NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
398
-
Staff.
[ CHAP. XIII.
decided in September that retrospective effect should not be given
to this order in the case of those Assistant Surgeons who had
been granted an allowance of Rs. 100 a month by the Bombay
Municipality.
In a letter to the Director General, Indian Medical Service, No.
496, dated the 19th May, the Government of India sanctioned the
employment of persons of the Civil Assistant Surgeon class, at the
following rates of remuneration :—
(a) Pay at the rate of Rs. 100 a month.
(b) Special allowance of Rs. 2 a day.
(c) Travelling allowance to and from the place to which the
officer was posted.
Military Assistant Surgeons.—In a letter (No. 236, dated the
2oth March) addressed to the Director General, Indian Medical
Service, the Government of India sanctioned the grant of daily
deputation allowance to Military Assistant Surgeons employed on
plague duty at the following rates :—-
On pay exceeding Rs. 150
On pay not exceeding Rs. 150
Rs.
••«
...
3
2
It was subsequently represented that these allowances were
inadequate, since the officers would receive little or no extra
remuneration if they lost the charge or other special allowances which
they were drawing at the time of their deputation. Accordingly, in
the month of August the Government of India stated that the Assist-
ant Surgeons should be entitled to receive, in addition to the
deputation allowance, any acting, or charge, or house allowance,
which they were drawing at the time of their deputation, and which
they would have continued to draw but for the deputation.
Retired Military Assistant Surgeons.—The temporary employ-
ment of retired Military Assistant Surgeons for plague duty was
sanctioned by orders contained in letter No. 548, dated the 18th
February 1897, to the Director General, Indian Medial Service, on
the condition that candidates should present a medical certificate of
physical fitness. The officers so appointed were to be allowed the
pay of their grade at the time of retirement, with an allowance of
Rs. 100 a month, provided that their salary, inclusive of pension,
did not exceed a maximum of Rs, 350 a month. The Director
General, Indian Medical Service, subsequently represented that some
of these medical subordinates were very experienced officers and before
retirement had been in receipt, as Civil Medical Officers, of Rs. 700
CHAP. XIII.]
Staff.
399
a month besides Jail and other allowances, and that they received
pensions of Rs. 200 a month. The extra Rs. 150 a month would,
therefore, not be a sufficient inducement to them to undertake the
hard work which plague and famine duty involved. The suggestion
of the Director General, Indian Medical Service, that Local Govern-
ments and Administrations should be authorised to raise the limit
to Rs. 500 a month in special cases, was accepted by the Govern-
ment of India, and orders were issued accordingly in circular letter
No. 339—48, dated the 21st April 1897.
Civil Hospital Assistants.—The Government of India sanctioned
the grant of an allowance of annas 8 a day to Civil Hospital Assistants
employed on plague duty in a circular letter of the 29th March (No.
II-sanitary/1154-1160). In the case of Madras Hospital Assistants, the Local
Government considered that an allowance of Rs. 10 a month was
sufficient, and in an order of the 5th February they had sanctioned
payment at this rate. The matter was left to the discretion of the
Government of Madras.
In May the Government of Bombay represented that until the
issue of the orders of the Government of India on the subject, Hospital
Assistants employed on plague duty in that Presidency had been per-
mitted to draw an allowance of Rs. 25 a month. The question
whether the allowance of annas 8 a day should be increased was
then considered, and the Director General, Indian Medical Service,
expressed the opinion that the Hospital Assistants who had been
most strenuous and fearless in the discharge of their duty were
entitled to a higher remuneration than those who had performed their
duties without showing particular zeal. The Government of India,
while recognising the necessity of giving some extra remuneration in
addition to that already sanctioned to the Hospital Assistants employed
in Bombay, were at first disposed to think that the additional remunera-
tion should not be in the shape of enhanced monthly allowances,
especially since the epidemic appeared at that time to have practically
come to an end. It was the opinion of the Government of India that
the most appropriate way to reward the more deserving Hospital
Assistants in the Bombay Presidency would be to grant them a lump
sum by way of bonus. The Government of Bombay considered, how-
ever, that there would be great practical difficulties in making distinc-
tions between the value of the services of different men, and if all were
to be treated on the same footing and all were to be given remunera-
tion, which the Governor in Council believed to have been earned,
there would be no advantage in calling the payment a bonus. More-
over, it was pointed out that the bonus would not be payable until
the conclusion of the plague duty, whereas if the allowances were
400
Staff.
