IMMIGRANTS AND SMALL-POX.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3283, 14 August 1872, Page 3

IMMIGRANTS AND SMALL-POX.

Some further letters from Dr, Feather-ston-to the General Government have been published in a Piirliatnentary paper to hand yesterday. TJie following is one of them: — " Hamburg, 25th May, 1J872. Sir—l have the honour to inform you that a short time previous to my leaving London I requested Mr Seaton to proceed to the Orkney and Shetland isles, for the purpoae of induciug some of the fishermen there, with their wives and families, to emigrate, with the view of their being located in the

special settlement contemplated by tha Superintendent of Otago on Stewart's Island. The accimnts j»roviously rendered to me of the prospects of emigration, from thxrtHi islands were far from encouraging. Poverty* ignorance, and especially distrust of a proffared boon, were sad stumbling blocks in thes way of rcrsuading these people to move fromw a land of starvation to a land of plentyl But a new, and I am afraid, to the im'mts o£ colonists, a more serious dilHeulty or obstacle has arisen. Mr Seatou, in a letter addressed to Mr Morrison, aiA forwarded to me hero, dated Fortreu, Kith May, says:— "Tlurfu seem* to he good ground for'the report I wrotcs you of, tiiat stu;iJl-pox is very prevalent in Stornoway, and said to be of a very bati type. The fishing boats are not to be allowed to assemble there as usual; ami it Is also asserted tliat fever has broken out. A gentleman who caiuo down from Strone it* the steamboat with me, intending to go toStoruoway, called this moniing and told me that he was going to return, as he had met ' a gentleman nfc tiie Portr<KJ Hotel who informed him that it was dangerous to visit the place, and he advised me to turn back also. 1 intend to see for myself, but in the meantime will you be kind enough to lay this matter before the Agtmt-(Jeueral, and let rim know his opiuion on the subject, as I vroitldL be very sorry to act in such a case upoa nvy own responsibility." Under ordinary circumstances, I shouM have had no hesitation in instructing Mr Seaton to carry out the mission entrusted to> him, and to ignore the existence of smallpox ; but after Mr Seaton had declared thedisease to be of a virulent form, 1 felt that there was no other course open to me that* to withdraw him from the field'until farther enquiries arc made. But this raiseß the question—ls emigration to be prohibited from all <-.ouniries in which, small-pox is known to exist ? I enclose yota the Registrar-General's last report, from which you will learn that small-pox hasbeen racing for the last two years, ami is still raging, isi every country of Europe—in. country districts equally as in towns. But in considering this nuestiou, I venture, as a medical man, to lay down the following propositions as incontestable :—l. That vaccination is not an absolute, or anything like an absolute, preventative. 2. That, seeing that "he incubation extend? over a penorl'oi from 12 days to 14, without, in many cases,, any perceptible symptoms during a great part of that period, it is seldom, if ever, possible for a nicdieaT man to detect the disease at the iucipicucy of its incubation. If these propositions can be maintained, then* it would seem to follow that by no possible precautions can you prevent the disease occasionally developing itself on board an emigrant vessel—it may bo a few, or 14 daysafter the vessel has sailed. The wonder, is that the disease, when it is so prevalent as it at present is, does not break out «m board every emigrant ship. It is urged by some that you can prevent. this by establishing depots and keeping the emigrants there a certain time, but it is more than probable that the d<:p«itn would prove nice hatching licnts. Others urge, ship the emigrants from a port where the disease doea not exist, but, unfortunately, no such port in to be found ; but, at any rate, why not revaceinate them all round before embarkation ? The reply usually givea to thin suggestion is, that revaccinatton will have no eflect upon the diuuasu after incubation has commenced ; and also, that revacf*inatiou often produces grave constitution.-* disturbance very undesirable in emigrants a*, the point of sailing. Let me not be understood in these brfe and hurried remarks as ignoring the necessity of taking every precaution—as advocating a» Uti'xrzfairr, a <lnlm far nient': system—for I am really showing the absolute necessity of adopting all known precautions, While conetending at the same time that no precaution* you can possibly take will always be effectual ; a certain amount of risk is inevitable-. — I have, &c,

I. K. FbAthkiwion'. Tlic Hon. W, (Jisbome.

I SntANoKits paying a visit to Dunedin Are often tit a loan to know what ia the beat establishment to visit for tho purchaso of drapery uid clothing. Hetbert k IJ&ynes, and Co. o(to special advantages to tin put* He that can bo met with nowhere elite In tho city. They keep at nil time* the largest and beat aatoitod atock of every clium of goods, Imported direct from tft*lending manufacture™ and w»rchon*ctnoa tX homo,. which being bought entirely upon cash terms, they aro enabled to offer good* of such eterling value as caiuiot be (ynmllotl by any other hoiwc In tho trade. Every article In stock In marked at a fixed price for vp*Ay money, from which no abatement in over' made, m that tho most inexperienced buy their good* '*t the tame prlcex its tho bent judges. Their terms atfl-net cjuili, without dliscount or rcductioiui of any kind. A j fuller description of their stock Sllbo found in an. AdvcrlUemeut on tho Ural page of this papt*.— [Advt.l Dit liiiKiin'ri J'lKwi'imiiVNi:. -Multitudes of psopte »ro hopelcitsly Kiitrtrtriß from D«bimy, Nonrou* and Liver Cf)iupl»lnt«, ]>upre*-lo;i of Bclualon*,, IJnfltiuui for Business or'Sludv, F.ulure of Heartrg-,, Sight, and Memory, Ijwsltudu, AVtßt of Power, &c., whnicauwi »<*iiiltofii jtrrmaiicnt cure by the no»r rctne-ly I'iiihi'iioiukb (Ocutiic Oxyj.eu), whlcft »x. once Allays »H irrit*tion an I a-dlem«nt, imparts new energy and 11'o to tlio (.•nf.-nblcil constitution, and rapl'lly cures every stnge of these hitbeito incuntt)!* and diKtreialnß m*MU*. H<M by all Chemists andt Htortftft'pers throughout tho Colonies, from whoni PAtiipbloU containing Testimonial* may beobtain*d. S3T Caution.- Be particular to a«k for,Da Bkkiht'h Piiohi'iioi>v.vk, as iinlUtlonti arc abroad. "Wholesale AgcnW for New Zealand—Kkmitiiorni?, Pbossbb* and C<»., Dunedlu.—[A.DVT.J 2*iF

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