The Sun.
London, England, 1824-01-23 00:00:00

IS THE YELLOW FEVER CONTAGIOUS?

This question is of such great practical im-
portance, that it is proper to give publicity to
the following Letter of Sir GILBERT BLANE to
the Admiralty : it is from the Medical Rep-
sitory :
" Sackville-street, London, Dec. 15, 1823.

" Sift,—Be pleased to acquaint the Lords Commissioners of
the Admiralty, that in virtue of their Lordships' directions I
have been furnished by the Commissioners of Victualling with
such documents as have come to their hands regarding the ap-
pearance and fatal effects of the yellow fever at the island of
Ascension ; and I have procured further information relating
to this subject from the Navy.office, and the office of the
Paymaster of Marines. I have also been favoured, through
the politeness of Dr. Burnet, one of the Medical Commis-
sioners of the Victualling Board, with the sight of a pri-
vate letter to him from the commander of the Bann sloop of
war, from which I derived important information on the same
subject.
" The result of all these sources of information is, that from
the time the fever showed itself on board his Majesty's sloop of
war Bann, a few days after her departure from Sierra Leone,
on one of the last days of March last, the crew at that time be-
all in perfect health, till her arrival at Ascension on the 25th
of April, there died 13 men ; and 20 between that time and
the 2d of June, when the epidemic was supposed to have ceas-
ed ; and that by a report, dated the sth of August, there died
of the garrison, among whom the disease broke out a few days
after the arrival of the ship, 18 men, 5 women, and 4 children ;
besides one child, stated in the report to have perished for want
of sustenance after the mother's death.

" In order to estimate the rate of sickness and mortality in
the crew of the Bann, it is necessary to state that there were
mustered on board of her, on the 31st of March, 107 men and
officers, being only three short of compliment ; besides 29 su-
pernumeraries, native Africans. 7 t appears that no death oc-
curred among the Africans, so that nearly one-third of the
ship's company was carried off by this disease. It appears by
the surgeon's journal, that 99 had been seized with it; and I
was informed by the Paymaster of Marines, that it appeared
from his correspondence, that of the twenty-eight men and offi-
cers first stationed at Ascension, in September, 1821, there died
none , nor was there even a single case of sickness among
them from that time till May, 1823, a few days after the arrival
of the Bann. During this time the garrison was neither in-
creased or diminished. But the rate of mortality is not to be
computed on the number of twenty-eight, for there were six
men at a distant post to whom this disease did not extend ; so
that out of 22 there died 16, that is, somewhat more than
three-fonrths.

