§ MR. SHAW LEFEVREasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether he has concurred in the opinion expressed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in a letter to the Admiralty dated December 3, 1875, as to the share of the responsibility of the captain and medical officer of H.M.S. "Dido" for the introduction of measles into the Fijian Islands, and the consequent loss of life in those Islands; and, if so, what course has been taken by the Admiralty with reference to those officers?
§ MR. HUNT, in reply, said, his noble Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies had stated, in the letter referred to, that he was unable to arrive at any decided conclusion as to the proportion in which the blame for the grave neglect incurred in this lamentable affair should be divided as between the naval and the colonial officers, though he could not admit that the captain and medical officer of the Dido had cleared themselves of the charge of having failed to give the fullest notice by the ordinary means of warning of the fact that there was an outbreak of measles on board the vessel. His noble Friend then went on to say that it the was an unfortunate omission not to fly the yellow flag while the ship was in the harbour. With regard to the share of the responsibility, he could not concur with his noble Friend. He was of opinion that the greater portion of the responsibility rested upon the colonial authorities. In reference to flying the 256 yellow flag, that was not required by the regulations, when a vessel with measles on board came into a home port, unless there was a special Order in Council that the yellow flag should be hoisted. Nor was it required in a foreign port, unless the quarantine regulations prescribed it. He was not aware that there were any such regulations in Fiji. Directly the Dido came into harbour she was boarded by Mr. Layard, the Administrator. The captain was on the watch for him, and informed him, as he came up to the ship's side, that the doctor wished to see him. The Administrator went down into the cabin, and the doctor informed him that there were measles on board. So that the captain and the doctor took steps to inform the colonial authorities of that fact; but, unfortunately, none of the parties concerned seemed to be aware of the serious nature of the disease when imported fresh among the Natives. The Admiralty had informed the doctor and captain that they disapproved of their conduct in not having treated the matter more seriously. The disease was treated on board as merely a child's disease. No proper precautions were taken to prevent its communication with the shore, and the consequence was a lamentable loss of life among the Natives of the Fiji Islands. The mischief seemed to have arisen in a great degree from ignorance rather than inattention or neglect; and therefore the Board had not thought it their duty to take more serious notice of the case than by the letter which had been written to the parties.
§ MR. SHAW LEFEVRE, referring to the difference of opinion between the First Lord and the Colonial Secretary, asked, whether the right hon. Gentleman would lay on the Table any communications he made on the subject to the officers of the Dido?
§ MR. HUNT said, he had no objection to lay on the Table certain Papers relating to the subject.