The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1876-07-01

IN reason, was the need O. -vo~er neiic7i attendance.
According 10 the statement II many OF the lepers.
me superventlon Of acute diseases upon leprosy, such
as d~taTTh0G, coughs, and colds is common. which
for want Of regular medical attendance often prove
rapidly fatal; and the desire seems 10 be general that
some one able 20 prescribe IN such cases should De
sent 20 1--we among them Such a desire IS certainly
not without reason, "a with all the drugs supplied 10
the dispensary, there is still lacking the necessary
education among those IN charge Of the came to use
them TO their best advantage. But then the question
comes, who with such education as would be neces-
sary, could be induced to bear such repatriation as
would be his share, among = colony Of human beings
possessing alone ell that is grim and CHASTITY 10 the
utmost possible degree in human physical conforma-
ton, uuenliTened by a single feature Of beauty COM
mon 10 humanity As expressed by one Of the
!ePers who addressed the Committee, the inhabitants
OF the place we're doomed to a living grave" In
regard TO their food, although no doubt the best that
the Board Of Health can supply with the sppropria-
tons at their disposal, it is perhaps Of a kind lot al
ways the best suited to the needs of people afflicted
with this particular disease, as at times they are ne
cessitated to use sailed instead Of fresh provisions, a
pecuharity Of diet generally understood 10 be condu-
GIVE to Its most rapid Development. As Is the case
IN other countries, variety and good quality in the
articles Of diet and an abundance Of comforts gener-
ally, seem to aid materially in mitigating the force
OF the disease and in prolonging life. This is seen
IN those, who having means themselves, are not de-
pendent upon the Board of Health for their supplies,
but receive them to order from their own friends and
agents in Honolulu.
At the meeting Of the Committee, Komoikeehuehu
u OrDe MEMBER OF the Legislature anu q wen
known lawyer Of this place, but now q leper himselD
acted as spokesman for those who had complaints TO
make. He had little, however, to say against the
management of the colony, bt complained bitterly
of the locality selected for their habitation, as being
one ill-suited to the comfort Of sick people; Of the
disease itself being n0n-cOntagious, and of the testi-
mony to that effect by a British Naval physician,
who had visited the settlement on q former occasion;
of instances which had occurred TO his own observa-
ton, seeming to substantlate such q conclusion. The
burden of his plea was that the lepers should either
be released, or have q place provided for them with a
more %cOngenial climate, a more pleasing landscape,
and more fruitful soil.
With regard to assertions made by physicians Wis
itiDg the place, that g the disease is not contagious
or that two thirds Of the cases are not .lepers,' we
cannot speak In too strong apprehension. Such as
sertions are too contradictory TO the general opinion
of medical men here in reference both to contagion
and sp~ecihcity to carry any weight with them, ex-
cepting TO those poor unfortunates whose lot it is to
be so circumstanced that their only g hope is against
hope To excite such feelings as statements like
these must be capable of producing in the lepers
themselves, is cruel in the extreme; and it is but a
slight extenuation Of such conduct TO say that it was
the result of thoughtlessness or ignorance. Such
was not the estimate put upon the disease by DR..
Hillebrand or DR.. Hutchison, and it is not every day
or in every place that we meet with physicians of
their acknowledged capacity; and it would seem but
an unwarrantable assumption upon the part of any
one not possessed of better data than that in hand at
present, to make assertions which contradict the ex-
perIence OF ali the physicians of this place; and more
especially of those who have made express visits to
India, China and the West Indies for the purpose of
investigating the disease.
1t is true that doubts do exist among English and
Continental physicians as TO the contagiousness of
leprosy, but there is no definite proof of the tenabil-
ity of such an idea, and it would be a wrong to the
whole nation, if a like conclusion were made the basis
legislation here. Firm in the belief just men,
toned, the Royal College of Physicians in England
have declared that the compulsory segregation of lep-
ers in India was undesirable; but from the testimony
has since, and still is, flowing in from various
sources, it is more than probable that a modification
if not a reversal of such a conclusion, will be even
tually forced upon them.
From the information received in answer to our
while among the lepers at Kalawao, we l.
derived none that would satisfy US either one wav
the other as to the question of contagion fro; We p
contact. Some statements seemed IT, cIent toI Ut
while others we're equally opDc5' IAN - condi-
impression among the lem The dGisUanathagious, -
disease may nay be %tI,s5aitaryS source Of conse and =
n6ois = LINE FOR SAEs me NCIsC
III a. -
md So G. BREWER s. Co, AGENTS.
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