?fjc JhtiJiau JHc&tcnl (fSa^cttc. DECEMBER 1, 1871.
THE SECCNDERABAD CHOLERA OP 1871. In on
last number we gave a resume of Dr. Cornish's report the recent outbreak of cholera in the 18th Hussars at
our
Secunderabad,
and from
of its
details, we are naturally possible to prevent this catasresponsible for its occurrence ? On be-
a
study
led to ask, could it have been
trophe ? If so, who was coming acquainted with the circumstances of the case, we doubt much if the public will rest content with a verdict to the effect that these 39 individuals died by the visitation of God," and consequently that it is useless for man to vex himself about it; we are certainly not disposed to assent in a decision of the kind, but assert our conviction that the officers who in May last were in charge of the regiment, must, for the present, be "
held in
a
measure
great
blamable for the loss of
so
many of
they may have some valid excuse to offer for what has happened, but until such an explanation has been given, and accepted, as mitigating the circumstances of this lamentable disaster, those in charge of the 18th Hussars can hardly escape censure, knowing, as it was their duty to have done, that their men were exposed to imminent danger in drinking water from wells such as those described by Dr. Cornish, cholera of a malignant type existing among the natives drawing their supply from these same wells. "We can only account for this apparent neglect by supposing that either the station staff and officers of the regiment were ignorant of the faulty condition of the water-supply; or else they were unacquainted with the fact that water contaminated by cholera excreta is capable of inducing the disease among those who drink it. The first of these suppositions demands but brief consideration, for although it wa3 doubtless the duty of the medical officers in charge of the station and regiment, to have prohibited the use of impure drinking water, irrespective of the presence of cholera in their immediate vicinity, nevertheless, it was probably equally incumbent on quarter-masters, barrack-masters, and the like, to have attended to these matters, and among various departments of the kind, it is difficult to fix on individual delinquents. With reference, however, to the
their
men
from cholera ;
medical officers, report,
as
we
their
authorities of the taminated
fail to discover evidence in Dr. Cornish's
having especially warned the military danger the men ran in drinking water conby cholera dejecta. It may be that the medical men to
'
December 1,
DIABETES IN INDIA.
1871.]
in question agree with the
Inspector-General
of H. M.'s British
Forces in India, and the Imperial Sanitary Commissioner, " that drinking water is a medium by which cholera is propagated,
hypothesis," and therefore they were not bound to it. But, surely if any special precautions regarding opinions such as those quoted above were entertained by the medical staff concerned, the individual officers composing it must have known that their views were not those held by on the subject; and many English and American authorities it seems, therefore, to us that it was their duty to give the men under their care the benefit of the doubt, and protect them from the chances of being poisoned through means of their drinking water, as suggested by Dr. Cornish. "We need hardly remind the readers of the Indian Jlfcdic(i I Gazette, that for some time past we have striven with all the is
a
mere
take
of truth, to overcome the traditions contained in Mr. Strachey's report on the Punjab cholera of 1861, hoping to procure a recognition of more advanced views as to the
earnestness
IIow
nature of the disease.
.failed,
is
equally apparent.
for the last ten years
seems
signally
our
efforts however have
We cannot overcome the mist which to
us
to have enshrouded the minds
regarding these matters ; should never have had to record such
of the constituted authorities in India,
otherwise, a
terrible
sars
at
It is
we
believe
catastrophe
we as
that
lately witnessed
in the 18th Hus-
Secundcrabad.
impossible
for persons who have not resided in
India,
to
understand the influence which the Government of the country has
over
matters of the kind: we have
tion from Dr. Muir's letter on the water
already given a quotatheory of cholera, and
Cuningham's views on the subject will be found at page journal; these gentlemen are we believe the only officers consulted by the imperial Government in matters of this kind, and how accurately their opinions are reflected upon others, is apparent from the report on the Secunderabad cholera. In despair, therefore, we turned lately to our medical brethren in England, in the hopes that their aid might be elicited for the advancement of views, which they hold in common with us as to the proper means for the prevention of cholera outbreaks, such as that which we have now to lament; and it is no small encouragement to find that our appeal has instantly obtained a hearing, more than one of the leading English and American medical journals having already written more plainly than we cared to do on the subject: for instance, the Lancet of the 1st September, 1871, p. 511, commenting on Dr. Cuningham's last report on cholera, with reference to the water theory, observes,?the same array of facts will not impress all minds in the same way, and a critical, sceptical, deliberative spirit is the right one for a man in his position, provided that it does not lead to dangerous delay, or degenerate into mere official obstructtiveness and obstinacy." Plain as this language is, it is not likely to make an impression on those it principally concerns; nevertheless, dropping water must in time wear through the hardest rock, and correct opinions based on undoubted facts, overcome scepticism even stronger Dr.
194 of this
than that above referred to.
