NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
418
Regulations against arrivals from
[ CHAP. XIV,
Hide sand skins.
The following statement shows the amounts and value of
the hides and skins exported to different countries in the year
1895-96, and the share of each presidency or province in the trade :—
Countries to which
exported.
Quantities.
Cvvt.
Value.
Rs.
SHARE OF EACH PRESIDENCY OR
PROVINCE.
Presidency or
Province.
Quantities.
Cwt.
Value.
Rs.
Hides.
United Kingdom
...
Austria-Hungary
Belgium
France
Germany
Greece
...
Holland
Italy
Russia in Europe
Spain (excluding Gibraltar)
Turkey in Europe
Eastern Coast of Africa,
Zanzibar.
Egypt
United States
Aden
Arabia
Ceylon
China — Hong-kong
..
Japan
...
Persia
Straits Settlements
Turkey in Asia
Australia
TOTAL
II7.95I
33,756
676
65,072
227,241
84
i.5t6
69,005
137
i,9iS
4,134
7
13,519
87,399
54
139
143
7
8
315
26,180
433
140
649,835
46,55,385
14,55,024
3o,3 1 2
20,76,722
97,22,087
1,500
64,920
29,67,443
4,050
1,11,420
1,42,098
324
3,91,905
28,30,305
1,310
3,721
3,384
350
176
10,392
7,02,007
I5,916
12,692
2,61,03,443
Bengal
...
Bombay
Sind
Madras
Burma
TOTAL
511,735
2,104
77,711
196
58,089
649,835
2,12,44,943
47,998
30,98,546
5,634
17,06,322
2,61,03,443
Skins.
United Kingdom
Austria-Hungary
Belgium
..•
France
Germany
Holland
Italy
United States
Arabia
Ceylon
China — Hong-kong
Japan
Persia
Russia in Asia
Straits Settlements
Australia
TOTAL
4,326
61
'43
3,029
1,996
344
1,207
84,887
i
71
206
29
38
28
43
I
96,410
3,91,073
3,950
12,665
1,89,447
1,19,167
2i,33o
47,837
93,56,753
60
3,075
24,822
2,957
1,950
1,550
2,788
45
1,01,79,489
Bengal
Bombay
...
Sind
,.,
Madras
...
Burma
TOTAL
91,998
757
2,584
1,071
...
96,410
99,52,960
37,506
1,28,392
60,481
150
1,01,79,489
CHAP. XIV. 1
India enforced in other countries.
419
Countries
concerned in the
trade.
The export of hides is principally to Germany which took more
than a third of the total exports in 1895-96. In the same year the
United Kingdom took rather more than a sixth, Italy rather less
than a ninth, France a little over a tenth, and the United States
between a seventh and an eighth of the total exports. The shipments
of skins are mainly to the United States which received more than
ninth-tenths of the total exports in 1895-96.
Restrictive
measures.
The restrictive measures imposed on the export trade in hides
from India were the subject of considerable discussion. The trade
was at first regarded as specially dangerous by the foreign coun-
Germany, France
and Italy.
tries concerned, and Germany, France and Italy prohibited the
importation of hides from India. The wording of the French Re-
gulation on the subject referred only to arrivals from infected ports,
but it is believed that for a time the prohibition against all Indian
hides was absolute.
Protest of the
Calcutta
merchants.
At the instance of the Calcutta merchants interested in the
trade, the Bengal Chamber of Commerce addressed the Government
of India on the subject of the restrictions. The merchants pointed out
that the prohibition occasioned grave inconvenience and loss, and that
the stoppage of the trade from Calcutta appeared to be altogether
unnecessary. In the first place the port of Calcutta was not infected
and hides from infected districts did not come there. In the next place,
the hides are all shipped in a perfectly dry condition. A small
portion of them are cured and known as " dry salted," and the bulk
are carefully cleansed before being dried and immersed in a bath of
solution of arsenic whereby any germs are effectually destroyed.
The Calcutta Medical Board expressed a confident opinion that
the arsenical process cannot fail to destroy all germs and spores of
germs,
Relaxation of
the restrictions.
