Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the regulations affecting the sanitary condition of the army, the organization of military hospitals, and the treatment of the sick and wounded ; with evidence and appendix. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty.
- Great Britain. Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the Sanitary Condition of the Army.
- Date:
- 1858
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the regulations affecting the sanitary condition of the army, the organization of military hospitals, and the treatment of the sick and wounded ; with evidence and appendix. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
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![enable us to judge what further steps, if any, should be taken. In the event of the measure which I now propose, and which I regard as an experimental one, being adopted, itwill be necessary that a sapper should be sent to Mr. Walker, the manufacturer of the corrugated iron buildings, to receive instruction in the method of erecting the hospital, and also that he should accom- pany it to the Crimea, where lie may be otherwise employed as soon as he has discharged the special duty required of him. The cost of the hospital, including twenty-six bed- steads, lining, flooring, &c., will be 260/. It is most important that no delay should occur if the hospital is to be provided, and I therefore entreat an immediate reply to this communication. As the enclosed plan and letter from the manufac- turer are original documents, I beg they may be returned to me. I have, &c. (Signed) A. Smith, Director General. The Deputy Secretary-at-War, &c. &c. No. 84. Dr. Smith to II. Roberts, Esq. Army and Ordnance Medical Siu, Department, 16th January 1855. I HA'S'E the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 13th instant, and its enclosures, upon the subject of the purchase of further quantities of lemon juice for the use of the army in the Crimea. In reply, I beg to state, for the information of His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, that it is highly necessary that no delay should take place, but that at least 20,000 gallons should be shipped Avithin the next two months, and the remainder as soon after- wards as possible. The quantities should l)e sent on to the Crimea as soon as they are delivered, say 20,000 lbs. at a time. I am not prepared to advise that oranges be sent out, as I fear tlie satisfactory distribution of such an article would under existing circumstances prove almost impracticable, I am more inclined to trust to the lime juice ; and I think if it be understood that the latter is absolutely necessary to the safety of the troops, such efforts will be made as Avill obtain it in the quantities required. I have, &c. (Signed) A. Smith, H. Roberts, Esq. Director General. &c. &c. No. 85. Dr. Smith to Dr. Forrest. Army and Ordnance Medical vSii?, Department, 18th January 1855. Some of the medical officers who have returned to this country have mentioned to me that the sewer- age in and about the hospitals at Scutari was very defective when the army first arrived at Constan- tinople, I shall therefore be glad to be informed if it has since been improved to the extent necessary to insure, so far as it is concerned, every chance of health to the inmates of the establishment. If nothing a])pears to have been done, I request you Avill immediately represent the necessity of measures being at once adopted. I have also to recpiest you will inform me the distance of the burial ground from the hospital, and the usual dei^th of the graves, and Avhether each corpse is buried separately, or a number buried together. I shall also be glad to be informed what means exist of conveying the dead to the burial ground ; and if what is necessary is not in possession, you must at once recommend that some light conveyances be constructed at Constantinople for the purpose, unless you are of opinion, should such be wanted, that they may be more speedily furnished from this country. I have, &c. (Signed) A. Smith, Dr. Forrest, Director General. &c. &c. No. 86. Dr. Smith to the Principal Medical Officer. Army and Ordnance Medical Sir, Department, 18th January 1855. I HAVE the honour to request you will inform me how far the locality is from the camp where the bodies of the soldiers and animals who have died are interred, and whether they are buried to a sufficient depth, so as to prevent the escape above ground of the gases resulting from decomposition. I have, &c. (Signed) A. Smith, The Principal Medical Officer, Director General. &c. &c. No. 87. Dr. Hall to Dr. Smith. Before Sebastopol, Sir, 20th January 1855. Adverting to your letter of the 28th of Sep- tember last, with its enclosure, I have now the honour to transmit the opinion of a Medical Board assembled to report on the specimens of dried meat alluded to in your communication, and labelled Cote- de-bocuf, which arrived here some little time after your letter, and its preservative qualities were avcU tested by having been allowed to remain in the box in which it came out on the damp ground of a tent during a veiy wet and tempestuous season. I have, &c. (Signed) John Hale, Dr. A. Smith, Inspector General &c. &c. of Hospitals, We, being a Medical Committee assembled by Dr. Hall, Inspector General of Hospitals, pursuant to instructions received from Dr. Smith, Director General of the Army and Ordnance Medical Depart- ment, to report on a specimen of dried meat sent out in November last, and proposed to be supplied for the use of the army in the field, certif}', after having had the portion of patent dried meat labelled, Cote de Boeuf, 14 Juillet 1854, prepared in the manner set forth in the instructions Avhich accompanied it, that Ave have partaken of the same, and find it very palatable, but the muscular fibre rather dry. It is very portable, keeps Avell in all weathers, at least judging from the specimen under consideration, wliicli has been lying in a damp tent for the last six Aveeks to test its powers of preservation, and Avould, in our opinion, be a great acquisition, under certain circum- stances, to an army in the field, and Ave therefore recommend that a supply of it be sent out and kept in reserve in the commissariat stores. One great objection that strikes us to its general adoption in the army is the length of time it requires to be steeped m Avater before cooking, which is not](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21365210_0788.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