" Two beloneing to his Majesty's ship Driver also died at
the island of the disease. The death of Captain Saumarez, of
the Bann, which happened subsequently to the above report,
being added to these, the total loss of lives amounts to the num-
ber of 62, including the child.
" As this garraison was quite healthy at the time of the
arrival of the Bann, there can be no doubt of the disease be-
ing contagious; and the medical officers, upon whose convic-
tion of it not being so the commanding officers omitted to
take any effectual means of cutting off intercourse between the
ship and the garrison, have since, in their official communica-
tion, explicitly declared their change of opinion. At the same
time, they described the disorder as possessing the true charac-
teristics of the yellow fever in that aggravated and infectious
form in which it has shown itself in the West Indies and
North America and Spain. The detailed account given by the
surgeon of the Bann leaves not the least ambiguity regarding
its nature ; for, among other symptoms, he enumerated the
skin tinged with yellow, assuming a
deeperrk_c
oai
onud r deepered
fluid h
like
and, before death, the vomiting of ada
coffee-grounds :' these are characteristics which will apply to
no other epidemic.
" 'Without entering into any detailed history of the diiease,
far less of the controversy regarding it, it may be satis-
factory to their Lordships to be informed, that the first
account of it on record in the British Colonies in the West
Indies, is that of Barbadoes, in 1647, and in North Ame-
rica, that of 1693, at Boston, to which it was carried from
Martinique by the fleet under Admiral Wheeler. In Europe,
its first appearance was at Lisbon, in \1723. From these pe-
riods it continued to make its appearance in all these regions,
but at long intervals, particularly in North America and
Europe, But in 1793, a new era of its prevalence corn..
menced, for since that time it has been infinitely more frequent
and fatal in the West Indies and North America. This
increased prevalence did not commence in Europe till the year
1800, when it appeared at Cadiz in all its horrors, after an in-
terval of 36 years. Since that time it has visited this place four
times, and has spread from thence to other seaport towns in
the south of Spain, at short intervals. Among other places in
this line of coast, it has visited Gibraltar—first, in the year
1804, when more than one-third of the garrison and papule-
tion were carried off;
and several times since, but with little
loss, on account of the preventive means adopted—means which
had been wholly neglected at the first visitation.
" It is remarkable that this pestilential epidemic has never
shown itself except in tropical climates, or at those seasons in
temperate climates in which the heat ascends to the tropical
height. This has perhaps been one of the chief causes of the
disbelief of its infectious nature.
But not to mention the esta-
blishment of it, by evidence,
as a matter of fact, it may be re-
marked,bears a close analogy to the
a gu e, w
ht
caht
hi
an s t s
neverres pect it
been
known to exist but under one
•
particular range of atmospheric heat, though lower than that
of the yellow fever for it is only ;
.0 temperate climates that it
has ever prevailed—having never been known between the tro-
pics or within the Polar circles. It even disappears in tempe-
rate climates during the solestial heats, which equal the tropi-
cal, as is well known in Lower
Egypt ; and in the north of
Europe it becomes extinct in winter.
"Another cause of the incredulity regarding this fact, is the
great resemblance it bears to that form of the yellow fever
which is at all times more or less endemic in the West India
Islands. This, in ordinary circumstances, is not contagious,
but becomes so when it is engendered and fostered by corrupt-
ed human effluvia, under those circumstances of foul air occa-
sionally created by crowding, filth, long privations, hardships,
and defective ventilation, more particularly incident to ships
and to times of war. It is under such concurrence of incidents
that this fever takes on a more intense virulence and a conta-
gious character, whereby it propagates and speeds itself in the
manner of a pestilential epidemic.
What I wish most anxiously to press on their Lordships'
attention is, that a great proportion of the medical officers of
the navy, like the two alluded to (before what they witnessed
at Ascension), are said actually to disbelieve in the contagious
natureof this fever, in any of its species, forms, or circum-
stances."
Their Lordships will readily apprehend, from what has
happened on this small scale, what must have been the effect of
this opinion, if erroneous, held by those whose duty it is to sug-
gest the requisite precautions in the case of the fleets, armies,
garrisons, and great towns, which have been exposed to this
malady for the last 30 years on the continent, and in the islands
of Amenca and for the last 23 years in the South of Europe ;
and what must in future be the effects of this singular delusion
should it continue to prevail and to he acted upon as hereto-
fore in his 'Majesty's service by sea and land.
" Deeply penetrated with these sentiments, I feel myself irre-
sistibly called upon humbly to submit to their Lordships, whe-
ther some steps might not be taken, under their authority, for
promulgating these and similar truths, with a view to enlighten
and guide naval officers, military and medical, in the exer-
cise of this part of their duty, so that such a cautious system
of conduct may be adopted as may prevent the recurrence of
the like calamitous and tragical events in all time to come.
I am inclined to believe that, as the greater part of the medical
officers of the navy, as well as the army, are now well edu-
respectable character, it is from a want of
cated, and of a highly
due information that this fatal error has prevailed so much;
for there are already on record many facts, as strongly in evi-
dence of the contagious nature of the yellow fever as those that
have so recently occurred at the island of Ascension, which,
were they generally known, could hardly fail to carry convic-
tion to every rational mind. Of this kind might be quoted the
various instances of the communication of this disease from one
ship to another, in the middle of the ocean. It is obvious that
any one of these facts, duly attested, would by all the laws of
evidence, be sufficient to establish the proof of this point, eo as
to decide the question ; and the force of so many could not fail
to prove irresistible, were they generally known.
In apology for this long address to their Lordships, I take
leave to plead, that besides the great importance of the subject,
it has been my lot for the last 44 years to have either been en-
gaged in actual employment in the medical service of the navy,
and occasionally in that of the army, or in the absence of such
employment, to have devoted almost an unceasing attention to
such studies ; and I have felt none of my duties more imperi-
ous than that of inculcating, to the best of my judgment, a just
manner of thinking on the subject of infection in general, and
particularly that of the desolating malady now in question. I
trust, therefore, that my earnestness on this subject will not
appear to their Lordships in the light of an improper and offi-
cious interference, proceeding, as it does, from a person not in
actual employment. I feel, further, that what I now do is not
unbecoming of me in the character of first physician to our
Sovereign, and as an act of gratitude and duty for those re-
wards and tokens of approbation which I have now the happi-
ness to enjoy from his Majesty personally, as well as from the '
State; not to mention that call upon every well-disposed per-
son to take a serious interest in matters which involve the kte,

