large,
or
of those towns which do not
adjoin military cancarrying out of sanitary reforms has hitherto been generally left to tho municipalities,? bodies which, whether in England or in India, arc notoriousij to more anxious keep down expenditure than to remove nuisances, or to take measures calculated to diminish mortality. But people arc now becoming alive to the fact that " tho liberty of the subject" in such matters, which it has hitherto been the tendency of all legislation on this point to guard so jealously, generally means liberty to injure the health of tho entire community in order to sa^ the money of a few. This is the caso in England, where all men having the least pretensions to education acknowledge, at any rate, that pure air and water, and clean soil, are desirable, even though they may grudge the requisite funds to pay for them. Still more is it the caso in India, where the wealthy mercantile classes, which form so important au element in our municipalities, arc generally utterly at
tonments.
Iu the latter ease, the
ignorant and careless of such matters. Tho classcs hero men" Lai Is," " Scths," and "Malls" of smaller tioned?the rich towns?are
generally
conservative in their
ideas, ami, though
tho often lavish of their money in such useful works as construction of tanks, serais, and bazars (upne nam he waste), arc
peculiarly
averse to
the removal
of tinie-houourcd abuses,
especially paving for such removal. In the case of towns without municipalities, and of villages, the carrying out ot sanitary measures has hitherto devolved upon tho Magistrate, an officer already over-burdened with work, and whoso duties arc increasing in number every day. The Civil Surgeon, also, who is supposed to be Ex-offieio Health Officer of the District, has seldom sullicient leisure to explore it in that capacity ; tho fact that, in most cases, ho is in sole chargc of the jail, obliging him to spend all his time at the Suddur Station, except on the rare occasions when lie is able to leave it for a few days, iu older to inbranch" dispensaries. Hence, from want of tho spect outlying proper machiuery, there has really been 110 jicrmuncnt sanitary supervision of tho civil population of the country. When ;? great epidemic has carried off half the inhabitants of a district, a Special Commission is appointed to report upon the same, anil to suggest means for preventing the recurrence of a similar calamity. The recommendations of sueha Committee, as regards drainage, removal of decaying vegetable matter from tanks, clearing away jungle, &c., are (or arc not?) carried outin tho first instance ; and for the time the disease is removed. But it being nobody's especial duty (or at least not the duty of any 0110 with sufficient leisure) to sec that tho improvements so carried out are kept up, thiugs soon relapse into their former condition disease re-appears; and wiseacres shake their heads at what they are pleased to consider the uncertainty of hygienic measures, and the inefficiency of Medical Officers; or perhaps hint darkly thac the original Commission, and any subsequent one which a return of the disease may have called for, are jobs to put money into the doctor's pocket! Unfortunately, we need not look far fcr an example of this state of things. It appears that the cpidcmic in tho Hooghly and Burdwan districts, which was so much reduced in its severity by the measures recommended by tho Committee appointed to report upon it 111 18G2, is now again raging violently, owing, doubtless, to the improvements then carried out not having been since maintained. Under the new system caeh and
to
"
THE NEW SANITARY INSPECTORS-GENERAL. It is now definitely settled that India is to have n staff of Sanitary Inspectors-General worthy of the country in which they will labour, and of the science which they represent. The huge area, which is vaguely spoken of as the "Bengal Presidency," but which, practically, includes also the Central Provinces and British Burmah, is no longer to be left to the supervision of a single Sanitary Commissioner. Lower Bengal, the North-West Provinces, the Punjab, and the Central Provinces (including Iicrar) are each to have an InspectorGeneral on a monthly salary of liupces 1,500. Sanitary Inspectors-General for Oudli, Assam, and British Burinah are also to be appointed, but are to receive only IJupccs 1,200 a month. Under this arrangement, it will really be possible to carry out hvgienic reforms elsewhere than in barracks and cantonments.
Hitherto this has not been the which
the ono
case.