The Government of India communicated the circumstances to the
Secretary of State in a telegram, dated the 5th February, and stated
that it was presumed that the matter would be discussed by the Venice
Conference. Subsequently all three Governments materially relaxed the :
stringency of their regulation. In March France permitted the import- 1
ation of arsenicated and dry salted hides for India. The regulations
France
issued by the French Government under the Venice Convention permit ]
the importation of raw hides and untanned skins, but require them to
be disinfected if they come directly or indirectly from an infected
locality. In issuing regulations in conformity with the Venice Conven-
ItaJy,
tion the Italian Government exercised the option of prohibiting the
importation of raw hides and skins from infected ports, but permitted
the importation from other ports, provided the goods are accompanied
420
Regulations against arrivals from
[CHAP. XIV.
Germany,
by a medical certificate and certificate of origin. In March the
German Government admitted hides from non-infected ports, provided
they were compressed in air-tight bales and prepared for transport in
or near the port of departure. Later in the same month the pro-
hibition against dry salted and arsenicated hides was confined to
consignment from infected ports, and in May the importation of
untanned air-dried hides, known in the trade as " kips," was admitted
unconditionally. The revised list of prohibited articles published by
the German Government on the 6th September contains no prohibi-
tion against the import of any sort of hides or skins.
Raw wool.
Raw wool is a staple article of Bombay and Karachi trade repre-
senting a yearly value of more than a crore of rupees. The following
statement shows for the year 1895-96 the value of the trade with the
different countries and the share of each presidency or province
in it :—
Countries to which
exported.
United Kingdom...
Austria-Hungary ...
Belgium
...
France
•..
Germany
Italy
Egypt
United States
Japan
...
Straits Settlements
TOTAL
Quantity.
Ibs.
30,132,686
11,830
33,600
383,208
6,636
133
21,429
79,125
365,511
7,620
31,041,778
Value.
Rs.
1,31,03,356
5,012
16,000
1,84,600
1,8 1 2
55
2,167
24,900
2,12,311
869
1,35,51,082
SHARE OF EACH PRESIDENCY OR PROVINCE.
Presidency or
Province.
Bombay
,..
Sind
...
Bengal
Madras
TOTAL
Quantity.
lbs.
16,968,012
10,240,069
3,231,033
602,664
31,041,778
Value.
Rs.
79,93,608
44,28,063
10,53,570
75,341
1,35,51,082
The trade with the United Kingdom is by far the most important.
France and Japan are the only other countries which receive any con-
siderable amount.
CHAP. XIV. ]
India enforced in other countries.
421
United
Kingdom.
The possibility of the infection being carried from India to
England in wool formed the subject of considerable discussion dur-
ing the Bombay epidemic. Anxiety was expressed by British manu-
facturers lest plague contagion should be brought to England in bales
of wool. The wool exported from Bombay is received from Raj putaña,
Joria, Kathiawar, Ahmedabad, the Persian Gulf, and Kashmir.
It is mostly picked, cleaned and pressed in the native town of Bom-
bay, only a small part being cleaned up-country. The pressed bales
are sometimes shipped at once and sometimes kept in the godowns
for weeks. The wool exported from Karachi is washed in cold water
and picked by hand by coolies in Karachi, and is then taken to
presses and shipped. After discussion with the Government of
Bombay and the persons interested in the wool trade it was not
found possible to devise means to specially preserve the wool from
the possibility of infection or to disinfect it, which would not amount
to practical prohibition of the trade. The authorities in the United
Kingdom were advised that there was not evidence to show that dan-
ger existed through the arrival of bales of wool from ports in which
plague existed, and it was not considered necessary to prohibit their
importation. It is a most noteworthy fact that from the 1st October
1896 to the 28th February 1897 ten million pounds of wool were
exported from Bombay and Karachi to the United Kingdom, and
that, so far as is known, no cases of plague occurred among the
classes dealing with or using this Indian wool. From the end of
February the export of wool from Bombay to England continued and
without, so far as is known, causing a single case of plague.
France.
In France orders issued in March especially prohibiting the
importation of wool from infected ports. The regulations framed by the
French Government under the Venice Convention permit the importa-
tion of wool, but require both the raw and manufactured article to
be disinfected if it arrives directly from an infected port.
