NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
10
as a temporary measure. One solution would be to fix on one of.
the existing colleges as suitable for higher education and constitute
it as such with a well qualified staff. The other colleges would then
be classed as schools to educate two years' course veterinary assistants
only. One extra school would have to be provided in the province
where the college was established. The other solution is to provide
a new college and turn all the existing institutions into schools.
" I consider that the present system of veterinary education in
India is not satisfactory for present needs and that the mistake
has been made and is still being made of trying to aim at too ambi-
tious a course with poorly educated material. As the cost of living
increases, the position becomes worse.
" I have considerable experience as an examiner, and I say that
a very large proportion of the students are not sufficiently educated
to grasp and assimilate what they are now taught. The consequence
is that they learn as much as they can by heart in order to get
through their examinations. We have aimed too high and have
tried to make a too highly finished article from poor material. Too
many of our recruits come to us after having failed elsewhere.
It is true that many of our men have done well, but if we look squarely
at facts we shall find that in most cases praise has come from quarters
where men merely did as they were told and filled the part of dressers
under direct supervision.
" I will refer only briefly to post-graduate education. It is
required for men who have the aptitude and desire to improve
themselves and who, by its means, can aspire to special promotion
or special appointments. It will be of great assistance no doubt to
the exceptional man in the veterinary assistant class who wants to
get on. It will not take the place of the 4 years' course that is now
required for the future veterinary graduate though he would also
be benefited by it of course.
" I do not know how my proposals would fit in with the new
terms and conditions of service issued for the Indian subordinate
veterinary corps, but I imagine that 4 years' course graduates would
expect to enter the army as senior veterinary assistants (Indian
Officers).
" The officiating Director of Veterinary Services attended the
Committee meeting on veterinary education at Poona, but he was
not prepared to discuss this point though I myself asked him to do
so. The military authorities should be consulted before any great
changes are made. It is a pity that their new terms have just-
been issued, because some alterations may be necessary."
The President pointed out the complexity of the subject and
asked whether a sub-committee would be better able to deal with
11
it in its entirety. Colonel Walker was of opinion that the
views of the meeting should be first ascertained in order to guide
the committee in their deliberations.
Colonel Smith opposed the proposal of a committee going round
the various colleges, but thought it would be better to discuss the
matter at the present meeting. He was also opposed to Colonel
Walker's proposal to reduce the course from three to two years.
Major Hewlett and Colonel Farmer expressed views similar to those
of Colonel Smith.
Colonel Farmer thought that the practice of sending students
at the colleges into the district during their vacation time to obtain
practical experience of their work was very desirable, and he offered
to place them under reliable men at dispensaries.
Referring to the question of two standards of veterinary
graduates, Mr. Clouston said that in the case of agricultural students
it was found that men who were not educated up to the Matricula-
tion Standard did not assimilate the teaching they received and, in
consequence, those who were better educated when they began the
course were able to grasp the subjects more readily, and the result
was that they were greatly superior at the end of the course. He
said that it was the practice in the Central Provinces to place those
who passed well in their final examination on a higher rate of pay
than those who scored low in it. Colonel Smith stated that this
practice had been followed to a certain extent in Bengal and the
rates of pay had recently been raised to those of sub-assistant
surgeons.
The President referred to the results arrived at by the Confer-
ence which met recently in Simla, and stated that these would be
placed before the committee appointed to consider this question.
Colonel Pease was very opposed to going back to a two years'
course of instruction which would have the effect of nullifying the
progress made, as men with such limited instruction had not proved
successful in the past.
Colonel Walker then said that he had made his suggestions
with a view to provoking discussion: The crux of the whole
matter was that if a better stamp of men was required, a better
scale of pay should be given.
Colonel Edwards said that the Royal Army Veterinary Corps
wanted a better class of men. They were trying to send better
men to the colleges for training, and if four years' course men were
available, they would be glad to take them.
Mr. Sheather referred to the question of sending Indian gra-
duates to England for post-graduate courses which were for the
B
12
most part highly technical and concerned with work in labora-
tories, and questioned whether such courses were really suitable
for men whose work would be in the field in India. Colonel Smith
thought that Mr. Sheather was referring to the courses of a parti-
cular college, and said that a course of the kind required could be
obtained at one or other of the colleges in England. He thought
that by sending the best students in the Indian colleges to a veteri-
nary college in England the most suitable Indian recruits for the
imperial service would be obtained.
Mr. G. Taylor said that in the Punjab, the annual expenditure
on the veterinary department was very small in comparison with
the value of the cattle in the province, and he thought that if the
figures were brought to the notice of Government, they might be
more inclined to provide increased funds for the department. He
thought the present veterinary assistant was being asked to under-
take more responsible work and more technical knowledge was
required of him than in the past, and it was necessary that better
scales of pay should be given in order to attract better men. He
considered that post-graduate training should be carried on in
India and an institute for this purpose and for research work ought
to be established. Officers coming from home would also be
able to obtain at such an institution a training in Indian
diseases.
