694 SUPPLEMENTARY APPENDIX. 



" By a rigorous inspection of ships on their arrival, it has been found 

 " possible to prevent subsequent importations, a notable instance of pre- 

 " vention having occurred in 1872. Tasmania has hitherto quite escaped 

 " the disease ; so also has New Zealand, where an importation of it in 

 " 1872 was prevented by strictly isolating a vessel that had arrived with 

 ' small-pox on board." 



In New South Wales, Dr. MacLaurin, who has been President of the 

 Board of Health since 1889, informed us that the Government act on the 

 assumption that small-pox is an exotic disease, and that every case must 

 have come from outside the colony, and it is therefore dealt with under 

 a quarantine Act of William IV., originally instituted for dealing with 

 cholera. By an Act passed in 1882, notification of small -pox was made 

 compulsory on medical men and householders under heavy penalties. At 

 Sydney notification of small-pox is followed up by the compulsory 

 removal of the patient and all persons who have been in the house with 

 the patient to the quarantine station at North Head. This station is 670 

 acres in extent, and situated on the peninsula at the mouth of Sydney 

 Harbour, and is seven miles from the Health Office, with which there is 

 telephonic and telegraphic communication. The persons are conveyed to 

 the station by a steamboat comfortably fitted expressly for the purpose, 

 and no difficulty has been experienced in effecting their removal. It was, 

 in Dr. MacLaurin's opinion, by carrying out this practice of isolation and 

 quarantine that " the epidemic of 1881-82 was suppressed," and small-pox 

 " has 'never become epidemic since this plan has been adopted." The 

 persons who have been in the house with the patient are detained 21 days 

 in quarantine from the date of the last possible contagion. Should a case 

 of small-pox arise among them, those who had been in contact with such 

 infected person would be detained for a further period of 21 days, and so 

 on. To facilitate this, the exposed persons are distributed in separate 

 groups within the station. They are allowed to receive letters or parcels, 

 etc., and a telegraph operator is employed, " whose special business it is 

 " to work the telegraph at their request." " Reasonable compensation is 

 " given by the Government for loss ; " and there are heavy penalties under 

 the original Act whereby the quarantine is secured. The station is, accord- 

 ing to Dr. MacLaurin, " a pleasant place to stay in, and everything is done 

 " that can be done to make the people comfortable : they have nothing 

 " whatever to do, and are free from all care, and they can spend the day 

 " pleasantly enough ; but they do not like it." No one, however, raises 

 any objection to the Sydney system : "the people are all very sensible 

 about it." In all Australian towns the same system is carried out as 

 strictly, with the result that there was not a case of small-pox in Australia 

 on February 5th, 1890 ; and Dr. MacLaurin is of opinion that the risk of 

 dying of small-pox in Australia is smaller than in any other part of the 

 world. As regards vaccination : In New South Wales it is very little 

 practised ; there is no compulsory Act ; and though medical opinion is in 

 favour of it, an opinion shared by Dr. MacLaurin, it is not likely that a 

 compulsory Vaccination Act could be passed or would be tolerated. The 

 proportion of young persons in New South Wales who are not vaccinated 

 is accordingly very krge : probably much more than half of those under 



