390 president's address — section e. 



Had they reached their chmax and begun to dwindle in numbers- 

 before the white man appeared ? There seems to be evidence of this 

 in Fiji (Fison) and in New Bi-itain (Bromilow), where the natives 

 pointed out sites of older and more populous villages. They seem tO' 

 have become adapted to their environment almost as completely as the 

 other members of the fauna., and to show no signs of invention or 

 progress. They live as their fathers lived until they come into con- 

 tact with the whites. Since the white man came, there is no- doubt 

 about the physical deterioration and diminution of the native^ 

 populations. 



A notable feature in producing this result is the introduction of 

 the white man's diseases among peoples not rendered immune. The 

 fiist fleet which brought the white man to Australia brought with it 

 the germs of smallpox. "An epidemic starting from Sydney in 1789 

 spread during the succeeding years over the whole of the continent," 

 writes Dr. Tidswell; "it was maintained till 1845, shortly after which 

 it appears to have died out There is abundant evidence that during 

 its prevalence it produced an enomious mortality amongst the blacks, 

 about one-half of the native inhabitants of the southern part of Aus- 

 tralia having been killed by it. Notwithstanding the great loss of 

 life amongst the blacks, the whites escaped." At present there is no 

 law of compulsory vaccination in New South Wales. We trust to 

 quarantme, instead of being individually armed against the disease, 

 just as we trust to the British Navy and do not arm ourselves against 

 invasion. There is a danger then of the disease slipping in, and in 

 that case the mortality of the epidemic is not likely to be confined to 

 the few remaining blacks. Fui-ther, the disease might spread to the 

 other States, and to the islands. Is it not time to use sure prevention 

 rather than to trust to an uncertain cure? 



Measles, whooping cough, influenza are under rein amongst races 

 long salted; but cause devastation when introduced amongst the 

 natives. There seems to be no prophylactic known to medical science, 

 and thus there is always danger of the outbreak of epidemics of these 

 diseases. They can only be mitigated by proper treatment and nursing. 

 Quarantine in tlie islands should be as rigidly enforced in the case of 

 these diseases as against the smallpox and scarlet fever more deadly 

 to the whites. 



On the other hand, there is hope of mitigating if not of eradicat- 

 ing the indigenous tropical diseases. We have been astonished and 

 overjoyed at the medical triumphs of the last few years. It is not 

 so long since a citizen of Brisbane, Dr. Bancroft, was one of the first 

 to draw attention to the dissemination of disease by stinging flies. 

 The clue, followed up by Ross and others, has led to wonderful results. 

 Ismailia has been cleared of malarial fever. Yellow Jack has been 

 driven from Havana and New Orleans. Malta fever was traced to 

 the drinking of goats' milk, and disuse of the milk resulted in the 

 extermination of the fevers. Samarai, the entrance port to New 

 Guinea, occupies an island of 60 acres. The Anopheles mosquito has 

 been exte-nninated in the island, and Samarai is free from fevers, black 

 water, i-emittent and intermittent. What has been done for this port 

 may be accomplished for all others, and the natives, be it remem- 

 bered, suffer from fever as well as the whites. Limg diseases are a 

 gerious element of mortality in the islands, but the missionaries are 