The President then proposed the appointment of the following
sub-committee to report on the whole question of veterinary edu-
cation. Lieutenant-Colonel A. Smith (Chairman), Colonel J.
Farmer, Lieutenant-Colonel G. K. Walker, Lieutenant-Colonel
W. B. Edwards, Major K. Hewlett, Messrs. D. Clouston, D. A. D.
Aitchison and W. Taylor. The proposal was put to the meeting
and carried.
The sub-committee met the following afternoon—the terms of
reference being :—
(a) Provision of higher veterinary education in India as recom-
mended by the Public Services Commission.
(b) What standard of education should be laid down for the
different grades of men required ?
(c) The revision of the curricula and the existing examination
systems at the respective veterinary colleges and schools.
Is it possible to have uniformity ?
The report of the sub-committee was considered on the third
morning when the President called upon Lieutenant-Colonel A.
Smith to read the report which was as follows :—
" (a) We are of opinion that at the present stage of development of the Civil Veterinary
Department any rapid Indianization of the service is unlikely. We consider that
13
the recommendation made by the Public Services Commission that a course of
training should be instituted in India in order to enable Indians to qualify for the
Imperial branch of the department is not practicable.
" The small number of recruits annually required, approximately two would not
justify the very large outlay necessary to establish an efficiently equipped college
which would be necessary to carry out the Public Services Commission's recommend-
ation. Rather we would suggest that in order to assist Indians to qualify for the
Imperial branch of the service, selected youths be sent to Europe by the aid of State
scholarships there to qualify as Members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
" (b) That the education required for the different grades in the provincial services should
be provided at the existing veterinary colleges, all candidates going through the same
curricula with post-graduate courses for the higher grades. In addition to veteri-
nary education, it is considered essential that the educational qualifications for
entrance to the colleges should be raised, and before this is possible, the prospects
of graduates must be improved.
" (c) Revision of the curriculum is necessary. It is thought desirable to add certain now
subjects, and it is considered that the three years' course at present prescribed is not
of sufficient length to allow the subjects now included to be taught with any degree
of thoroughness : four years are necessary. The curriculum should be on the lines
prescribed by the R. C. V. S. for the colleges in England and we suggest that a
detailed syllabus should be separately prepared by the Principals of the Indian
colleges whose report will be submitted for final consideration at the next Veteri-
nary meeting. If the suggestion with regard to curricula is adopted, this will
tend towards uniformity, as far as teaching is concerned. For the examinations,
it will be only possible to obtain uniformity by the appointment of a permanent
Board of Examiners."
Mr. Oliver then proposed—
Resolution I.
" That the report of the sub=committee be adopted."
Mr. Quirke seconded the proposal which was carried unani-
mously.
Major Hewlett proposed—
Resolution II.
" That the meeting of the Principals of the Veterinary Colleges to
revise the curricula should be held in Calcutta."
This was seconded by Mr. Aitchison and carried unanimously.
The President then asked Colonel G. K. Walker to open the
discussion on—
SUBJECT II.—THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF STATIONARY
AND ITINERATING VETERINARY DISPENSARIES AND THE POSSI-
BILITY OF COMBINING THE TWO SYSTEMS ADVANTAGEOUSLY.
Colonel Walker said that the present system of itinerating dis-
pensaries was unsatisfactory from several points of view, as it was
frequently difficult to know what the men were doing or where they
were : he thought that Veterinary Assistants were better employed
at stationary dispensaries.
Mr. Ware said that the aim in Madras was to have one stationary
and one itinerating veterinary assistant in each taluka. Mr.
Quinlan said that a similar arrangement was also being followed
B 2
14
in his province, but it was often difficult to control the itinerating
men owing to the lack of supervising staff.
Mr. G. Taylor agreed with Colonel Walker regarding the difficulty
of controlling the itinerating men and said that in the Punjab they
found the hospitals of much greater value.
Colonel Smith and Mr. Harris both pointed out the importance
of touring assistants for controlling contagious diseases, which was
the chief aim of the department.
Mr. Quirke said that, in the North-West Frontier Province,
there were no itinerating veterinary assistants, and when the men at
hospitals were required to deal with contagious diseases, the com-
pounder was left to carry on the work. To attract suitable com-
pounders he had recently improved their scales of pay.
Colonel Smith pointed out that the conditions in the various
provinces required different methods and it was necessary to adopt
those found most suitable in each case. The President agreed with
Colonel Smith and proposed the following resolution :—
Resolution III.