The extent
Sanitary Commissioner for Bengal has till now been supposed to exercise supervision is so enormous, that the most which lie and his Secretary could do lias been to see that the troops were not exposed to any rernovenble cause of disease, and that, where cantonments adjoined large cities, no very flagrant breach of the laws of Hygiene should be permitted in the latter. But no effectual efforts could be made to better the sanitary couditiou of the country of country over
local Government will have
on
its staff
a
Medical Officer whoso
THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
1G special duty it will be that those already begun now hope to see those
to arc
suggest sanitary reforms, not allowed to lapse.
measures
and to see We may
which have tended so
greatly
to improve the health of soldiers in this country extended, with in proper modifications, to the civil population, and we ought few years to have collected a large amount of valuable information as to the causes of endemic and epidemic disease, which
a
is not
now
available.
"\Vc trust that the
no
appointments.
unnecessary delay will occur in filling up Before many weeks, another hot season will
be upon us, with the usual train of epidemic diseases. We can hardly hope that so large an area as that to which the new
Inspectors-General without
an
are
to be
can escape for a year in some part or other. It is that the officers who are to hold
appointed
outbreak of cholera
therefore of great importance these posts should
join
them
as
early
as
possible,
so
that
they
may have time to make themselves familiar with their duties before the unhealthy season begins. We had
occasion, early last year, to express rather a decided the subject of the appointment of layman to what was then the Presidentship of the Sanitary Commission, but lias since become the sole Sanitary Commissionership. Ably ns the gentleman then appointed has discharged his duties, we still consider that the post should have been filled by a Medical officer. The new arrangements, however, will, to a certain extent, remove the objections to the anomaly of placing a combatant officer in an essentially medical appointment. With a Medical Officer as Sanitary Inspector in each Province, the duties of the Sanitary Commissioner will be considerably modified, and will become less medical, and more those of a Secretary to Government, at the head of a Department composed of officers specially qualified by their profession for the duties assigned to them.
opinion
on
[Januaby 1, 1868.
or
of those towns which do not
adjoin military cancarrying out of sanitary reforms has hitherto been generally left to tho municipalities,? bodies which, whether in England or in India, arc notoriousij to more anxious keep down expenditure than to remove nuisances, or to take measures calculated to diminish mortality. But people arc now becoming alive to the fact that " tho liberty of the subject" in such matters, which it has hitherto been the tendency of all legislation on this point to guard so jealously, generally means liberty to injure the health of tho entire community in order to sa^ the money of a few. This is the caso in England, where all men having the least pretensions to education acknowledge, at any rate, that pure air and water, and clean soil, are desirable, even though they may grudge the requisite funds to pay for them. Still more is it the caso in India, where the wealthy mercantile classes, which form so important au element in our municipalities, arc generally utterly at
tonments.
