Chapter C: J. Mac Carthy

It will doubtless be satisfactory to Miss Nightingale to learn that scrofula and consumption are not common diseases among the native inhabitants of the colony, and that, so far from the efforts made to civilize the people having the effect of causing the extinction of the native races in this colony, the natives in the neighbourhood of the larger towns are rapidly increasing in numbers, while in some of the remoter districts where schools are as yet unknown the population is decreasing. Amongst the causes of this decrease may be mentioned the hateful practice of polyandry, now happily forbidden by law, and the want of proper sustenance, the result partly of imperfect means of cultivation. A better state of things is gradually being brought about by {65} the spread of education, and by this very civilization which is said to be likely to cause the extinction of the native races.

J. F. DICKSON.

_Remarks by the Rev. Mr. Ondoatjee._

MATURA.

In reference to the reasons which induced Miss Nightingale to enter on the present field of inquiry, it may be stated that the conversion of the natives of this island to Christianity, so far from its exerting any fatal or injurious effect on health and life, has vastly improved their condition socially as well as physically. Christian civilization is doing much for them; and the only hope we have of raising the people from that state of moral degradation in which they are found throughout the country is by imparting to them the knowledge of Christian truth, which never fails to produce the happiest effects on their habits of life in general, though it may occasionally happen, that by intercourse with foreigners, vices inimical to longevity are learnt by the aborigines. On the whole, however, it cannot for a moment be doubted that it is to the introduction of Christianity, and, along with it, of European science and European literature, that we have to look for the gradual amelioration of the condition of the races that inhabit this island; and, consequently, it appears to me that no effort should be spared to extend the benefits of a sound Christian education (giving it as much as possible a practical tone and character) throughout the length and breadth of this beautiful and interesting country. It must be admitted that there has been but little done as yet in the island in the way of Christian civilization; but those who are in a position to compare the state of things at present with what it was 20 or 30 years ago admit that there are signs of progress to be seen in various parts of the island, and surely this as a ground of encouragement is not to be despised or underrated.

W. C. MACREADY, Acting Asst. Agent.

Matura, 20th December 1860.

MAURITIUS.

[Sidenote: Vide Tables T. and U., pp. 48 and 49.]

This return contains the numbers of admissions to, deaths and discharges from, the civil hospital, during the last six years, of the creoles and Indians, which may be taken to represent the aboriginal population of this island, although few, except the creoles, are really natives. It will be seen that the rate of deaths is very large, and this, without explanation, might give rise to false inference as to the healthfulness of the island. The general death rate of the Indians throughout the island for 1859 was 25 per 1,000, or only 2 per 1,000 above that of all England for 1858; and, when it is considered that all, or almost all, the Indians are agricultural labourers or servants, and from the nature of their labour much exposed to casualties, such a death rate points to Mauritius as (what it is) an exceedingly healthy locality. Why then so large a mortality as 22 per cent. in the civil hospital? The answer is readily given by the fact that the same prejudice against hospitals exists among the Indians and creoles here as among the poorer classes in England, but in an exaggerated degree, and consequently that a very large proportion of absolutely hopeless cases are admitted; so much is this the case, that in 1860, out of 696 deaths, no less than 108 died within 24 hours after admission, and nearly one-half of the deaths occurred within the first week.

In this return two epidemics of cholera are included; one of very severe character in 1856, and a smaller one in 1859, which carried off above 306 patients. The most fatal diseases, it will be seen, are dysentery, diarrhœa, phthisis, dropsy, and fever. The greater number of the cases of dysentery admitted are old worn-out cases in the last stage of emaciation, filth, and misery; many of them abandoned by their friends, picked up by the police, and brought into hospital to die. The greater part of the cases entered as diarrhœa in former years were undoubtedly either dysentery or phthisis; the latter is as prevalent (if not more so) among all classes of inhabitants as in England. The cases of dropsy depend on the same causes as in Europe, but many cases are seen which present scarcely any morbid change in any of the organs. Fever is of very low type, and true typhus and typhoid are not unfrequent. Although many of the Indians and creoles are habitual drunkards, cases of delirium tremens are very rare. Leprosy is a frequent and fearful disease among creoles and Indians, but the frequency is not shown in the return, as, until {66} lately, all the cases of leprosy were sent to a ward for that purpose in the lunatic asylum. This disease rarely occurs among Europeans arrived from Europe, it is more frequent among creoles of European parents born in the island, and very much more so among the mixed African race and the Indians. Tetanus, both traumatic and idiopathic, occurs very much more frequently than in Europe.

