No. 1579 OP 1897.
FROM
F. S. P. LELY, ESQUIRE, I. C. S.,
Commissioner, N, D. ;
To
THE SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,
General Department.
Ahmedabad, 30th July 1897.
SIR,
In compliance with Government Resolution No. 3015 / 2269-p of 2nd June, I have
the honour to forward the marginally noted papers giving in detail for each
district of the Northern Division a history of the recent outbreak of plague and
the measures adopted for its suppression.
1. Collector of Thána,
Mr. Logan's No. 5017 of 12th
July with, appendices from
Surgeon-Captain. Anderson.
2. Collector of Surat,
Mr. Moore's No. 1496 of 22nd
July with appendices from
Surgeon-Major
Nariman,
Surgeon-Captain
Dyson,
Mr. Seddon, and Mr. Judge.
3. Collector of Broach,
Mr. Candy's No. 481 of 25th
June.
4. Collector of Kaira,
Mr. Bagnell's No. 2700 of
13th July.
5. Collector of Panch Ma-
háls, Mr. Doderet's No. 2680
of 3rd July and No. 836 of
4th March.
6. Collector of Ahmed-
abad, Mr. Gibb's No. 2581 of
12th July.
7. Report by Mr. Gilbert
on Bándra with the Collect-
or's forwarding memorandum
No. 4367 of 19th June 1897.
2. So far as we can learn from statistics, the disease in its advance
up-country began in October with Kalyán, Thána ana
Bándra, being three places of chief resort in Bombay.
Then it spread to Balsár, Kurla, Surat and various
other towns and villages of the Thána District con-
nected with Bombay, in almost natural sequence.
Amalsád (in Surat District) got it, being the home of
many Bombay servants. Rander, which has not much
direct communication with Bombay, got it in January
from, it is said, the Gáikwár's town of Variáv.
Damaun, which was perhaps protected at first by the
Portuguese cordon, inefficient though it was, received
its first cases in a ship from Karachi, and in the
person of a refugee from Bulsár at the beginning of
March. Infection from Bulsár town is clearly account-
able for violent outbreaks in April and May in sur-
rounding villages, especially in three of the sea-coast,
chiefly inhabited by fishermen. The districts of Broach,
Kaira and Panch Mahals remained free, except for a
few imported cases in the two former which were
easily dealt with. Kaira and the Panch Mahals have
scarcely any connection with Bombay, but the immu-
nity of Broach is not so intelligible. Ahmedabad, though
farther from Bombay by 150 miles and though pro-
tected by a longer gauntlet of inspections, had almost as many cases as Surat,
owing to the fact that all trains were completely emptied there, and no case
could slip through uncaught.
Being introduced, the disease spread with a varying rapidity and to a vary-
ing extent which bore a distinct relation to the promptitude with which efficient
measures were taken in hand, but were also affected by conditions not yet cer-
tainly understood. It gradually disappeared throughout the month of May,
3, Thus there were the following centres :—
(1) The environs of Bombay up to (in this Division) Kalyán on the
east and the Vaitarna river on the north.
(2) Damaun territory,
(3) Bulsár town and neighbourhood,
(4) Amalsád.
(5) Surat, including the neighbouring town of Bander.
(6) Ahmedabad.
4. The special facts of these several areas are contained in the reports
herewith submitted, and need not be retailed by me. The theory indicated in
B 1084