Prize essays on leprosy / Thompson ; Cantlie.

  • Thompson, John Ashburton, 1848-1915.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Prize essays on leprosy / Thompson ; Cantlie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    in Amoy, and that 7 per cent, of persons who applied for treatment at the native hospital were suffering from it. Dr. Patrick Manson wrote in 1881 : Leprosy has laid a firm hold on the people. Large numbers of lepers are attracted as beggars to Amoy, but this does not explain the extent of its prevalence, and in the population of the neighbouring villages one leper is considered to exist for every 450 of the population, or thereabouts. And again it was said : At Canton in 1871 leprosy, both anaesthetic and tubercular, is common among the natives. Lastly, it was noted in 1873 that lepra had increased compared with what it had been ten years ago. The medical reports from which these statements have been taken began only in 1871 ; consequently they do not deal with the beginning of the period of most interest. But I believe that the two provinces named have always been known seats of lepra in China, and that immigration to Australia has always been from them alone. The following table shows the number of Chinese cleared from Hong Kong to Australia during the twenty years 1869 to 1888. In the latter year immigration was almost brought to a close by the Chinese Immigration Restriction Act, which was then adopted by the Governments of all the colonies except Western Australia, and except South Aus- tralia as regards the Northern Territory only. Table I.—Showing the total number of Chinese cleared from Hong Kong to ports lijing in each of the colonies mentioned. New South Wales . . . 16,926 Victoria .... 7,84s South Australia . . . Northern Territory . . . HA53 Queensland .... 29,558 Tasmania ... » Total 65,5(>3 (From the ‘ Hong Kong Government Gazette,’ by favour of Mr. Commis- sioner Hobson.) But this table only gives the destination declared at the port of departure, and has little bearing on distribution of the immigrants within Australia.
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