Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: British West Indian Conference on Quarantine, 1888. 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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![Trinidad are specially liable to receive it from the ships that come from Cal- cutta, but I do not think the danger of importation from persons is very great. I think, as regards cholera 1 would deal with it under other clauses, but I am quite willing to agree to 6 days if Dr. Crane thinks that sufficient. De. BO^VEN : No, 10 days for cholera. Mb. McKIJSTNEY: I shall go with the majority of the Medical opinion. Conference adjourns for half an hour. After adjournment, The president said : I believe members have been furnished with the amended Minutes of Saturday's proceed- ings and the draft minutes of yesterday's proceedings. I would ask whether the Conference would take Saturday's Min- utes as read, and confirm them. Agreed to. Dr. GEIEVE : Bearing upon the discussion we had before the adjourn- ment, I would suggest that the first Eule for Quarantine should read some- thing like this:— [See Minutes, Third Sitting. Page 60.] Mb. SANDEESON: On behalf of my colleague and myself, we put in our protest. The president : The votes of the majority may be printed, and discussion on the number of days deferred until it comes up again. Having settled it for individuals, we had better go on now to the question of quarantine of vessels. Db. GRIEYE : The principle with re- gard to vessels we started with, was that quarantine of vessels should be a quarantine of observation. The pro- tection of the country depends not upon the detention of the vessel but its thorough disinfection with all its con- tents. We should make the rule so wide that if any Colony desired it would be at liberty to remove all persons from on board if proper provision for them were made, and the Quarantine Authori- ties should then take charge of that vessel and disinfect her. So long as she is certified as being free from in- fection there is no need to fix the time of detention. Of course, before we can enter upon this thoroughly we must define absolutely what an infected vessel is. The PRESIDENT : It was agreed that the definition as given in the Barba- dos Ordinance, and as amended slightly, should be printed and then submitted. That has been printed. I agree with Dr. Grieve that we cannot settle the question of the disinfection of the vessels, until we know what is an infected vessel. Mb BEEKELEY : To make a begin- ning, I move as an amendment to a. [See definition of Infected vessel. Page 40, Minutes, Second Sitting.] That we strike out all words after Ordinance ; I feel sure my colleague will support me in this, which we were told to consider the most important point of the whole matter. It seems to us that as little discretion as possible should be allowed to the different Governments in fixing what are or what are not *' infectious diseases. It is an important matter for this Conference to arrive at an understanding as to the cases in which quarantine should be enforced. Unless we do arrive at that, I do not see how we can carry out our instruc- tions, part of which were, You must endeavour to get the Conference to decide what is to be considered infectious disease, and if we allow to individual Governors this prescriptive power where- by individual colonies might declare diseases other than those mentioned in the Ordinance, we shall not, I think, carry out the instructions we have had, or aj'rived at a satisfactory decision. Capt. MALING : I support that. The diseases which should be considered infectious diseases are named in the model Ordinance. They are stated there distinctly—yellow fever, the plague The PEESIDENT : Not plague. Capt. MALING: They are specified —yellow fever, the plague, cholera, or smallpox—and beyond that I don't think I should be justified in going. Mb. BEEKELEY: (to the Presi- dent) This is either your definition or your colleague's. The PEESIDENT : Oh no, the Bar- bados Ordinance.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21297678_0161.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