[CHAP. XIII,
increased the officers would have the advantage of drawing it month
by month. In view of these reasons, and also in view of the facts
that an allowance of Rs. 25 a month had been drawn under the orders
of the Government of Bombay, before the rates had been fixed by the
Government of India, and that the plague had not ceased, the Govern-
ment of India in September 1897, accepted the proposal of the Govern-
ment of Bombay, and sanctioned the payment of an allowance of
Rs. 25 a month to all Hospital Assistants employed on plague duty in
the Bombay Presidency.
Military Hospital Assistants.—In letter No. 236, dated the 25th
March, to the Director General, Indian Medical Service, the Govern-
ment of India sanctioned a daily deputation allowance of annas 8 to
Military Hospital Assistants employed on plague duty. As in the case
of Civil Hospital Assistants, the officers employed in the Bombay
Presidency were grained Rs. 25 a month instead of the lower rate.
Military Hospital Assistants were permitted to draw, in addition
to the deputation allowance, grain compensation allowance under the
Indian Army Regulations, Volume I, Part II (letter No. 455, dated
the 11th May).
Military Staff.
Work of the
Military
staff.
The utility of the special work done by the military in various
plague centres in the Bombay Presidency and the zealous and
satisfactory manner in which that duty was performed have been
described in previous chapters of this report.
Sanitary and
guard duty.
The duties performed by the military were classed by the Gov-
ernment of India into two main divisions : (a) Sanitary duty, i.e.,
disinfecting, scavenging, superintending, and house-to-house visita-
tion ; and (b) Guard duty.
Tabular
statement of the
Military staff.
The following statement shows the total force employed :—
On sanitary duty.
British Officers
...
...
Native
Officers
...
...
Non-Commissioned Officers and men
TOTAL
British Army.
26
...
579
...
Native Army.
19
16
1,038
...
TOTAL.
45
16
1,617
1,678
CHAP. XIII. ]
Staff.
401
On Guard Duty,
Native Officers
...
,,.
.,.
...
...
Non-Commissioned Officers and men
...
...
...
TOTAL ...
GRAND TOTAL ...
5
571
576
2,254
All these troops were employed in the Bombay Presidency with
the exception of a few men employed on guard duty at the railway
inspection station of Sibi in Baluchistan.
Remunera-
tion of the
Military Staff.
The Bombay Government at first sanctioned rates of pay which
differed in different parts of the Presidency for these troops.
Subsequently the whole matter was considered by the Government of
India, who issued General Orders on the subject to the Govern-
ment of Bombay (letter No. 673, dated the 26th June). A copy
of these orders was forwarded to other Local Governments
and Administrations. The following was the substance of the
orders :—
Guard duty being an ordinary military duty which any body
of troops may be called upon to carry out, the Governor General
in Council was of opinion that no allowances were admissible for
its performance.
Sanitary duty, on the other hand, was considered to be an
unusual one and to be disagreeable and dangerous. His Excellency
in Council was therefore of opinion that the officers and men who had
been called upon to execute it should receive adequate remuneration.
In those cases where the same troops were occupied on both sorts of
duties at the same time, it was left to the discretion of the Local
Government to decide, on the merits of the case, whether or not the
allowances should be granted.
The following allowances were sanctioned for the performance of
sanitary duties :—
(1) Combatant British officers—the same rate as that admis-
sible to officers employed on famine duty under Article
101 of the Civil Service Regulations, namely, Rs. 300 a
month for officers of over five years' service, and Rs. 200
a month for officers of under five years' service.
(2) British non-commissioned officers—Re. 1 a day and .6 annas
a day extra ration money.*
(3) British privates—12 annas a day and 6 annas a day extra
ration money.
* The extra ration money was granted under a later order,
51
402
Staff.