Silk.
The silk trade is centred in Bengal, and the value exported from
Bombay and Sind is trifling. In 1895-96 France took more than
one-half of the total value of the export, the United Kingdom received
rather less than one-third, and Italy, which comes next, took only
No restrictive
measures.
about one-fourteenth. Neither the United Kingdom, France nor Italy
issued any restrictive orders with respect to the import of raw silk.
General
regulations
issued by
Foreign
Governments.
Having noticed in detail the treatment accorded to the three
staple articles of the Indian export trade which appear in the
" susceptible list " of the Venice Convention, it remains to notice
the general regulation with respect to merchandise from India issued
from time to time in different countries.
422
Regulations against arrivals from
[ CHAP. XtV.
Statistics of the
export trade to
Europe.
The following statement shows the value (in lakhs of rupees)
of the exports of Indian merchandise to the different European coun-
tries during the year 1895-96 :—
United Kingdom
...
,..
France ...
,.,
Germany
...
...
Belgium ...
...
.,,
Austria-Hungary
...
...
Italy
...
...
.,,
Other countries
.,,
,„
in
,,,
...
...
...
...
...
TOTAL
... 35,00
... 8,66
... 8,05
...
3,94
...
3,34
3,12
1,55
... 63,66
Restrictions in
European
countries.
In the United Kingdom no restrictions were enforced against
goods arriving from India. The following is the purport of the
orders issued in France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, and Austria-
Hungary with respect to goods other than the three articles already
discussed.
France.
* January 19th.—Importation of the following articles from in-
fected ports prohibited : Cotton and other rags, body linen, personal
effects and used clothing and bedding (except when carried as
personal baggage), animal matter and refuse, claws and hoofs.
January 28th.—The landing of all goods from infected ports
prohibited at Mediterranean ports.
March 18th.—Importation of rags, animal refuse and wool pro-
hibited. Oilseeds, carpets and coprah admitted after disinfection.
Steamers with interdicted cargo for English ports permitted to dis-
charge other cargo in quarantine.
April 16th.—Regulations based on the Venice Sanitary Conven-
tion :—
(i) Importation of the following articles coming directly or
indirectly from infected localities prohibited : Rags, animal
refuse, claws and hoofs.
(ii) The transit trade in the same articles prohibited if involving
unloading or handling.
(iii) Raw and manufactured wool coming directly from an
infected locality admitted after disinfection. Used and
unused body linen, personal effects, clothing and bedding,
raw hides and untanned skins, coming directly or in-
directly from an infected locality admitted after dis-
infection.
* Dates only approximate.
CHAP. XIV.]
India enforced in other countries.
423
(iv) Vessels carrying articles named in (iii) only permitted to
enter the ports of Marseilles, Pauillac, Saint-Nazarre,
Havre and Dunkirk.
(v) Bales containing articles named in (i) to (iii) coming from
infected ports in the West Coast of India only admitted
if accompanied by a certificate of origin.
Italy.
December.—Importation of horsehair, animals and portions of
animals, and rags prohibited.
May 8th.—Importation prohibited of all articles included in the
" susceptible " list of the Venice Convention, coming directly or
indirectly from an infected locality, except raw silk, old sacking,
carpets and old embroidery. Interdicted goods coming from a healthy
port to be accompanied by a medical certificate and certificate of
origin.
Belgium.
January 8th.—Under the royal decree of July 1895 the import-
ation from infected localities of rags and linen, clothing, personal
effects and bedding prohibited. Exception made in the case of
compressed rags conveyed in bales as merchandise and certain mer-
cantile waste products not liable to contamination.
February 6th and 17th.—Importation of the following articles
forbidden even in transit : (i) hides (except salted green hides
treated with arsenic), hoofs, animal refuse, etc. ; (2) used or unused
wearing apparel and bedding ; (3) carpets, woollen goods, silk stuffs ;
(4) small articles of retail trade likely to be contaminated ; (5) bottles
of liquor and perfumes, imported retail ; (6) dress goods, drill, etc.,
when not compressed in bales ; (7) all animal and vegetable textile
and similar products if not packed in pressed bales and bound with
hoops. The prohibition was subject to the proviso that all the
articles except those numbered (1) and (5) might be admitted after
disinfection at Doël. Raw wool in pressed bales and dress goods
and drill stuffs packed in pressed bales were admitted in transit, but
not for sale in Belgium.
