Report of the Central Board of Health of Jamaica / presented to the legislature under the provisions of the 14th Vic. chap. 60, and printed by order of the Assembly.

  • Jamaica. Central Board of Health
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Central Board of Health of Jamaica / presented to the legislature under the provisions of the 14th Vic. chap. 60, and printed by order of the Assembly. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Picfdcc. pests of society, tlie iiieiidicaiit, (be drsnikard, nuA the tliief? it is not iess our interest tiiau tlu^irs thrst our poor neighbours should enjoy tlie (.'i>uve]iieneies and decencies of life; that they should po^^sess tiie means, of which many of them are entirely destitute, of being cleanly and observant of domestic propriety, liaving each their own liome for their own f<nnily, and enjoying-, if not many of the comforts of life, yet at least, the blessings of which none ought to be de- prived, and which are common even to the beasts of tlie field—the pure elements of air and water, so ne- cessary to the continuance of man's health and strengtli. In the mother country, great efforts have been made during the last few years, and are still being made, to improve the condition of the labour- ing poor ; their difficulties far, far exceed those of Jamaica ; their over-loaded population, and the ter- rors of a]>proaching w inter, are evils that are not felt here. There are, however, peculiarities in the cli- mate and position of this island w hich render sanitary measures even more necessary. In this tropical clime putrefaction is more energetic ; vegetation more ra- pid and rank than in a temperate one. The rains here ai*e, for the most part, confined to certain sea- sons of the year, alternating with intense heats ; and when they do come falling in torrents, inundating the Avhole surface, and being afterwards subjected to the broiling effects of a fiery sun, they give off in abund- ance, emanations teeming with the seeds of disease. Sickness also, in the lowlands at least, is more sud- den in its attack, more violent in its progress, more fatal in its nature, and more rapid in its termination. i^Lxperience has proved that all these evils are reme- diable, that the great mortality which has hitherto existed from these causes is preventable. The real difficulty consists in the impoverished condition of the people, and in the comparatively small and scat- tered population, who are able to live throughout the year independent, -almost, if not altogether, of daily labour—such is the richness of the soil, such the fer-