187
B (12).
Instructions to District Plague Officers embodying
the new Policy.
22nd March 1898.
To
THE DISTRICT OFFICER,
WARD.
In continuation of the rules forwarded to you on the 17th instant, as laid down
by the Secretary to Government in his No. 1904 of the 17th, the Committee desire co
draw your attention to the following observations :—
Under the revised system of Plague operations which Government desire should
be brought into force immediately, the chief principle involved is that of house-visi-
tation being carried on by the people themselves, as indicated in the above mentioned
rules. Plague officials will search only those houses where the fact is reasonably estab-
lished that Plague cases or deaths have recently occurred. There are many such houses
within the City, but unless a house is shown by the rings or is known to the District
Officer to have recently had Plague, it must not be considered to be an infected house ;
neither should houses where Plague cases have recently occurred be kept longer
tinder surveillance than is considered absolutely necessary by the District Officer.
A house thoroughly disinfected may, after that operation has been completed, be con-
sidered a clean house.
In regard to house-visitation by· native gentlemen, the best means to effect this
visitation is to form a series of small Plague Committees for each district or sub-
district within each ward. If a district has too large an area it should be divided
twice or thrice or into smaller sub-divisions of such size as can be thoroughly inspected
in two or three days by a small Committee ; this small Committee to be appointed from
the names of those gentlemen who have already been working or who have volunteered
their services to Government. Each Committee will be under the District Officer and
Sectional District Officer, to whom they will be directly responsible. The gentlemen
appointed to this Committee should be chosen from those who principally live or have
large interests in the neighbourhood. Each Committee should appoint its own
Chairman and Secretary, and the District or Sectional Officer, who in every
case is the official Chairman, should arrange to meet these gentlemen and holp to
apportion streets or parts of streets in which one or more members of the Committee
will be responsible for the house-visitation.
The success of the new organization will depend very greatly· on the close touch
the District Officers or Sectional District Officers keep with these Committees, as,
unless backed by help, the movement will in many parts of the City be a failure, and
His Excellency the Governor in Council desires to impress upon District Officers
the paramount importance of securing the cordial and energetic co-operation of Heads
of Communities or Sections of Communities, however humble their nominal social
position may be, and he looks to them to secure by tact, patience and kindness, the
cheerful good-will of the population and the success of the volunteer organization
now initiated.
Reports from the Committee will go to the Sectional District Officer, and from
him in the ordinary way to District Officers daily. Disinfection will continue as
before and contacts will be removed as laid clown in Rule 4, o5 Government letter.
The rules in regard to the vacating of houses will continue, but should be modified and