of so many human beings, and of so many of his fellow-
subjects of the most valuable class.
" I have the honour to be, Sir,
" Your most obedient humble servant,
(Signed) " GILBERT BLANE.
" To John Wilson Croker, Esq., Secretary
to the Admirality."
" P.S.—My fear of trespassing on their Lordships' time
and attention having induced me to make my statement in as
few words as possible, I have perhaps done wrong in omitting
some important circumstances which it shall here advert to
as briefly as possible. A few days before the Bann sailed
from Sierra Leone, the Captain sent some of his men on board
of a merchant ship called the Caroline, to assist in bringing
her to an anchor. This ship had lost by the yellow fever al-
most all her hands, to the number of twenty, none having sur-
vived but the master and two others. There was also, at that
time, an unprecedented loss of lives from the same fever among
the white inhabitants of the settlement. It is described in the
reports made to the Medical Board of the Army, with a sight
of which I was favoured, as a fever widely different from the
ordinary fever of the country, both in its symptoms and in
its degree of malignity ; such, indeed, as had never been
known before in that colony, and as occurring at a season
of the year which is usually the most healthy. It is also
worthy of remark, that his Majesty's sloop of war the Driver,
which had lain at Sierra Leone at the same time with the Bann,
arrived at Ascention with all the crew in health ; and that I
found by inquiry of the master of the Caroline, that none of
the ship's company of the Driver had been on board of his ship,
nor had any intercourse taken place between the two ships af-
ter the breaking out of the fever. Some of the men of the
Driver, he said, had been on board of his ship, but this hap-
pened many days before the sickness had commenced.

" G. B."

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

Yesterday, the first Court of Common Council
for the present year was held for the dispatch of
a variety of important business.
The LORD MAYOR informed the Court, that a vacancy
had happened in the Sea Coal Meters' Office, by the death of
Mr. Henderson, the principal Land Coal Meter. It was for the
Court to consider when they would appoint a person to fill the
office.

Mr. SOUTHGATE begged leave to correct a misstatement
which had gone abroad very extensively. It had been stated
in nearly all the papers, that the Sea Coal Committee had re-
eommended an increase of twenty-five additional Sea Coal Me-
ters, in consequence of the alleged inadequacy of the present
number. He begged leave to state, that this report was quite
unfounded. The Committee had entered into no resolutions
on the subject, but would be prepared to report to the Court
on that subject, and on the high price of coals, on the next
Court day.
Mr. OLDHAM presented to the Court a Petition from Mr.
Lavie, the agent to Captain Samuel Brown, of the Royal Navy.
The petition stated, that it was the intention of Capt. Brown,
at the next Session of Parliament, to petition for a bill to allow
the erection of a wrought iron Bridge of Suspension over the
Thames, for foot passengers, as well as for beasts of burthen,
and that he had given notice, and taken the requisite steps for
bringing this Bill into Parliament. It would be so constructed
as to have only three arches, and their height would be such
as to allow the tallest vessels to pass under it without lowering
their masts. The scite (as we understood the Petition) would
be from Little Tower-street to Horsley-down on the opposite
shore. The Petit:on went on to state, that great advantages
to trade would be derived to the counties of Middlesex Surrey,
and Essex, by the erection of such a bridge, especially during
the building of the new London Bridge, and that the proposed
from
praying, time
that
the
l ep C
bridge would be completed in one twelvemonth from the time
passing
would grant
g
the Bill.—
permission to the Petitioner to erect two columns in the river
for the purpose of suspending the iron work. The Petition
moreover prayed, that the Court would appoint persons to ex-
amine and re
f The its
Petition commencement,
concluded
o byr fm
o report on the plans.
The Petition was referred to the Thames Navigation Com-
mittee to examine andreport upon it.
Mr. SLanz presented to the Court a Petition signed by
Messrs. Rundle and Bridge, and many respectable inhabitants
of the vicinity of Fleet-market, praying that they would take
some measures for -removing tile market to a more convenient
scite. The Petition stated, that it would be a great improve-
ment of the City of London to remove Fleet-market alto-
gether. It mentioned the great inconvenience that result-
ed from its present confined and crowded state and the
frequent 4, locks up" of carriages in the line of St. iaul's and
the Strand, in consequence of the present thoroughfare noti,
being sufficient. It stated, that by making an open, wide,
and spacious thoroughfare, by the removal of the Market al-
together, the greatest benefits would be conferred. An ex-
cellent way would be made to enable carriages to return to
the West-end of the town up Holborn, and it would greatly
facilitate the grand improvement contemplated by the Cor-
poration of opening a direct line of communication between
Blackfriars-bridge and the great North Road. The Peti-
tion stated, that many respectable females were deterred
from going to the Market by the thronged state of the surround-
ing avenues with carriages, and the crowded state of the Mar-
ket itself. The Market, too, being a covered way, was at night
the general receptacle of prostitutes and the worst of characters.
If the Corporation should consider of a scite, the petitioners
pointed out to their notice the West-side of Fleet-market,
which was covered with wretched crowded houses that were
inhabited by people of the lowest and vilest description. If
these houses were pulled down, which might be done to the
advantage of the inhabitants, an elegant market might be
built on the nit; with convenient approaches, which were so
much wanted.