Deaths in Madras.?The number of deaths registered in 1,007 (537 males and 470 females) and were due to the following causes:?Small-pox 22, measles 4, fevers 176, dysentery 88, diarrhoea 92, cholera 10, and other causes 615. October was
259
THE SECCNDERABAD CHOLERA OP 1871. In on
last number we gave a resume of Dr. Cornish's report the recent outbreak of cholera in the 18th Hussars at
our
Secunderabad,
and from
of its
details, we are naturally possible to prevent this catasresponsible for its occurrence ? On be-
a
study
led to ask, could it have been
trophe ? If so, who was coming acquainted with the circumstances of the case, we doubt much if the public will rest content with a verdict to the effect that these 39 individuals died by the visitation of God," and consequently that it is useless for man to vex himself about it; we are certainly not disposed to assent in a decision of the kind, but assert our conviction that the officers who in May last were in charge of the regiment, must, for the present, be "
held in
a
measure
great
blamable for the loss of
so
many of
they may have some valid excuse to offer for what has happened, but until such an explanation has been given, and accepted, as mitigating the circumstances of this lamentable disaster, those in charge of the 18th Hussars can hardly escape censure, knowing, as it was their duty to have done, that their men were exposed to imminent danger in drinking water from wells such as those described by Dr. Cornish, cholera of a malignant type existing among the natives drawing their supply from these same wells. "We can only account for this apparent neglect by supposing that either the station staff and officers of the regiment were ignorant of the faulty condition of the water-supply; or else they were unacquainted with the fact that water contaminated by cholera excreta is capable of inducing the disease among those who drink it. The first of these suppositions demands but brief consideration, for although it wa3 doubtless the duty of the medical officers in charge of the station and regiment, to have prohibited the use of impure drinking water, irrespective of the presence of cholera in their immediate vicinity, nevertheless, it was probably equally incumbent on quarter-masters, barrack-masters, and the like, to have attended to these matters, and among various departments of the kind, it is difficult to fix on individual delinquents. With reference, however, to the
their
men
from cholera ;
medical officers, report,
as
we
their
authorities of the taminated
fail to discover evidence in Dr. Cornish's
having especially warned the military danger the men ran in drinking water conby cholera dejecta. It may be that the medical men to
'
December 1,
DIABETES IN INDIA.
1871.]
in question agree with the
Inspector-General
of H. M.'s British
Forces in India, and the Imperial Sanitary Commissioner, " that drinking water is a medium by which cholera is propagated,
hypothesis," and therefore they were not bound to it. But, surely if any special precautions regarding opinions such as those quoted above were entertained by the medical staff concerned, the individual officers composing it must have known that their views were not those held by on the subject; and many English and American authorities it seems, therefore, to us that it was their duty to give the men under their care the benefit of the doubt, and protect them from the chances of being poisoned through means of their drinking water, as suggested by Dr. Cornish. "We need hardly remind the readers of the Indian Jlfcdic(i I Gazette, that for some time past we have striven with all the is
a
mere
take
of truth, to overcome the traditions contained in Mr. Strachey's report on the Punjab cholera of 1861, hoping to procure a recognition of more advanced views as to the
earnestness
IIow
nature of the disease.
.failed,
is
equally apparent.
for the last ten years
seems
signally
our
efforts however have
We cannot overcome the mist which to
us
to have enshrouded the minds
regarding these matters ; should never have had to record such
of the constituted authorities in India,
otherwise, a
terrible
sars
at
It is
we
believe
catastrophe
we as
that
lately witnessed
in the 18th Hus-
Secundcrabad.
impossible
for persons who have not resided in
India,
to
understand the influence which the Government of the country has
over
matters of the kind: we have
tion from Dr. Muir's letter on the water
already given a quotatheory of cholera, and
Cuningham's views on the subject will be found at page journal; these gentlemen are we believe the only officers consulted by the imperial Government in matters of this kind, and how accurately their opinions are reflected upon others, is apparent from the report on the Secunderabad cholera. In despair, therefore, we turned lately to our medical brethren in England, in the hopes that their aid might be elicited for the advancement of views, which they hold in common with us as to the proper means for the prevention of cholera outbreaks, such as that which we have now to lament; and it is no small encouragement to find that our appeal has instantly obtained a hearing, more than one of the leading English and American medical journals having already written more plainly than we cared to do on the subject: for instance, the Lancet of the 1st September, 1871, p. 511, commenting on Dr. Cuningham's last report on cholera, with reference to the water theory, observes,?the same array of facts will not impress all minds in the same way, and a critical, sceptical, deliberative spirit is the right one for a man in his position, provided that it does not lead to dangerous delay, or degenerate into mere official obstructtiveness and obstinacy." Plain as this language is, it is not likely to make an impression on those it principally concerns; nevertheless, dropping water must in time wear through the hardest rock, and correct opinions based on undoubted facts, overcome scepticism even stronger Dr.
194 of this
than that above referred to.
Deaths in Madras.?The number of deaths registered in 1,007 (537 males and 470 females) and were due to the following causes:?Small-pox 22, measles 4, fevers 176, dysentery 88, diarrhoea 92, cholera 10, and other causes 615. October was
259