[CHAP, XIII.
(4) Native officers—Re. 1-8 a day.
(5) Native non-commissioned officers—12 annas a day.
(6) Sepoys—8 annas a day.
It was directed that, from the date of issue of these orders, allow-
ances at the above rates were to be substituted for the allowances
which were being paid under the orders of the Government of
Bombay. In cases where no allowances had hitherto been paid,
these orders were applied retrospectively with effect from the date
on which the troops were employed on sanitary duty.
In August 1897, on the representation of the Government of
Bombay, the Government of India confirmed the orders of the Local
Government of June 1897, sanctioning the payment of compensation
for wear and tear of clothing to the British and Native troops and
transport followers employed on plague duty in Bombay, at the
following rates per man :—
British troops
Native „
...
Transport followers
Rs.
15
...
...
...
...
10
5
Grant of Conveyance Allowances.
In some cases the execution of plague duties in particular loca-
lities entailed a considerable amount of moving about within a
small area and necessitated the maintenance of equipage or the
frequent hiring of vehicles. To repay the officers for the expenditure
thus incurred, conveyance allowances were from time to time
sanctioned. The following is a list of conveyances sanctioned by the
Government of India during the first period of the epidemic :—
Officers.
Military Member of the Poona Plague Committee
...
Deputy Sanitary Commissioner, Bombay
...
...
City Magistrate, Poona
...
...
...
...
Special Plague Mamlatdar, Poona District
...
...
Monthly
allowance,
Rs.
l00
100
50
45
CHAP. XIII.]
Staff.
403
Staff of the establishment of the Health Officer of the Port of
Bombay—
Health Officers...
Additional Health Officers ...
Commissioned Medical Officers
...
...
...
Assistant Surgeons
...
...
...
...
Hospital Assistants
...
,,.
...
75
75
50
30
15
Pensions for the Widows and Children of deceased
Police Officers.
Application
made by the
• overnment of
Bombay.
In March 1897, the Government of Bombay brought to the notice
of the Government of India that it had been reported to them that
the police employed on plague duty might possibly desert unless
some provision was made by the Government for the widows and chil-
dren of such as might die of plague contracted in the execution of
their duty, and they added that in dealing with the existing problem
one of the difficulties which confronted them was the fear of the
disease entertained by the Police—a fear which sprang not merely
from a natural anxiety as to their personal safety, but also from the
knowledge that if they fell victims to the pestilence, their widows and
families would be left unprovided for and in many cases destitute.
These apprehensions, said the Government of Bombay, could neither
be wondered at nor condemned, and the Government had to deal
with the fact that any serious defection among the members of the
force would bring to a standstill the measures most necessary for
the suppression of the plague. It was added that of the actual
mortality among the police, statistics were not then available, except
for the City of Bombay, where 57 members of the force had died of
the plague, the infection having been contracted, in most cases, in
the performance of special duties in connection with this disease.
Their widows and children, who were left destitute, naturally turned
to the State for aid, and the Government of Bombay could give
them no other answer than that their claims are inadmissible. The
effect on the morale of the police still employed on plague duty
could not, it was said, but be disastrous, and, in the opinion of the Gov-
ernor in Council, it was not to be expected that the men should, under
these conditions, continue faithfully and cheerfully to perform the
duties which they were required to discharge, in the absence of
some special concession suitable to the nature of the special risks
they had to incur. For these reasons the Governor in Council
expressed his earnest hope that the Government of India would
404
Staff.
[ CHAP. XIII.
be pleased to empower the Government of Bombay to grant suitable
pensions to the widows and children of police officers who had met or
might meet their death through plague contracted in the discharge of
their duties in localities where the presence of the plague threw
special work on the police.
Instructions
issued by the
Government
of India.
The Government of India accepted the view of the Government of
Bombay and stated that they were willing that police officers who had
met or should meet death through plague, contracted in the discharge of
duties connected with the plague, should be considered as killed in the
execution of duty attended with extraordinary bodily risk within the
meaning of Articles 781 and 782 of the Civil Service Regulations, and
authorised the Government of Bombay to act on this interpretation.
