103 



They, however, are taking to various other things. Beer was 

 supposed to be a safe drink in the Federated Malay States, and 

 can be imported free of duty; but it is now found that the 

 native shopkeeper is supposed in some way to be adulterating 

 his beer, and the beer is a very potent liquor indeed. A Food 

 and Drugs Act which has recently been passed will, it is 

 hoped, enable the medical officers by analysis to detect any 

 adulteration. It is also feared that there is adulteration in 

 toddy. Toddy is the native drink of the Indian labourer, and 

 we have always said that if he must drink he must be 

 encouraged to drink toddy. But recent instances have led us 

 to fear that toddy also is subject to adulteration. 



Mr. G. H. GOLLEDGE (Ceylon) : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen 

 I did not come prepared to speak on this subject to-day, but 

 I should like to emphasize Dr. Fernando's remarks with regard 

 to the way coolies come from India impregnated with 

 ankylostomiasis. It would seem a point for inquiry as to 

 what is being done by the Government in India before the 

 coolie^ come to us. There is no doubt that the medical aid 

 question has received very considerable attention, certainly in 

 Ceylon, of late years. An enormous amount of money has 

 been spent by proprietors of estates to eliminate disease as 

 much as possible on estates, and I think a very great deal has 

 been done and a marked improvement made. One of the 

 speakers referred to the influence of alcohol with regard to 

 disease, and there is no doubt that we are very much handi- 

 capped by that fact. It is to be hoped that now the Govern- 

 ment have taken steps to control the liquor traffic, some 

 improvement will take place. 



Sir SYDNEY OLIVIER : Mr. Chairman With reference to 

 the statement by previous speakers that in some of our 

 British Colonies it has been found that natives of India, 

 imported as labourers, were highly charged with ankylos- 

 tomiasis, I wish to say that almost any Government would 

 do well not to take it for granted that ankylostomiasis 

 is imported necessarily by alien labourers. Our atten- 

 tion in Jamaica was drawn to ankylostomiasis very largely 

 by the fact that we had imported natives of India who suffered 

 from it, and suffered from it very largely because they were in 

 barracks on the estates. Having had our attention called to 

 it, we then proceeded to make an ankylostomiasis survey of 

 our population, and we were able to do so by taking those 

 classes of population which came under control in the prisons, 

 the hospitals and asylums. You may say that is not a very 

 representative type of population, and that it is necessarily a 

 part of the population which is perhaps in a rather low state 

 of vitality. We found then that although the general idea was 



