and if the vessel is foreign bound, taken to a Consul
for countersignature. By the time all this is done it would be too late
for a start and the ship must remain where she is till Sunday.
In the case of a ship finishing her loading on a Saturday, two days
would be lost, as a bill of health, or certainly a port clearance, could
not be obtained on a Sunday, and the vessel would therefore be
detained till Tuesday.
5
It may be thought that a bill of health might possibly be obtained
at a sufficiently early hour to enable the ship to leave the same day.
But the bill of health is only a preliminary to the port clearance ; and
even when no Consul's signature is required, by the time the Custom
House is open, the tide would usually be lost. There are frequently,
moreover, two or more vessels clearing in one day, which would
naturally delay the Health Officer.
In the dry weather when the water in the river is low, it frequently
happens that the larger steamers have to take in coals or cargo or
passengers, or all three, at Diamond Harbour, after having cleared in
Calcutta. Under the new rules a clearance could not be obtained
before leaving Calcutta, and the difficulty of getting a bill of health,
etc., for a vessel in Diamond Harbour is obvious.
APP. IX. ]
spread of infection by sea.
269
That the detention of a day or more must occur under the new rules
is therefore evident, and this is a serious matter for all vessels ; but the
inconvenience to be expected will be most generally appreciated in the
case of passengers. Instead of joining the ships as hitherto at the
moment of departure, they will now have to go on board the previous
morning to allow the Health Officer to make his inspection and issue
his certificate, and they will have to remain in the ship at her
moorings in practical quarantine for a day and a night.
The Liners' Conference has every sympathy with Government in
its endeavours to prevent the spread of plague ; but it is thought that
when issuing the present notification, the full consequences in the
way of pecuniary loss and personal inconvenience were hardly realis-
ed, and I am desired to request that your Chamber will lay the facts
before the Secretary to the Government of Bengal with a view to
some modification being made in the terms of paragraph IV.
No. 81.
No. 1774, dated Simla, the 2nd July 1897.
From—R. NATHAN, Esq., Under Secretary to the Government of India,
Home Department,
To—The Secretary to the Government of Bengal, Municipal (Medical)
Department.
I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No.355-T.M.,
dated the 12th June, submitting for the information of the Govern-
ment of India a copy of a letter from the Bengal Chamber of
Commerce and of its enclosure representing the inconvenience caused
to vessels by rule 4 of the revised Plague Notification No. 3, dated
the 25th May 1897, together with a copy of the orders passed thereon
by His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor.
2. The orders give effect to a proposal of the Bengal Chamber
of Commerce that the Health Officer should be permitted to give the
ordinary bill of health to enable the vessel to obtain port clearance
and leave, provided that when passengers are carried, she be accom-
panied down the river by one of the assistants of the Health Officer,
who shall inspect the ship and passengers, and grant a final bill of
health.
3. I am to observe that the arrangements which involve the
examination of passengers on board ship are opposed to the provisions
of Chapter I, Section II, of the regulation appended to the Venice
Sanitary Convention of 1897. It was explained in paragraph 5 of
my letter No. 1625, dated the 1st June, and in paragraph 3 (ii) of
my letter No. 1674, dated the 9th June, that the Venice Convention
requires the examination of all persons sailing on the vessels to be