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4. In forwarding these papers to Government, the Honourable Mr. J. K.
Spence, Commissioner, Central Division, made the following remarks :—
"It will be seen that Surgeon-Captain Beveridge considers that the measures hitherto
taken have been absolutely useless, and there can be little doubt that he is right. The
figures given by Mr. Rand show that the disease is quite as virulent and widespread as it is
in Bombay, and that the official returns of plague seizures and deaths are utterly unreliable.
Surgeon-Captain Beveridge recommends thorough and effectual house-to-house visitation
under European supervision, the assistance of military volunteers being obtained for the
purpose ; the removal of the dead and diseased ; thorough disinfection of affected houses and
property, and absolute segregation of healthy inmates of infected houses.
Mr. Rand agrees with Surgeon-Captain Beveridge, and in addition proposes certain
rules under the Act which will considerably extend his own powers. In addition to military
aid for search parties Mr. Rand asks for military assistance for police purposes. He also
asks for funds and that the Commissioned Medical Officers working under him should be
gazetted as Magistrates in order to be able to call for military aid.
I am quite in accord with all the proposals made, and would recommend that they
should be sanctioned, but I would go even further."
5. The additional proposal of the Commissioner was that a military cordon
should be placed round the whole city to prevent the inundation of the district
by plague-stricken fugitives.
" Unless some such system," the letter continues, " is carried out, I am convinced it
will only be a question of time for the disease to attack every large town in the Presidency.
As Surgeon-Captain Beveridge says, we should be following the disease instead of getting
in front of it and driving it back, and unless it is eradicated or at least suppressed before
the rains commence, when segregation in leaking huts will be impossible, it is difficult to
foretell the calamitous results that will surely ensue."
6. At the same time Mr. R. A. Lamb, Collector of Poona, proposed that
similar action should be simultaneously taken in the cantonments. He said :—
" Otherwise the latter will be flooded by refugees from the former, bringing the plague
with them. To take this measure the use of soldiers is needed, because the men are avail-
able, they are disciplined, and they can be relied on to be thorough and honest in their
inspection, while no native agency is available, or could be relied on if it were,
I trust I may be pardoned if I add that the matter is very urgent. Owing to conceal-
ment of cases -plague is spreading in Poona City to an alarming extent, and there is every
likelihood of the cases in Poona Cantonment (which adjoins the city) being far more numer-
ous than are reported, and becoming vastly more numerous if the concealment of cases be
not promptly dealt with. There is no means of dealing with it effectively (and if not dealt
with effectively it would be as well to cease from attempts to combat the plague) except by
a strong disciplined and trustworthy agency. Such agency is to be found in the military
alone."
7. In describing the situation at this time, Mr. W.C. Rand in the report
drafted before his murder remarked :
"The state of the city was one of panic. A large proportion of the leading men of the
place had already left or were preparing to leave Poona ou account of the outbreak. Several
of the Municipal Commissioners and Honorary Magistrates were among the deserters. The
majority of the Gujaráti and Márwádi traders (who have the grain trade entirely in their
hands) were closing their shops and returning to their native countries. The mass of the
people were, as a natural consequence of their ignorance, opposed to segregation either of
the sick or of apparently healthy persons who had been exposed to infection. Most of the
influential men left in the town declared themselves in favour of the principle of segrega-
tion, but their ideas on the subject were generally crude, and few, if any, of them were recon-
ciled to the application of it to persons of their own position in life. Another fact to be
reckoned with was that a section of the Brahmin community, including some of the most
influential men in the city, were disinclined to support any measures that emanated from
an official source, and were more likely than not to work against any operations that might
be set on foot by Government to deal with the emergency.
Another important factor, too, in the situation was the state of the labour market.
Many labourers were leaving the town on account of the epidemic, and owing to the panic
that prevailed those who remained could not be relied on to work regularly, especially if
there was an element of danger in the work to be done. It was difficult, therefore, to carry
on lime washing and other measures of disinfection on a large scab with private labour.
Under these circumstances it would have been unsafe to attempt to carry out any extensive
operations against the plague without a disciplined and reliable agency. It was of the
utmost importance to crush the epidemic with the least possible delay, both to stay the