THE BUBONIC PLAGUE. ACTION BY THE BOARD OF HEALTH. PRECAUTIONS RECOMMENDED.

THE BUBONIC PLAGUE.
ACTION BY THE BOARD OF HEALTH.
PRECAUTIONS RECOMMENDED.
A special meeting of the Board of Public
Health was held at the Railway Offices on
Saturday to decide what precautionary
measures should be taken in connection
with the outbreak of the bubonic plague
at Noumea and in the Sandwich Islands.
Dr. Gresswell presided, and, after re-
capitulating what has already been pub-
wished in "The Argus," said that the Vice-
roy of India had declared that inoculation
by prophylactic was by far the best means
of fighting the disease. Whereas 70 to 80
per cent. of deaths had occurred before
the vaccine was used, 70 to 80 per cent. of
people attacked had recovered after its in-
troduction in India. He (Dr. Gresswell)
thought that the disease would become
pandemic, and extend over a wide area of
the earth's surface. The board then went
into committee, and, on the chairman's
suggestion, passed resolutions to the effect
that Polynesia (the Sandwich Islands),
Madagascar, Seychelles Islands, and Re-
union should be proclaimed infected areas;
that no vessel from any infected port in
Polynesia should be allowed alongside a
wharf or pier in Victoria; that publicity
should be given to section 129 of the
Health Act, which provides that medical
practitioners must at once notify a house-
holder as to any case of plague, and that
the householder must in turn inform the
local council within 24 hours; that the
Minister of Health be urged to procure a
supply of anti-plague vaccine; that when
vessels arrive from infected ports they
should be subjected to medical inspection
for a week, i.e., on the second, fourth and
sixth days after arrival; that the other
colonies should be approached with the
object of securing uniform action in
quarantine matters and that the period of
detention for vessels arriving from pro-
claimed ports should be fixed at 12 days,
dating from the time they left such port.
New South Wales, it may be mentioned,
has adopted 12 days as the inoculation
period, Queensland 14, South Australia 10,
Western Australia, the only Australian
colony to sign the terms of the Venice
Convention agreement, 10, and this colony
12. Some federal understanding is
urgently required. In committee the
board, while not approaching the subject
in any spirit of scare, discussed the ques-
tion of accommodating patients should the
plague reach this colony, and though no
definite arrangement was come to, it was
tacitly understood that in such an event
the house where the outbreak occurred
should be isolated, and treated as a hos-
pital in the first place, then that the Cut-
paw-paw Sanatorium should be availed of,
and if that would not suffice, that one of
the hospitals should be set apart for
plague patients. The board's recommen-
dations will be laid before the Minister
immediately after the holidays.

DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITY IN
SYDNEY.
AUSTRALIA MUST EVENTUALLY
SUFFER.
 

DR. THOMPSON'S OPINION.
SYDNEY, Friday.
No information has been received by the
Board of Health as to the bubonic plague
in New Caledonia, nor relative to the out-
break of the malady at Hawaii, in the
Sandwich Islands, but the board has ac-
cepted the press telegram as to the pre-
sence of the plague at Hawaii as correct,
and then executive officers have been in-
structed to be on the alert in regard to
vessels which may have touched any port
in the Hawaiian group so that they may
be promptly quarantined on their arrival
here if necessary.
Cable messages have been forwarded to
the health authorities both at Honolulu
and San Francisco, requesting them to send
information as to the existence of the
disease and any developments thereof, and
also as to the precautions adopted, with
the view of preventing it from spreading.
The authorities at San Francisco have been
specially requested to advise this colony
should there be an outbreak of the disease
there.
The Premier has sent similar messages to
the British Resident at Honolulu and the
Government of the United States. It is
not supposed that the disease has made its
appearance at San Francisco, but the mes-
sage has been sent there with the object of
ensuring the receipt of advices early, should
the malady invade the United States.
Should they be apprised of such an event
the authorities here will be able to adopt
such measures as may be deemed advis-
able in the hope of keeping these shores
free from the plague as long as possible.
As far as the outbreak at Hawaii is con-
cerned, the health authorities of this colony
derive a considerable amount of satisfaction
from the circumstance that the steamers
coming from Honolulu to New South Wales
generally touch at either Auckland or Bris-
bane, and thus become liable to inspec-
tion before coming to Sydney.
The Eure was released from quarantine
observation yesterday, and at noon to-
morrow the yellow flag will be hauled
down on board the Pacifique. As to the
M.M.S. Ville de la Ciotat, which is due to
arrive on Friday next, the vessel will not
make the trip to Noumea. The mails for
New Caledonia will be transhipped to the
Pacifque.
The meeting of the Board of Health will
be held to-morrow, at which consideration
will be given to the question of improving
the sources of intelligence from the plague-
stricken countries upon which the colony
has to rely on the present occasion These
have proved extremely unsatisfactory.
Another matter will be considered
will be such a modification of the present
system of quarantining vessels as would
bear less harshly than the existing method
does on vessels arriving from Noumea. The
question of the treatment of sailing vessels
from infected ports will also be discussed.
Dr. Ashburton Thompson, the president
of the board, has arrived at the conclu-
sion that it is inevitable that the plague
should reach Australia sooner or later. The
colonies, he says, might escape the present
wave of infection, but eventually the
plague would invade Australia, even
though the invasion might be deferred for
many years. Quarantine was useful, but
not infallible, and could not be expected to
entirely exclude infection; but there was
no need to become gloomy over the matter,
for even although one or two, or even half-a-
dozen cases were introduced, the authori-
ties might be able to stamp the plague out.
He had no doubt whatever that the plague
was easier to control than small-pox, and
he saw no reason why it should not be
more easily stopped.
With reference to the allegation made
by the Victorian health authorities, that
the Sydney Health department have been
tardy in replying to a certain telegram
sent by Dr. Gresswell, Dr. Ashburton
Thompson states that there had been no
unnecessary delay in the matter. Before
he could answer the question asked by Dr.
Gresswell he had to await the holding of
a meeting of the Board of Health, and the
following day a telegram was sent to the
chairman of the Victorian Board of
Public Health.

PRECAUTIONS AT ADELAIDE.
ARRIVAL OF THE AUSTRALIEN
CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH.
ADELAIDE, Sunday.
On the arrival of the M.M.S. Australien
on Saturday at the Semaphore, the vessel
was visited by the chairman of the Central
Board of Health (Dr. Ramsay Smith) and
the acting health officer. All members
of the ship's company were mustered in-
cluding a number of French soldiers, who
were passengers from Noumea to Marseilles,
and were submitted to a rigorous medical
inspection. As no trace of illness was ap-
parent and the full period of ten days had
elapsed from the vessel's departure from
Noumea, she was granted a clean bill of
health.