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4. Accordingly Government Resolution No. 883—351, dated February
17th, 1897, provided for the inspection, by Medical officers appointed for the pur-
pose, of all persons arriving at any bandar from the direction of Bombay, and of
persons who intended to start from any bandars. Powers of detention were also
given and both examination and detention were in case of necessity to be enforced
by the Police,
5. On February 25th the Commissioner, Northern Division, forwarded a
new set of rules to deal with the same class of travellers, prepared on the basis of
drafts submitted by the Collector of Ahniedabad and the Assistant Collector of
Salt. The former officer said that similar rules were already in force at Bháv-
nagar and Porbandar. The Commissioner said :
"It is likely that as the inspection o£ travellers by land becomes stricter the danger by
coasting sea-craft will increase, and it should be anticipated by some well-considered arrange-
ments.
"The practical difficulty is that a Medical officer is not available at all the ports and cannot
possibly be obtained. Things may however come to such a pass that the examination or in-
spection of a boat by a non-professional officer may be better than none at all, and if it comes
to this, I would propose to appoint as plague authorities the Port officers, though they may not
be of the rank of Sir Kárkúns. They would be supplied with Dr. Childe's directions to laymen
for recognising the existence of the plague."
The following rules under the Act were therefore issued on March 6th, and
Commissioners of Divisions were empowered to apply them to any ports in the
Bombay Presidency, reporting their action to Government in each case :
Under Act III of 1897 the Governor in Council is pleased to prescribe the following rules
and to authorize the Commissioners of Divisions to apply them, as a temporary measure, to any
ports in the Bombay Presidency, reporting to Government from time to time the ports to
which he has applied them :
(1) Any vessel., except ferry boats (to which the rules of Government Resolution No. 883
—351-p., dated 17th February 1897, apply) arriving at a port shall anchor at a place fixed for
such purpose, and the passengers and crew shall be examined before she is granted entry
inwards and is allowed to land passengers or cargo.
(2) If any of the passengers or crew are found by the Plague authority to be plague-
stricken, the patient or patients shall be removed to the nearest segregated hospital, and the
vessel shall be made to proceed to the place set apart for the anchorage of such vessel. Such
vessels shall not communicate with the shore or land or receive cargo for the period of eight
days. Provisions, &c., shall be sent to her under directions from the Port Officer or other officer
appointed for the purpose by the Commissioner of the Division, and shall be passed up the side
in receptacles which shall not be received back.
(3) If no further plague case occurs on board during such period of eight days she may
receive pratique. If other cases occur, the course directed in Rule (2) shall be followed for a
further period of eight days respectively. The vessel shall not receive pratique, or communicate
with the shore or receive cargo or receive provisions otherwise than as directed in Rule (2)
until after the lapse of eight days from the occurrence of the last case.
(4) If a vessel arrives with a case of simple fever on board, the above rules shall apply to
her, but the detention shall be for a period of four days, subsequent to which, if no plague
cases develope, she may be granted entry inwards.
(5) If a place on shore suitable for the segregated accommodation of passengers is avail-
able, the passengers from vessels treated as above may be removed to the same and placed there
under observation instead of being detained on board.
(6) Cargo unloaded from vessels which have been quarantined on account of ascertained
or suspected plague on board shall be removed by the consignee to a place set aparb for the
purpose and exposed to the sun for a period of three days, or in the case of cargo which may
have become damp until such further period as may be necessary to thoroughly dry it, after
which it may be taken possession of by the consignee.
(7) Bedding, rags, &c., may not be landed from vessels aforesaid, and if landed, shall be
destroyed.
(8) Piece-goods aud other articles liable to carry infection brought by vessels aforesaid
shall be fumigated or otherwise disinfected before being carried away by the consignee.
(9) Any grain brought to the port and landed from any vessel and found by a Magistrate
to be unfit for human consumption shall be destroyed.
(10) Any port may be declared to be an infected port by the District Magistrate.
Vessels arriving from such ports, even if no case of plague has occurred on board, shall not be
granted entry inwards unless or until eight clear days have elapsed from the date of her depar-
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