This concession enabled pensions to be granted to the widows and
children of the deceased police officers,
CHAPTER XIV,
REGULATIONS AGAINST ARRIVALS FROM
INDIA ENFORCED IN OTHER COUNTRIES.
General Remarks.
Summary of
regulations.
In Appendix XI a summary is given of the regulations pres-
cribed from time to time in other countries with a view to prevent the
infection of plague being introduced by vessels, persons and mer-
chandise arriving from India. When the outbreak first became
Alarm in
Europe.
virulent in India, the alarm experienced in Europe and other parts of
the world was very great, and in some cases the restrictions imposed
on intercourse with this country were both antiquated and exceedingly
onerous. The terrible history of former plague epidemics has left a
deep impression throughout Europe and Western Asia, and the panic
experienced on the discovery that one of the important commercial
centres of the world was infected with the disease cannot be a
matter for surprise. In the end wiser and more moderate counsels
prevailed. Eminent and trusted scientific authorities demon-
strated that, with the improved sanitary conditions and the more
advanced scientific methods that now exist, the position was com-
pletely changed, and that the extreme alarm that had been experi-
Venice Sanitary
Conference.
enced was to a large extent without foundation. The Sanitary Con-
ference which assembled at Venice then drew up a set of regulations,
accepted by the delegates of most of the principal States of Europe,
which prescribed precautionary measures for the countries in which
the disease existed and for countries in connection with them, based
on approved scientific principles and calculated to prevent the
spread of disease without disastrous interruption of trade and com-
munication.
406
Regulations against arrivals from
[CHAP. XIV.
Regulations
modified in
accordance with
Venice Conven-
tion.
The main features of these regulations have already been des-
cribed as well as the action taken by the Government of India
to secure compliance with them in this country. The principal
maritime countries in close communication with India for their part
also modified their precautionary measures in accordance with the
Venice Convention without waiting for that Convention to be formally
ratified. The modified regulations issued by the Governments of
France, Italy, and Belgium are reproduced at length in the
Appendix to this chapter.
Main divisions
of the subjects.
In examining the regulations enforced in other countries there
are two main points to be considerd : one, the treatment accorded
to vessels and their passengers ; the other, the restrictions imposed on
the importation and transit of merchandise. These two portions of
the subject will now be separately discussed.
Regulations respecting Vessels and Passengers.
SUEZ CANAL.
Passage of the
Suez Canal.
The first point to notice, of paramount importance to India, is
the passage of the Suez Canal. From the outset no serious obstacle
was placed to the passage of vessels from Bombay and the rest of
India from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.
Plague
regulations
of 1894.
About the 6th of October the Egyptian Sanitary Board put into
force their plague regulations of June 1894, slightly modified with
respect to the treatment of vessels on which no case of plague had
occurred.
Threefold classi-
fication of ships,
These regulations follow the Venice Sanitary Convention of 1892
except that they require a more rigorous treatment of infected
vessels. They are based on the threefold classification of ships
into healthy, suspected, and infected. Healthy vessels from an
infected port are defined by the regulations as those on which no
case of plague has occurred either at the time of departure or sub-
sequently ; suspected vessels as those on which, though cases of
plague have occurred, no fresh case has occurred within nine days ;
and infected vessels as those on which plague has been present within
nine days of arrival.
Healthy ships.
Healthy vessels are granted free pratique by the regulations
seven days after departing from the infected port and they were
therefore permitted to pass through the Canal after satisfactory
Suspected ships, interrogation and medical inspection. Suspected vessels carrying a
CHAP. XIV.]
India enforced in other countries. '
407
Infected ships.
medical officer and disinfecting stove were allowed to pass through
the Canal in quarantine. The rules required suspected vessels
which did not carry a doctor or disinfecting stove to be detained at
Moses's Wells for the period required for disinfection and for ascer-
taining the condition of the ship's health. Unlike the Venice Con-
vention of 1892, the regulations dealing with infected vessels made
no distinction between vessels which did and which did not carry
a doctor and a disinfecting stove. The rules prescribed that all
infected vessels should be detained at the sanitary station, where the
sick were to be landed and detained in hospital, and the healthy
landed and detained under observation for a period not exceeding
seven days from the occurrence of the last case of plague. The
baggage of the persons on board the vessel and susceptible articles
in the cargo were also to be disinfected.