Iu the latter ease, the
ignorant and careless of such matters. Tho classcs hero men" Lai Is," " Scths," and "Malls" of smaller tioned?the rich towns?are
generally
conservative in their
ideas, ami, though
tho often lavish of their money in such useful works as construction of tanks, serais, and bazars (upne nam he waste), arc
peculiarly
averse to
the removal
of tinie-houourcd abuses,
especially paving for such removal. In the case of towns without municipalities, and of villages, the carrying out ot sanitary measures has hitherto devolved upon tho Magistrate, an officer already over-burdened with work, and whoso duties arc increasing in number every day. The Civil Surgeon, also, who is supposed to be Ex-offieio Health Officer of the District, has seldom sullicient leisure to explore it in that capacity ; tho fact that, in most cases, ho is in sole chargc of the jail, obliging him to spend all his time at the Suddur Station, except on the rare occasions when lie is able to leave it for a few days, iu older to inbranch" dispensaries. Hence, from want of tho spect outlying proper machiuery, there has really been 110 jicrmuncnt sanitary supervision of tho civil population of the country. When ;? great epidemic has carried off half the inhabitants of a district, a Special Commission is appointed to report upon the same, anil to suggest means for preventing the recurrence of a similar calamity. The recommendations of sueha Committee, as regards drainage, removal of decaying vegetable matter from tanks, clearing away jungle, &c., are (or arc not?) carried outin tho first instance ; and for the time the disease is removed. But it being nobody's especial duty (or at least not the duty of any 0110 with sufficient leisure) to sec that tho improvements so carried out are kept up, thiugs soon relapse into their former condition disease re-appears; and wiseacres shake their heads at what they are pleased to consider the uncertainty of hygienic measures, and the inefficiency of Medical Officers; or perhaps hint darkly thac the original Commission, and any subsequent one which a return of the disease may have called for, are jobs to put money into the doctor's pocket! Unfortunately, we need not look far fcr an example of this state of things. It appears that the cpidcmic in tho Hooghly and Burdwan districts, which was so much reduced in its severity by the measures recommended by tho Committee appointed to report upon it 111 18G2, is now again raging violently, owing, doubtless, to the improvements then carried out not having been since maintained. Under the new system caeh and
to
"
THE NEW SANITARY INSPECTORS-GENERAL. It is now definitely settled that India is to have n staff of Sanitary Inspectors-General worthy of the country in which they will labour, and of the science which they represent. The huge area, which is vaguely spoken of as the "Bengal Presidency," but which, practically, includes also the Central Provinces and British Burmah, is no longer to be left to the supervision of a single Sanitary Commissioner. Lower Bengal, the North-West Provinces, the Punjab, and the Central Provinces (including Iicrar) are each to have an InspectorGeneral on a monthly salary of liupces 1,500. Sanitary Inspectors-General for Oudli, Assam, and British Burinah are also to be appointed, but are to receive only IJupccs 1,200 a month. Under this arrangement, it will really be possible to carry out hvgienic reforms elsewhere than in barracks and cantonments.
Hitherto this has not been the which
the ono
case.
The extent
Sanitary Commissioner for Bengal has till now been supposed to exercise supervision is so enormous, that the most which lie and his Secretary could do lias been to see that the troops were not exposed to any rernovenble cause of disease, and that, where cantonments adjoined large cities, no very flagrant breach of the laws of Hygiene should be permitted in the latter. But no effectual efforts could be made to better the sanitary couditiou of the country of country over
local Government will have
on
its staff
a
Medical Officer whoso
THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
1G special duty it will be that those already begun now hope to see those
to arc
suggest sanitary reforms, not allowed to lapse.
measures
and to see We may
which have tended so
greatly
to improve the health of soldiers in this country extended, with in proper modifications, to the civil population, and we ought few years to have collected a large amount of valuable information as to the causes of endemic and epidemic disease, which
a
is not
now
available.
"\Vc trust that the
no
appointments.
unnecessary delay will occur in filling up Before many weeks, another hot season will
be upon us, with the usual train of epidemic diseases. We can hardly hope that so large an area as that to which the new
Inspectors-General without
an
are
to be
can escape for a year in some part or other. It is that the officers who are to hold
appointed
outbreak of cholera
therefore of great importance these posts should
join
them
as
early
as
possible,
so
that
they
may have time to make themselves familiar with their duties before the unhealthy season begins. We had
occasion, early last year, to express rather a decided the subject of the appointment of layman to what was then the Presidentship of the Sanitary Commission, but lias since become the sole Sanitary Commissionership. Ably ns the gentleman then appointed has discharged his duties, we still consider that the post should have been filled by a Medical officer. The new arrangements, however, will, to a certain extent, remove the objections to the anomaly of placing a combatant officer in an essentially medical appointment. With a Medical Officer as Sanitary Inspector in each Province, the duties of the Sanitary Commissioner will be considerably modified, and will become less medical, and more those of a Secretary to Government, at the head of a Department composed of officers specially qualified by their profession for the duties assigned to them.
opinion
on
[Januaby 1, 1868.
