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India—was also ordered to the Thána District, being appointed plague officer in
charge of the city of Thána and in addition discharging the duties of Civil Surgeon.
Government further strengthened the executive administration by deputing two
Assistant Collectors, Messrs. Leggatt and Mead, from Gujarat to Thána, and by
sanctioning the request of the Commissioner, N. D., fur the appointment of two
Special Plague Mámlatdárs.
5. As additional precautions, all station-masters on the B. B. & C. I. Rail-
way were appointed plague authorities to detain plague cases and hand them over
to the village headmen ; and at Bháyndar, Bassein, Sophála, and Boisar special
medical inspectors were employed to watch arrivals. The history of the next two
months shows that the people soon began to understand the necessity of the steps
which in February had to be carried out against their wishes, occasionally with the
use of force. Before the passing of the Act the attitude even of the more promi-
nent members of the various communities is well illustrated by the following
Resolution passed February by the Municipality of Bhiwndi. Segregation, they
said was against religion, and could do no good, inasmuch as "life and death
were not in the hands of men, but of the Creator." This, the Collector
remarks, was virtually a sentence of death on the town, and he was contemplat-
ing the suspension of the Municipality when the passing of the Act made
uniform action possible on the lines described above.
Surat District.
6. The existence of the disease in the town of Rander was first discovered
by the divisional officer at the end of January, when the necessary powers
were applied for, and arrangements were made to prevent the importation of
fresh cases.
7. A European Inspector of Sanitation and three Pársis were appointed to
supervise operations. The arrangements were on February 16th undertaken by
Mr. 0. N. Seddon, I. C. S., and on the next day a special meeting of the
Municipality was held at which the whole available balance of the Municipality
was devoted to plague measures. Thorough disinfection of all infected houses
was then carried out, segregation was insisted on, caste hospitals being encour-
aged within the limits of a general camp, an exception however being made in
the case of parda women. Isolation of the " probably infected" was not found
possible.
8. In Surat City, where the population was enormously inflated by the
exodus from Bombay, the inspecting staff at the railway station, which had been
at work since December 1896, was strengthened by the employment of two
medical practitioners. Three travelling Inspectors were engaged from February
9th to February 17th to travel up and down from one end of the district to the
other (i. e., between the stations of Kim and Daman Road) as a temporary measure
till sufficient medical men could be procured to watch the stations all along
the line.
9. Arrivals by sea were inspected from February 17th and the bridge lead-
ing from Ránder was watched in order to prevent the importation of plague
therefrom. House-to-house visitations were carried out, but with little success.
Medical practitioners were compelled to report cases which came to their notice.
Infected houses were vacated for a month. All plague cases discovered were
taken to the hospitals. Owing to the hostile attitude of the people two
companies of native troops were brought to Baroda for service in Surat and
Ränder. These were subsequently sent to Bulsár.
10. In Bulsár the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner of Gujarat, Surgeon-
Captain Dyson, who was required to abandon his tour, was placed in charge of
operations. Vigorous measures for segregation were adopted, which resulted in
the night of about 3,000 people. Most of the fugitives, however, settled in the
fields within five miles of the town, as the villagers were on the alert to prevent
their entry into their villages. Separate private hospitals for Hindus, Maho-
niedans and Pársis were erected, and in addition to these there were municipal
and railway hospitals. Certain measures for medical inspection at the railway
station had been taken in December and these were made more efficient in