Passage of the
Canal by the in-
fected ship Dil-
-wara.
During the whole period of the epidemic only one infected vessel
arrived at Suez, and in the case of that vessel it was found impossible
to carry out the prescribed regulations. The vessel in question was the
hired transport Dilwara bound for Southampton and carrying 1,325
persons, mostly soldiers returning from India and their families. On
the 18th March the daughter of a sergeant died of plague on board the
vessel, which arrived at Suez on the morning of the 20th. In the qua-
rantine station at Moses's Wells there was only accommodation for
twelve persons, and it was not therefore possible to land and detain
over one thousand people. In the end the persons who had been in
immediate contact with the patient—her father and mother—were
landed for a ten days' detention and disinfection of their baggage,
and the vessel was allowed to pass through the Canal in strict qua-
rantine. No further case occurred on board.
Early in February regulations were issued prohibiting the inspec-
tion of vessels from infected ports during the night, and requiring
the passage of vessels in quarantine to be so arranged that they
arrive at Port Said during the daytime.
Regulations of
the Venice Con-
vention.
Threefold
classification
of ships.
Complete directions for the passage of the Canal are laid down
in the regulations of the Venice Sanitary Convention of March 1897.
They are based on the threefold classification of ships into healthy,
suspected, and infected adopted in the Venice Convention of 1892,
with the modifications rendered necessary owing to the period of
incubation in the case of plague having been fixed at ten days.
Healthy vessels are those which have left an infected port for ten
days or more and have had no case of plague on board ; suspected
Vessels are those on which, though cases of plague have occurred, no
fresh case has occurred within twelve days ; and infected vessels are
408
Regulations against arrivals from
[CHAP. XIV.
those on which plague has been present within twelve days of
arrival.
The period of twelve days is arrived at, as in the case of the
seven days' period in the Convention of 1892, by adding two days
to the period of incubation.
Healthy ships
pass the Canal
in quarantine.
A healthy vessel thus becomes entitled to free pratique at a port
at which it arrives ten days or more after leaving an infected port,
but the adoption of this period has the serious result that fast vessels
sailing from Bombay arrive at the Suez Canal before pratique
can be granted. This difficulty has been satisfactorily overcome
by permitting healthy vessels to pass through the Canal in quarantine
and to complete in the Mediterranean the ten days necessary to
receiving free pratique at a port of arrival. Vessels passing through
the Canal in quarantine may, subject to the use of electric light,
coal in quarantine at Port Said by night as well as by day, and
passengers may embark in quarantine at that port.
Infected and
suspected ships.
The rules for infected and suspected ships follow those of the
Venice Convention of 1892. Vessels carrying a doctor and a disinfect-
ing stove are allowed to pass through the Canal in. quarantine after,
in the case of infected vessels, landing those suffering from
plague and persons who have been in actual contact with the sick
or with infected articles, and after disinfection of the infected part
of the vessel. Vessels without a doctor and disinfecting
stove are detained at Moses's Well. Such vessels if suspected
are detained for the period required for disinfection and for ascertain-
ing the condition of the ship's health, while, if infected, the pas-
sengers are detained on shore under observation for a maximum
period of ten days. The segregation accommodation and the medi-
cal and sanitary staff at Moses's Wells are being increased for the
purpose of carrying out these regulations.
The Egyptian Sanitary Board issued revised plague regulations
on the lines of the Convention regulations described above.
UNITED KINGDOM.
Local
. Government
Board Rules
of November
1896.
In the United Kingdom arrivals from infected Indian ports were
dealt with under the " General Regulations as to Cholera,
Yellow Fever and Plague " issued by the Local Government Board
on the 9th November 1896. These regulations, which are based on
advanced scientific principles, offer practically no hindrance to
communication with India.
Healthy ships,
Infected ships.
If the medical inspection of the vessel is satisfactory the rules
permit immediate free communication. If the vessel is found