-]6 TlMEHRI. 



kept as isolated as possible, and the disease prevented from 

 spreading. When, however, immigration commenced, 

 leprosy was introduced from India, first by the ship 

 Colgraine in 1842 and by the Ganges in 1858. In 1861 

 several Chinese immigrants arrived here with leprosy, 

 and also in 1862 by the ship Agra, so that the disease, 

 which hitherto had been principally confined to the black 

 and coloured races, soon began to spread to the immigrant 

 population. To-day there are at the leper asylum over 200 

 East Indians and Chinese suffering from leprosy, to say 

 nothing of the cases on the sugar estates and the 

 Georgetown and Berbice contingent. In 1831, according 

 to an official paper at the Government Secretary's Office 

 entitled " Return of leprosy negroes in the Essequebo 

 division of the united colony of Demerara and Esse- 

 quebo," there were some 431 leper negroes in Deme- 

 rara ; then commenced immigration and the new 

 departure, when lepers were allowed to mingle freely 

 with the community. At the present time it is cal- 

 culated that there must be more than 1,000 cases of 

 leprosy here, or 1 in every 250 of the population, and 

 this notwithstanding the large number that die annually 

 from the disease — over 16 percent. Will the inhabitants 

 of this country be content to allow this increase to go on 

 at the same rate during the next few years ? 



In 1832 the poor and disabled lepers were removed to 

 the mouth of the Pomeroon river, and a more unsuitable 

 place, under the circumstances, could not well have been 

 found, its distance from Georgetown being its only 

 recommendation. At this place there was what is known 

 as an Indian Post — a collection of Indians presided over 

 by a Government Officer, and supposed to be in the en- 



