Report by 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

Credit: Report by 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 King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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$tiiit.y of the climate, such theiibhence of all bitini^ ne- oe^sity to liihoiir, that many, aye, the vast majority of tiie lower rhisses of the population, eitlier sfjiiat iU)\\ n in siilien laziness, or lead an idle migratory life, wanderino- from place to |)iace in a state of partial nudity, siii)sistinj>', in a i-reat measure, uj)on thy fat- ness and abundance of nature. Jt is impossible to shut out the truth that much of the present calamities, and existing- difficulties, viz. : the want of confidence on the part of the labourin.!]: class, and their unwil- lingness to earn their bread by the sweat of their brows arise from the unforgoiten recollections of slavery. To the rising generation, therefore, must be looked for, the improvesnent of things ; and although the fruit may now be effectuaily sown, still the har- vest must be contentedly waited for ; in the mean time, bearing in mind the maxim that sains pojmli est snmma lex J' it behoves the legislature, it I)ehoves individuals to bestir themselves for their own preser- vation, and that of their fellowmen. The late awful pestilence, which came like a clap of thunder, and in u few short months, engulphed in the silent tomb, at least thirty thousand of the inhabitants, has not even yet left these shores. An all-wise and an all-seeing Providence alone can tell how soon it may resume its sway ; but after such an example, such an ordeal,, shall the means be neglected of mitigating, if not pre- venting the ravages of such a fell destroyer of the hu- man race? While, however, attention is drawn to the evident and fearful effects of this sad visitation, let it not be overlooked that more quiet, but not less fatal diseases annually thin the numbers of the com- munity, and have done so year after year, unper- ceived and attracting no public attention, through the neglect of one of the most important measures of sa- nitary reform, a registration of births and deaths.— But fortunately for humanity, the remedy against cholera is the remedy against all the other diseases. The Central Board of Health, in pursuance of these views, and the urgently and immediately demanded sa-$