xiii
certainly be more suitable, for besides being part of their native dress, it is more
useful as a protection from the sun, because the native certainly must feel the heat
of the sun, though not to so great an extent as a European; and though he cannot
be so susceptible to its influence, yet it is a question—though they often expose
their bare heads to the sun—whether they, especially if weak or debilitated after
an attack of fever, are not liable to suffer from its effects, and have a recurrence
of the fever after exposure.
A great addition has been made to the clothing of the 12th N. I., viz., wad-
ded jackets are substituted for the white, and the question regarding the issue of
plain warm clothing to a regiment arriving at certain stations in the Presidency is
well worthy of the consideration of Government. Such stations are in Central India,
Mhow, Indore, Neemuch, Nusseerabad, Mehidpoor, Augar, &c., Hydrabad in Sind,
where the diurnal change in the temperature is very great. Fevers also are most
prevalent at many of these stations, due, I consider, in no small degree to the
sudden chill that fills the air just after sunset and the insufficient protection afford-
ed by the sepoy's plain cotton clothes; for though these may be sufficient when he
is in his own part of the country, it must not be forgotten that in the Konkan,
whence the greater number of sepoys come, there is a more even temperature;
and further that he is not subject to such vicissitudes of climate as when he is
moving about with his regiment. In the 24th Regiment N. I. every man had
a good English blanket, and was also ordered by Colonel Henderson, the Com-
mandant, to sleep on a cot, with which he provided himself for 12 annas. This
is an excellent arrangement which the Inspecting Officer in his report advises
should be carried out in all native infantry regiments, and with him I fully
concur.
23. Speaking generally the hospital accommodation throughout the Presi-
dency is very good, consisting mostly of good pukha
building, standing apart from the lines and with separate
cook-rooms, out-houses, and accommodation for the medical subordinates. In a few
exceptional cases an ordinary bungalow is made use of, as is the case at Surat for
the 28th Regiment N. I. The 1st Light Cavalry at Deesa have an old artillery
barrack which serves the purpose well, and the 8th N. I. also have a bungalow.
The objection to this plan is, that there is a general complaint of insufficient
accommodation, there not being a sufficient number of separate or detached rooms
to supply all the requirements of the hospital, and even regarding the regularly
built hospitals this is too common a complaint; for instance, the hospital servants'
quarters of the 7th Regiment N. I. are dilapidated and unfit to live in; in the 12th
Regiment at Rajkote there is insufficient accommodation for the medical subordi-
nates; there is no latrine for the hospital of the 13th Regiment at Mhow. The
Medical Officer of the 20th Regiment N. I. at Baroda writes, "the accommodation
provided was altogether inadequate during the last four months of the year,
when the sick rate was so high, and many men on the sick list were, therefore,
allowed to live in the lines. A suitable house has recently been built for the senior
hospital assistant, but the other subordinates, being unprovided with quarters,
occupy one of the corner-rooms of the hospital. The hospital still lacks a bath-
ing room and a dead-house." The Inspecting Officer reports the hospital used
by the 15th N. I. at Ahmedabad as being two dark, and its ceiling and flooring
are in bad repair. Its surgery is too small, and has not sufficient light in it; the
latrine is in bad order, should be removed and another substituted for it on a
better plan..
The hospital latrine used by the 3rd N. L. I. at Hydrabad, the Medical
Offi cer st at es, "i s bui l t of mud, and havi ng merel y c h u n a m m e d
d e p r e s s i o n s a s
receptacles, the chunam frequently cracks and breaks away, allowing soakage.
There is a nullah posteriorly for the reception of fluids; it is therefore exceedingly
difficult to keep it in good sanitary condition." This is just what might be
expected from such a bad arrangement, the chunam is one of the most possibly
worst substances that could have been selected for this purpose, the action of the
m
Hospitals.