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.

540/594 (page 230)

$gar canes, frnit, &c. &c.; small quantities of arnow. root, and coffee, and have ()oultry, hogs, goats, asses, and horses, at pastsirno-e gralis, on the ahandoned estates in their neighbourhood, ^vhich render thi^m independent of hiljour. No. 5. Ti)<j amo5int of p:r.!peris'n in \]\h pari-^ij not large, frjtn t]ie Au-iliiies of obtaining tiie means of snl)sist»'nce as <letailed in nt:m!)er four; tlie same ib- servation a!so applies io thosa persons wh ), fr(;:n sickness, rg-?, or other disability, are unable to cont; i- bjite anything for j)roviding ihemselves with medi- cines and medical attendance ; it is customary for most ;;f them \o live with, and be cared for, by tlieir fcirijily and others, to whom they act as servants, Avatclimen, &c. j\o. 6. \ am the resident qualified medical practi- tioner in Ihis parish. I reside at Strathnaver, near to Charles Town, and BufFBav, the two larirest vil- lages m the parish. 'J'iie number is more than equal to pecuniary remuneration, if not to the requirements of tiie population, INo. 7. I keep a dispensary at my residence, antl have depots of niedicines at other convenient places in the parish. It is supported in part by voluntary contributions. The negro pr)puhif ion du not contri- bute their quota towarr's the same. I\o. 8. The negro popuhstion, i.i general, only ap- ply to the dispeiisary in extreme sickness for rnedir < ines and medical treatment. Their reluctance arises from a spirit of economy, fnun a prodigious failh in tljc simples of the country, and cften from a firm be- lief in being oi>eahed, in which case the quackdoc- tor*' is eenerallv consulted. No. 9. Tlic dispensary act of the nintli Victoria^ chapter forty-three, worked very well in this parish, as far as 1 was concerned, because I was long kno\\n as a successfid practitioner. The cause of its failure may be attributed generally to a want of knowledge pf, and confidence in, the practitioner. , No. 10b Mr. Dunbar is the coroner of this parish :$