" That this meeting is of opinion that the importance of
establishing veterinary dispensaries with a staff adequate to deal
with outbreaks away from headquarters should be impressed on
Local Governments and on District Boards.
This was carried unanimously.
SUBJECT III.—REVIVAL OF THE " JOURNAL OF TROPICAL VETERI-
NARY SCIENCE."
The President remarked that in the old days the journal was
found to be very valuable and he personally felt that it was a great
pity that it had to be stopped.
Mr. Sheather was of opinion that for purposes of reference it
was better to concentrate veterinary literature in as few journals
as possible and he was there ore averse to the suggestion of reviving
the " Journal of Tropical Veterinary Science."
Mr. Howlett raised the question of the policy of the Government
of India in regard to publications in general. The President replied
that the broad question of departmental publications was under
consideration.
Mr. Taylor thought that, with the present depleted staff and lack
of facilities for original research, it would be difficult to obtain
material for a journal, and that abstracts from other journals were
now very fully dealt with in the " Tropical Veterinary Bulletin " and
15
in other publications. Colonel Pease agreed that it would be difficult
to start the journal again under the present conditions.
The President then proposed the following resolution which was
carried :—
Resolution IV.
" In view of the depleted staff of the department it is not con-
sidered expedient or feasible to raise the question at present.
SUBJECT IV.—THE NECESSITY FOR REORGANIZATION OF THE INDIAN
CIVIL VETERINARY DEPARTMENT.
In opening the discussion on the subject, Colonel Walker said :—
" I believe that I am responsible for the suggestion that this
subject should be discussed, but I was not sure until a fortnight ago
that it would be accepted. The consequence is that owing to
pressure of work I have not been able to get it up as well as I should
have liked. I propose, however, with your permission, Sir, to
put forward arguments to show that, if this Department is to conti-
nue to do good work and to progress, a thorough reorganization is
essential. If this Conference agrees with me, it will be for the
Government of India to deal with the matter. It is manifestly
impossible for us to deal with anything but general principles and
certain broad lines of procedure. If it results in a scheme being
drawn up, based on some kind of constructive policy towards the
department, I feel that something will have been achieved. At the
present time there is apparently no one in a position to draw up a
scheme, i.e., it does not appear to be anyone's duty and, as far as I
know, there is no constructive policy worthy of that description.
It is no doubt true that the Local Governments possess programmes
involving expansion of the various subordinate departments and
development in minor directions, but the interest of the Imperial
Government is not very apparent. I am convinced that there is a
growing public demand for a stronger and more efficient depart-
ment and that this is likely to increase under the proposed reform
measures.
" It may not be out of place to trace as briefly as possible the
history of this department. The first steps to form a department
were taken in 1888, but, since 1868, when the Commission on Cattle
Diseases presented their report, the matter had been under con-
sideration, i.e., for 20 years.
" Before 1888, four veterinary officers under the Military
Department had been engaged in horse-breeding operations, and in
1892, it was decided to incorporate these officers in the Civil Veteri-
nary Department which was to consist, in the first instance, of
18 officers recruited from the Army Veterinary Department. It
16
was emphatically laid down at this time that horse-breeding opera-
tions were to be regarded as primary and paramount. It was
frankly admitted that the supervising staff was inadequate, but this
was defended on the ground that money was required to create a
strong subordinate agency trained and recruited in the country.
" The department was considered to be established on these
lines in 1892, but it was not until 1895 that rules were finally issued
for acceptance. In point of fact, the department was not consti-
tuted until 1901 when the number of appointments had grown to
22 or 23 including the Imperial Bacteriologist. The rules for the
Army officers were then finally accepted by a number of officers who
were to form the nucleus of the new department. It had been
decided that future recruits should be obtained direct from the
colleges. For these officers different rules were drawn up.
" A resolution of the Government of India, Revenue and Agri-
culture, No. 26-123, dated 4th July 1893, had defined the duties
of the department rather fully.
The following were the main heads :—
Horse-breeding ;
Animal disease ;
Instruction.
" Horse-breeding was admitted to be the first charge on the
attention of the department, but an Assistant to the Inspector
General and the Imperial Bacteriologist had begun to tackle the
problems connected with cattle disease, and two schools were well
established at Lahore and Bombay.
" The necessity of organizing a subordinate establishment under
each Local Government was pointed out in a Government of India
circular, No 41-47, Revenue and Agriculture Department, issued in
October, 1893. This scheme underwent many vicissitudes and
modifications and took many years to mature. The Punjab was the
first province to start a live provincial department when a special
officer was appointed in 1901 to organize it and to deal with disease
and cattle-breeding problems. Other provinces followed in due
course. It may be said that at this period, i.e., after 13 years of
haggling over rules, the department was fairly launched. As I said
before, the question had been under consideration for 20 years
before that.