April 5th.—Importation from an infected locality of all the
articles included in the " susceptible " list prohibited. Provided that
exemption may be granted by ministerial decree in the case of raw
wool, raw hides and untanned skins, and certain classes of rags and
carpets, subject to any precautions that may be prescribed with respect
to packing, disinfection, etc. The transit of the interdicted articles
is permitted if they are packed in such a manner that they cannot be
handled on the way. A certificate of origin may be required in the
424
Regulations against arrivals from
[CHAP. XIV.
case of articles on the interdicted list coming from an infected
locality.
Germany.
February 8th.—Importation of the following articles from India
prohibited : used bed and body linen, rags, old clothes, carpets, human
hair, bristles, hair of animals, wool, claws and hoofs.
September 6th.—Importation of the following articles only pro-
hibited : used body and bed linen, old clothes, rags.
Austria-Hungary.
February 12th.—-Importation of the following articles from
India prohibited : rags, trotters, unwashed and old clothes, used bed
linen, old carpets, covers, bed furniture.
March 11th.—Importation of the following articles prohibited:
raw skins and hides, bones, horns, hoofs, trotters, animal offal, hair
and brushes.
Other European Countries.
Malta.
Spain.
It would be wearisome to state in detail the restrictions on the
importation and transit of merchandise imposed in the remaining
European countries. The regulations are summarised in the appen-
dix to this chapter and in general prohibit (with or without qualifica-
tions) the import of articles that it is deemed may have come into
contact with plague patients, or which are derived from animals.
The following special points may however be noticed : Malta pro-
hibited the import of jute goods and cotton seeds ; Spain of wool, silk,
Portugal.
linen, hemp and jute ; Portugal of patterns and postal parcels, vege-
tables and manufactured cotton, hemp, wool, linen and silk goods.
Bulgaria and
Roumania.
In Bulgaria the importation of all merchandise from India was
at one time prohibited. Subsequently rice was admitted from Rangoon
Jute sacks.
and jute sacks from Calcutta, in the latter case after disinfection.
Roumania also prescribed the disinfection of jute sacks coming from
healthy ports, and prohibited the introduction of old printed papers.
Russia.
The Russian regulations required the exterior packing of tea
chests to be disinfected. All other goods were permitted to enter
without disinfection unless it was believed that they might have
come into contact with plague patients, when the exterior packing
or a superficial layer of goods might be disinfected. On the 1oth
March information was received by the Government of India that
Indian tea at
Batoum.
the importation of Indian tea to Batoum had been prohibited.
The Indian Tea Association urged that the prohibition should be
withdrawn, on the ground that it would have a very serious effect
CHÄP. XIV.]
India, enforced in other countries.
425
on the tea trade, and that it was quite unnecessary. Indian tea is
not grown or manufactured in or near the plague-infected area, and
the tea shipped from Bombay is carried there in chests and is not
at all a dangerous article. Enquiry was made from the Russian
Government and it was ascertained that no prohibition against the
Importation of Indian tea was in existence, and that the prescribed
process of disinfection, which was only applied to the outer coverings
of the chests, could not possibly cause any injury to the tea.
Asia,
Export trade
to Asiatic
countries.
The following is a statement of the value of the exports of Indian
merchandise (in lakhs of rupees) to different Asiatic countries during
the year 1895-96 : —
Hong-kong-
, c ,
,..
Strails Settlements ...
„.
Treaty ports of China
...
Ceylon ...
...
ïapan
O 1
•'•
•«»
oo*
0«B
Arabia ...
Aden
...
,.„
Persia ...
Turkey ...
Other countries
...
TOTAL
8,10
5,85
5,68
3.50
2,79
85
76
61
51
64
29,29
Ceylon.
From the beginning of the epidemic the Government of Ceylon
prohibited the introduction of articles likely to be infected, and on the
19th February followed the Government of India in prohibiting the
introduction from infected localities of rags, used apparel, bedding,
waste paper, and used gunny bags. In adopting the regulations of the
Venice Convention the Ceylon Government prohibited the entry and
transhipment of all " susceptible " goods coming directly or indirectly
from the West Coast of India.