P. B. AYRES, M.D. Lond., Surgeon in charge.

Civil Hospital, Port Louis, 22d June 1861.

CANADA.

Diseases of malarious origin are most numerous among Indians as well as whites, the former comparing favourably with the latter as far as health is concerned.

R. H. DEE, M.D.

MANITOWANING.

[Sidenote: Vide Tables X. and Y. pp. 52 and 53.]

As regards the diseases it is easy to perceive that some predominate over others; for instance, chronicus rheumatismus, worms, porrigo, bronchitis chronica, phthisis pulmonalis, and others. These, of course, in a great measure originate from the careless and dirty habits of the semi-civilized Indians, along with their daily exposure to all sorts of weather without having different clothing to wear in winter from that which they have been in the habit of using during the summer; in addition to which, their living principally upon corn and potatoes (fish not always being procurable), which induces the production of worms, and at the same time being a sort of food very unsuitable for children. Scrofula is universal amongst them, and in a great measure is produced from their near intermarriages; and it is quite a common circumstance for a boy of 16 or 17 to marry a girl of the same age, and very often much younger; hence the offspring of such parents must necessarily be weak and degenerate, and in consequence of their hereditary debility more liable to the attacks of illness. Again, those Indians uncivilized living at a great distance in the interior, and who come down occasionally to trade with the Hudson’s Bay Company, I have always been given to understand were for the most part generally healthy, much more so than those of the semi-civilized tribes. I myself have had but little communication with them, as they seldom visit our island, but the officers of the Company’s service, with whom I have become acquainted, have always expressed but one opinion upon the subject.

DAVID LAYTON.

In running over the diseases for the last five years, many cases of common occurrence, not of dangerous or severe nature, are omitted, from the fact that no particular inventory was required, so that the enclosed number of cases are merely taken at the time of attendance from their symptoms and necessity for peculiar or active treatment.

You are aware that the Savnia Indians are principally Christians, or call themselves such, although living in a half-civilized state. For one portion of the year they are living in warm comfortable houses, while provisions and the necessaries of life are easily procured by them; during this period they are happy and contented, little sickness prevailing. The other portion of the year, from a peculiar propensity, I suppose inherent in the race, _they take to the bush_, while their living in wigwams, scant of clothing, provisions hard to be obtained, exposed to all the vicissitudes of climate, wet feet, &c., as a natural consequence _intermittents, remittent, and other fevers, rheumatism, laryngitis, bronchitis, pleurisy, pneumonia, phthisis pulmonalis, follow invariably_.

_Their diversity of diet_ and method of living has a most pernicious influence in causing dyspepsia, worms, and most other ills to which the alimentary canal is liable, while congestion of liver, lungs, and irritation of bladder are of very frequent occurrence in a mild form; _from this cause_ the whole tribe suffer, even to children of a year old.

What may have been their ailments while in a heathen state I cannot say, not being in attendance on them, but from what I hear of the number of deaths at that period, from variola before the introduction of vaccination, exposure, scant clothing and diet, and changes of climate, &c., it must have been enormous; to draw any definite result or give an average of deaths from their former and present mode of living would be impossible on my part. The few families of {67} _Christian Indians_ on the reserve who live as _whites_ are just as healthy, and increase in numbers equally, while the whole tribe, as they are at present, increase yearly.

THOMAS W. JOHNSTON, M.D., Savnia, C. W.

NEW ZEALAND.