" No sooner had the department been constituted than the Horse-
Breeding Commission came into existence. The result of the report
of that Commission was that in 1903 the principal work connected
with horse-breeding operations was taken away from the depart-
17
ment. It. would be inappropriate for me to criticise that report
publicly, but I may say that the opinion of many officers outside
this department including officers of the Army Remount Depart-
ment coincided with mine.
" One thing was clear and that was that the Civil Veterinary
Department officers were too few to cope with the work. That
was remedied to a great extent when the Army Remount Depart-
ment took over by a very large increase in the number of officers.
" Whether the results of the recommendations of the Commission
have been satisfactory or not, it is not for me to say, but I will aver
that if the Civil Veterinary Department had been given the chance,
they would have been as good. At the time it seemed hard that a
department that had just been constituted for the purpose should
be treated with contumely before it had had its chance. The
obvious disabilities arising from employing temporary officers who
had no great interest in the country, and possibly an imperfect
knowledge of the language and conditions, had at last been removed.
The Government of India, at this stage, made a gallant attempt
to regenerate the department which had received a severe blow.
(Personally I think that it was at this time measured for its coffin.)
Their matured opinion was very clearly expressed in paragraph 9
of their despatch, No. 137, dated 5th May, 1904. It should be read
by all interested. It is a very important despatch in the history
of this department. One point was made in this despatch which
I desire to bring out very particularly. It stated that ' an increased
number of assistants of necessity entails the appointment of addi-
tional inspecting officers if the best results are to be obtained and
if money is not to be wasted wholesale for want of effective super-
vision '—that ' they were convinced that to stint the superior
staff unduly was the worst possible economy,' and that ' it must
not be overlooked that, when an expensive officer has too large a
charge, an excessive portion of his time is spent in travelling
which should be devoted to inspection.'
" I should like to add that large provincial establishments with
few superior officers entail a deadening atmosphere of office routine
which is most detrimental. By the time a Superintendent, Civil
Veterinary Department, under present conditions, has dealt with
his office routine which has got to be performed without fail, he is
too tired to take up the many new problems which would be really
interesting and progressive. Continual travelling by train over
large areas is very fatiguing and wearing.
" At the date of this despatch, there were 15 Veterinary Inspectors
and 307 Veterinary Assistants. In 1916, (the last figures available)
there were 119Veterinary Inspectors and 1,056 Veterinary Assistants
18
and these must have increased since then. The number of Imperial
Officers for district work has remained practically the same but an
extra officer for the Punjab and one for the North-West Frontier
Province have been provided, also one for Burma but a school has
been established too. Lately, an extra officer each for Madras, the
Central Provinces, the United Provinces and a separate one for the
North-West Frontier Province have been sanctioned but not em-
ployed. Even with these, the charges of the Superintendents will
remain much too large. I wonder if the members of this meeting
realize that there is one officer in charge of Sind, Baluchistan and
Rajputana, and one Superintendent in charge of Bombay with an
establishment of 1 Deputy Superintendent, 4 Inspectors and 83
Veterinary Assistants actually employed but more sanctioned.
" So far as district work is concerned, I think it is clear that
Superintendents can do nothing more under present conditions than
they are doing now. In spite of great disabilities a good deal of
progress has been made in several provinces. A large number
of dispensaries are doing good work, and contagious disease is re-
ceiving greater and more efficient attention. The duties of a Superin-
tendent are very multifarious and exacting. I have referred to
this matter here to indicate that although the Government of India
realized the danger of stinting the superior staff in charge of esta-
blishments as far back as 1904, they have not warded it off.
" Returning to the history of the department, I wish to refer
now to the abolition of the Inspector-Generalship which had effect
from 1st April, 1912. Before this the Government of India had been
coquetting rather strongly with decentralization and had reduced
the authority and usefulness of the Inspector-General very consi-
derably. When the decision finally had effect, however, it was a
great shock to the department. Apart from the fact that it was
considered a breach of faith (officers had been recruited on the
understanding that the appointment was open to them), it had a
very serious effect on the department. I am a great believer
in measures of decentralization myself, but I am quite certain that
in a scientific department such as this, matters may easily be carried
too far. Directors of Agriculture, with the best intentions in the
world, cannot realize the scope of the department's possibilities. and
they have no means of guiding their veterinary officers' professional
energies. The Agricultural Departments proper have taken up
most of their attention and the Veterinary Departments have
been neglected. Their job is to administer and, in doing this, they
cannot estimate sometimes the relative importance of a well ordered
office and professional efficiency. It seems to me also that there
is a very pernicious influence in India which impels Local Govern-
ments and Administrations to differ, if possible, from a central