Persia.
Muscat,
Persia prohibited the importation of quilts, mattresses, blankets,
skins, rags, cotton waste, and second-hand clothing. In Muscat
the landing of rags and cotton waste, and other articles considered
dangerous was prohibited. The entry into the Netherlands India of
Netherlands
India.
the following articles coming from Bombay or Karachi was prohibited :
butter, victuals, rags, raw wool, hair, hides, and furriery. The Gov-
ernment of India were not informed that any restrictive regulations
China.
•were imposed at Hong-Kong or the treaty ports of China.
54
426
Regulations against arrivals from
[ CHAP. XIV.
India enforced in other countries.
Africa.
Export trade
to Africa.
The following is a statement of the export trade in Indian pro-
ducts to Africa during the year 1895-96 (value expressed in lakhs of
rupees) :—•
Egypt ,,,
Mauritius
...
...
...
...
East Coast
,,,
...
...
Cape Colony
...
.,.
,,,
,,,
Natal
Abyssinia
..,
,,,
,.,
,,,
Réunion
...
...
,,,
,,.
Other countries
...
,.,
,.,
.,,
TOTAL
...
5,17
1,09
73
35
24
21
19
5
8,03
Egypt.
In Egypt the importation of the following articles was forbid-
den: rags, carpets, embroideries, body linen, personal effects, used
garments and bedding (when not carried as baggage), animal pro-
ducts (including horsehair and raw wool), claws, hoofs, sacking,
plants, roots, and fresh and dried fruits.
Runion.
Réunion refused to allow the importation of rice from any Indian
port,
CHAPTER XV.
THE PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA.
The suspension of the pilgrimage from India.
The pilgrimage
to the Hedjaz.
The annual pilgrimage of the Muhammadans to the Hedjaz is
timed so that the pilgrims maybe present at Mecca at the great
ceremony of the Haj, which begins on the ninth day of the month of
Zil-Haj. On the tenth clay is the general Muhammadan festival of the
Bakra-ld. The month of Zil-Haj being a lunar month, the date of
the festival gradually shifts through the calendar months making the
circuit of the solar year in thirty-six years. In 1897 the Haj began
on the 11th of May. Some of the pilgrims from India leave many
months before the date of the festival, but the bulk of the pilgrim ships
sail for the Hedjaz about two months before the beginning of the
Haj. Bombay is the usual port of departure, but pilgrims sometimes
sail from Calcutta and more rarely from Karachi.
Alarm
experienced in
Europe lest the
plague should be
spread by
pilgrims.
In the beginning of January, when the departure of pilgrims had
already commenced, considerable alarm was experienced in European
countries lest the infection of plague should be carried from India
to the Hedjaz and thence into Europe. Egypt discouraged intending
pilgrims from going to Mecca, France interdicted her Muhammadan
subjects from making the pilgrimage, and Russia and Austria expres-
sed grave uneasiness. Russia subsequently forbade the pilgrimage.
The infected
ports of Bombay
and Karachi
closed to the
pilgrim traffic.
It was apprehended that unless steps were taken to allay the
fears of the European Government, stringent regulations might be
issued against all arrivals from India. In these circumstances the
Government of India, although they were reluctant to close the
infected ports to prilgrim ships, as this course could not fail to
occasion inconvenience and concern to the Muhammadans of India,
considered that the condition of affairs in Bombay and Karachi made
it imperative to direct that these places should not for the time being
be used as a rendezvous for pilgrims, and this view was shared by the
Government of Bombay. Instructions were therefore sent to the
Government of Bombay in accordance with which they issued a
notification declaring that the ports of Bombay and Karachi should
not, from the 1st February and until further orders, be ports from
which pilgrim ships might depart or proceed as provided for in section
7 (1) of the Pilgrim Ships Act, XIV of 1895. Wide publicity to this
decision was given through Local Governments and Administrations
and the Political Officers of the Government of India at the different
Native States, as well as through the public press and by means of
notices published at all the principal railway stations. The Government