As to the sanitary state of the native population, I regret to state, not only from the information of several gentlemen with whom during my mission I had an opportunity of conversing, but also from personal observation and inquiry, that they are by no means in that healthy state which one would be led to expect when compared with the advance they have made in other respects. In the former it would appear that they are retrograding, and this decline is especially visible in and near the European towns, and easily attributable to causes, the prevalence of which is more or less detrimental to any body of persons, but felt in a greater degree in a mixed community of Europeans and natives. In illustration of this, I may mention the comparatively few births, while from the census it will be seen that a greater equality of the sexes prevails than was generally believed to be the case throughout the entire districts; and perhaps, therefore, the most favourable conclusion to form is, that the native population is not increasing, or, in other words, that, taking the deaths and births into account, it is likely to remain stationary for some time to come, unless swept off by some unusual and fatal disease.

H. TACY KEMP, Native Secretary.

Wellington, 15 June 1850.

LONDON

Printed by GEORGE E. EYRE and WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, Printers to the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Scanned page images of the original book are available from archive.org, search for sanitarystatisti00nigh. Original spelling and grammar are generally retained, with a few exceptions noted below. Original page numbers look like this: {35}. Footnotes are left near their original locations. The transcriber produced the cover image by editing the original, and hereby places it in the public domain. Quotations extending through more than one line of text were printed with a left-quotation mark at the head of each line. These have been converted to modern quotation style. Ditto marks have been sometimes removed, by replacement of the mark with appropriate text. The book was printed with sidenotes, many which pointed to a specific table in Appendix I. Those which were semantically headings, were converted to headings.

Page 14. Comma was inserted after _personal_, in “the improved personal physical, and moral habits”.

Page 20. Table A, which originally spread in small print over about 6 1/2 pages, was split into three distinct tables (A1–A3), on the Colony Headings in Column 1. Sub-table A1 comprises Colonies Sierra Leone, Western Australia, and Natal. Sub-table A2 covers Ceylon. Sub-table A3 covers Canada. Then each of the three sub-tables was split into two Parts after column 13, with the first column repeated in each Part.

Page 26. Table A. a. was split into two parts after column 11, repeating the first column in both parts.

Page 29. Table G. was split into two parts after column 11, repeating the first column in both parts.

Page 30. Table H was split into three tables, (H1–H3), on the Colony headings in column 1, the headings being the same as for Table A, see above. Then each sub-table was split after column 7, repeating column 1 in both Parts.

Page 36. In Table H, there are five succussive rows headed by _Milagria_ _Dehiwella_, _Attidiya vernacular school_, _Weligampittia_, and _Dandogame_. In column five, the corresponding entries were 5,″, - -, ″, and ″, respectively. In this edition, the spaced hyphens have been converted to an em dash, and the three ditto marks are made “5”. There is ample room for debate about this judgment, however.

Page 40. Tables I and K each had three tall RIGHT CURLY BRACKETs intended to combine the information in two or three table cells. This edition removes the brackets, and combines the information into one cell per bracket, by the use of the word _or_. Other tables containing tall brackets were handled in the same way. ¶ Furthermore, in Table K, in the second column opposite _Rheumatismus acutus or Rheumatismus chronicus_, there were three spaced hyphens; also in the last row, 2nd column. The rest of the data in columns 2–4 were either numbers or em dashes. The meaning of the spaced hyphens is not clear to the transcriber, and all such, even in other tables, have been converted to em dashes.

Page 41. Table L was split into two parts after column 13, retaining the first column in both parts. Same for Table P, page 44, and for Table R, page 46, and for Table T, page 48.

Page 50. Table V, column 2, opposite _Chest diseases_, changed “20 7” to “20·7”. Also split the table same as for L, P, R, and T. Table X, page 52, was also split.

Page 59. In the table, _Phthsis_ was changed to _Phthisis_.

Page 65. There is in the printed book a centered heading in italics “_Remarks by the Rev. Mr. Ondoatjee._” The sidenote adjacent to the paragraph following is “MATURA.” There is no other mention of “Ondoatjee” in the book. Without understanding the significance of this reference to “Ondoatjee”, the transcriber has made both of these headings of the same level (h3 in html code).

Page 66. In the sidenote, _MANATOWANING_ was changed to _MANITOWANING_. Also, _ana verage_ was changed to _an average_.