From C. M. W. de Facieu, Esq., Secretary to the Development Commissioner, Purma, to the Revenue
Secretary to the Government of Burma, letter No. 1039—5R.-79, dated the 20th July 1920.
I am directed to submit, in proof, three copies of the Report on the Civil
Veterinary Department for the year ended the 31st March 1920, together with a
copy of General Department letter No. 523—1R.-18, dated the 28th June 1920,
from the Director of Agriculture, Burma.
2. The year was one of considerable anxiety—no less than 52,328 head of
cattle perishing from rinderpest. Inoculation was diligently pursued and 55,628
animals got the benefit of this protection, of which only 363 died after treatment.
It is unfortunate that inoculation was, to an extent, restricted by the inability
of the Mukteser Laboratory to supply serum in time ; but Mr. Mackenna is aware
of the difficulties with which the Director of the Laboratory had to contend. In
nearly every district the local staff had to be strengthened to cope with the
outbreaks. One of the most alarming features is the steady persistence with
which the disease penetrated districts which in the previous year enjoyed
comparative immunity. The value of inoculation, as a preventive measure, is
abundantly testified to by the results obtained, and the increasing willingness of
the people to subject their cattle to the treatment is one of the gratifying features
of the situation. During the year the Cattle Diseases Act was amended by the
omission of the proviso that, before cattle are inoculated, the sanction of the
Commissioner must be obtained. This was practically a dead letter, and, if
applied, would only cause delay in dealing with an outbreak.
3. The strength of the department is gradually being increased ; and during
the year sanction was accorded to the addition, subject to budget provision, of
three Deputy Superintendents, one Inspector and 23 Veterinary Assistants.
Proposals have also been made for the opening of Veterinary Hospitals and Dis-
pensaries at different centres. At present there is only one Veterinary Dispensary
attached to the School at Insein. Veterinary Assistants in Burma are not
attached to a Hospital, but are itinerating officers going from village to village
and attending to cattle on the spot. The Development Commissioner proposes
to consider to what extent the provision of Veterinary Hospitals or Dispensaries
can be extended. Mr. Mackenna would note that, in some provinces of India,
Veterinary Dispensaries are presented by private donors whose name they bear,
and would commend such action as an outlet for the liberality of public-spirited
gentlemen in Burma.
4. With the early prospect of a University for Burma, and the increased
facilities for scientific education which it will provide, the Development Com-
missioner considers that the time is not far distant, when provision for higher
Veterinary education should be made in Burma with a view to training candidates
for the posts of Veterinary Inspectors and Deputy Superintendents. Mr.
Mackenna proposes, in the near future, to go into the whole question of Veteri-
nary education and the expansion of the Insein Veterinary School.
5. The Development Commissioner endorses Colonel Evans' appreciation of
the services of the staff, and it is with a feeling of personal loss that he bids an
official farewell to Colonel Evans who, after thirty years in a department which
he has made, is now entering on a well-earned retirement. During these thirty
years Colonel Evans has seen the department grow from a mere handful of
Assistants to a sanctioned cadre of 9 Deputy Superintendents, 24 Inspectors and
228 Veterinary Assistants.
As a scientist Colonel Evans has an European reputation. He has given
ungrudgingly of his best to the people of Burma, and his name will long be held
in affectionate remembrance not only by his official colleagues but by thousands
of cultivators to whom he is personally known, and in whose interests he has
spent so much of his life. By his retirement Burma loses a great personality,
and the affectionate good wishes of Burmans and Europeans alike follow him
into his well-earned rest.