?3
breeding, into a danger, not merely to the persons holding them, but to their neighbours.
The opinions of well known Parsi priests quoted by Dr. Bentley in his paragraphs 395-396
show that there is no reason why wells should not be kept in a sanitary condition without
interfering with any religious belief. The system of licensing is well understood, and a
potentially dangerous well would be licensed just as, for example, an oil engine, which
may possibly prove a danger to its neighbours, is at present licensed. Such a license
would be issued without payment and would be withdrawable with due notice in cases in
which the well was not kept in a sanitary condition.
"8. Undoubtedly the best way of dealing with really badly infected wells is to fill
them up entirely. We believe that the objection to doing so is often based on the
expensive nature of the work. We consider that the Corporation would be spending
money most usefully to wards the prevention of malaria if they agreed to contribute half of
the cost, provided that the wells were filled in within a specified date after its being
condemned.
"9. The amendments that would be necessary in the Municipal Act to permit of the
measures suggested in paragraph 6 above would be-
(a) The amendment of section 381 to permit the Commissioner to require wells
to be licensed, or to require the well to be filled up or cleansed, an appeal to lie to
the Standing Committee, only in the case of wells ordered to be filled up or hermeti-
cally covered.
 (b) To allow the Commissioner, where the well has been ordered to be filled
up or hermetically covered, and the appeal, if any, against the order has been
rejected by the Standing Committee and the order is not obeyed, to enter upon the
premises and carry out the necessary work, the expenses being recovered from the
owner, just as the expenses of drainage work may be recovered under section 260
of the Act.
"10. There remains the question of establishment. We agree with Dr. Bentley in
thinking that a full-time establishment would alone really be effectual at least until the
amount of malaria is very greatly reduced. There is no doubt a large and efficient staff
in the Health Department, but they have extremely onerous and varied duties of their own,
and they cannot be expected to give more than general attention to the prevention of
malaria. Moreover, we are impressed with the small extent to which blood examination
and other tests, which are invaluable in detecting the extent of malaria, have been carried
out in the past, and we think that the best way of insuring organised work both of prevention
and investigation in Bombay would be to attach a Special Assistant for this purpose to
the Executive Health Officer.
"We think that the establishment could be arranged on the lines suggested by
Dr. Bentley in his paragraphs 373 to 376, but the additional expense to the municipality
would be greatly reduced by the utilization of the existing anti-malarial staff employed by the
municipality and by their concentration in the worst infected areas such as Dhobi Talao
and Fort North. Moreover, the plague establishment, which is fully worked during a few
months of the year only, would be engaged during the rains on anti-malarial work. We feel
that the staff would work in a more systematic and methodical manner when concentrated
under one officer than as at present when distributed among the different Deputy Health
Officers.
Paras. 428 to
430.
"11. The increased distribution of quinine in a palatable form as recommended by
Dr. Bentley, we regard as an useful auxiliary, and we think that it should be adopted at the
municipal dispensaries. As a remedial measure however, it should be regarded as
altogether subordinate to the necessity for preventive work.
"12. Finally we venture to consider that Dr. Bentley, who has now left Bombay, has
submitted a most valuable report, and we think that it should be freely distributed to the
Press and among the leading men of the various communities in Bombay."
RESOLUTION.-The Governor in Council has read with great interest the
report submitted by Dr. Bentley, which contains the results of the investigation
initiated by Government in 1908, and conducted by him from May 1909 to April
1911. The report has been prepared with marked ability and painstaking
thoroughness. It presents a complete account of the conditions that govern the
prevalence of malaria in the City of Bombay, and of the measures that are necessary
for its eradication.
2. The investigations were conducted under the control of a committee
constituted as follows:-
the Municipal Commissioner for the City of Bombay,
a member representing the Bombay Port Trust,