Mr. SLADE, in seconding the prayer of the Petition, adverted
to the spirit of improvement which he said had gone forth, and
expressed his confidence that it would advance. This market,
instead of being a public convenience, was a public nuisance.
He trusted that in a few years as many improvements would be
effected in the City of London as had recently been effected in
the City of Westminster. He moved that the Petition should
be referred to the Improvement Committee.
Mr. HuRCOMB E seconded the motion.
Mr. TAYLOR supported the motion, and said there had been
no improvement made in Westminster for the last three years,
that would be equal to the improvement to be made in the
City of London, by opening the communication between the
North Road and Blackfriars-bridge.
The petition was referred to the Committee of Improvements.
A Report was brought up from a Committee relative to the
erection of a new Post-office. The Report stated the proceed-
ings, and the sums already expended for clearing the ground for
the scite of the new Post-office. As-far as the City was concern-
ed, little remained to be done ; but as to the expence of erect-
ing the new building, and the probable time that would be
taken before it was completed, the Committee could state no-
thing, for by the Act they were allowed no controul over the
building, or the sum to be paid, but they had reason to believe
that Government would soon commence the important work.—
The Committee referred to the Clerk of the City's Works,
which stated he had been informed that the new building would
be speedily commenced, and that excavations were now making
for the foundation.

The. Report was ordered to be entered on the Journals,
The Lord Mayor declared a vacancy in the situation of
Bricklayer to the City, by the resignation of Mr. Poynder.
The Courtsconfirtned the Elections of Mr. Deputy Oldham,
Mr. R. Carter, and Mr. Filby, to be Governors of Bridewell
and Bethlem, St. Bartholomew's and St. Thomas's Hospitals.

It is said that the ma❑ JONES, on whom Sir
ASTLEY COOPER performed the operation on
Friday last, of taking off the thigh-bone at
the hip joint, is in a rapid state of recovery,
and that the greatest hopes exist of his being
finally restored to health, the wound gra-
nulating very fast, and the adhesions of the
upper parts being perfect. Great numbers of
persons have applied to see him, but none of
course are admitted, quiet being absolutely re-
quisite.

The following notices are issued from the pa-
rish church, Leeds :-1. That persons cannot be
married if their names are not given in for publica-
tion correctly spelt; except they come imme=
diately to the sexton, to have the spelling of them
altered and corrected before they are published.
2. That a soldier's alleged widow, notwith-
standing the publication of the banns between
another man and herself, will yet not be married
to that MOD, except, on coming to be married to
him, she produce a War-office certificate of the
death of her former husband ; which certificate
is easily obtained on application, by a letter 'di-
rected to the Right Honourable the Secretary at
War, War Oflce, Lon flen.—(Leeds Independent.)