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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![system of inspection and disinfection which we amongst ourselves are establishing for every vessel that comes to the colony, why we need proclaim two or three cases of yellow fever to the whole world, and get our trade crippled, as was pointed out by Dr. Bowen. This is not a medical question alone; it affects commercial interests very considerably, and that I consider one of the objects of the Confer- ence to try and advance as far as possible with due regard to the pub- lic safety. We have taken a whole day to decide what should be the pro- cess of disinfection ; everything has been elaborately detailed, how the ship's hold is to be fumigated, by what pro- cess, and everything else ; and now we have established that it is essential every vessel should leave with a bill of health. I think Dr. Bowen's sugges- tion is the proper one, and I really wish we could arrive at some agreement so as to let us arrive at a uniform system. The PEESIDENT : I would ask the minority whether they would be pre- pared to advise that the views of the ma- jority should be inserted in the law, hav- ing had the benefit of expressing their views upon the principle?—that is to say, whether, taking more perhaps Dr. Crane as coming from Trinidad, he would feel himself bound to advise in his own colony that the views of the majority should not be accepted ? Dr. crane : If the bill of health were to be treated as of any value ; but until that bill of health is a truthful record we won't accept it in Trinidad. We decided that long ago; it was decided by our Quarantine Board, and what we have been trying to do is to get the fullest information, and not rely upon the bill of health altogether. Mr. low : But you have your fort- nightly reports. Dr. grieve : The whole argument against these unannotated bills of health is that it neutralises all the elaborate precautions that have been arranged. Unless we know it is infected, we can- not disinfect. Mr. BERKELEY: I am going to objcet to the word exists I cannot agree to it. Dr. PRINGLE : In New York they have contagious diseases hospitals ; if there are cases there and they issue clean bills that would not be a true bill. Dr. grieve : In England there is no quarantine against smallpox, and they don't deal with it; but if they had cholera in England they would mention it on the bills of health—only cholera and Plague—and the same apphes to America. Dr. PRINGLE : I move that the form of bill of health suggested by the Barbados delegates be accepted :— [See Annex (A), Minutes, Sixth Sitting. Page 85.] Mr. SANDERSON: I second that. The president : That is the bill of health put forward. Dr. bowen : We have already settled that we are to have an agree- ment by which each colony shall inform one another, not of deaths, but of all cases of these diseases which have occurred. Dr. crane : I do not approve. I do not think it is desirable to have any bills of health in the Ordinance. If you are going to have a bill of health put into the Ordinance, it is something by which we are to be bound, and I shall object to be bound by anything which is not a truthful report. Mr. SANDERSON: We should have a clause put in here fixing the dates on which quarantine should be declared when—two or three of us object it follows the same lines as the other. Dr. grieve : The foul bill comes on now. The PRESIDENT: We need not have two forms. Mr. SANDERSON: That is the custom all over the world. The PRESIDENT: Mr. McKinuey has just raised the point, whether it is as in the definition of infected place or whether it has existed, or has existed within the incubation period ? Dr. grieve : I should say the word prevails in the bill of health refers to a place which has become liable to being](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21297678_0212.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
