100 



it to say that considerable districts of the hinterland of the 

 Ivory Coast and Dahomey have been declared prohibited as 

 regards the sale of liquor to natives, while the sale of absinthe 

 has been prohibited throughout the French West African 

 possessions. 



As regards other countries, Germany and Great Britain have 

 taken very strong steps in Africa though not nearly as strong 

 as are needed during the last few years. But I must not 

 further intervene in this discussion, except to say that I 

 earnestly hope those who are here will make themselves 

 informed on -this subject, and that whilst I have been chiefly 

 concerned all my life in anti-malarial work, and in supporting 

 the work which our Chairman has so splendidly set on foot, 

 of making known the discoveries tnat have had such far- 

 reaching effects on the welfare of those who work in the 

 tropical possessions, yet at the same time I earnestly hope that 

 this question of the influence of liquor will not be lost sight 

 of, as I believe it to be of the greatest importance that its 

 physical and moral effects should be recognized by every 

 worker in the tropics. 



Mr. EDWARD KNOX (Queensland) : Mr. Chairman and 

 Gentlemen I suppose I owe some apology to this Congress, 

 not being a medical man, for venturing to speak on this sub- 

 ject, but having been for more than thirty years connected 

 with the production of sugar in Queensland which I think is 

 the largest tropical dependency of Great Britain and in Fiji, 

 another important British possession, I thought that I might 

 say something with regard to the problems of sanitation with 

 which we have endeavoured to deal in these Colonies. In 

 Queensland the Government of Australia has decided for 

 certain reasons that European labour should henceforth be 

 used in the development of that State; and the problems which 

 we have had there have been in connection with handling 

 European labour in a tropical climate. So far as I am aware, 

 in no other place in the world has an attempt been made to do 

 agricultural work in the tropics with white men. In Queens- 

 land it is possible, partly, I think', because the climate of 

 Queensland differs from that of every other tropical region of 

 which I have heard. The unusual coolness of the nights in 

 winter, the freedom from malaria, and the dryness of the 

 atmosphere for a large portion of the year are very material 

 factors in preserving the health of the men employed, and so 

 far as the men are concerned there does not seem to be any 

 reason why with protective duties provided there is sufficient 

 money to pay the extra duties the work of tropical agriculture 

 should not be performed by Europeans there. That it can 

 ultimately be so performed when natural conditions only come 



