?4 who may be appointed by the Government as plague officer over any definite area; (g) "Assistant plague officer" means in any municipal town the chairman of the municipal council and in other areas the tahsildar or deputy tahsildar each within his own rev- enue jurisdiction; and includes any other person appointed as such by the Collector of a district for any definite area. 2. The Governor in Council may, if it appears to him that any district, town, village or other area is imminently threatened with plague, issue an order declaring such district, town, village, or other area to be under observation. A copy of such order shall be published in the next issue of the Fort St. George Gazette. 3. The Governor in Council may by notification in the Fort St. George Gazette declare any place or area in which one or more indigenous cases of plague have occurred, or in which the existence of plague among rats has been proved by bac- teriological tests, to be infected with plague. In cases of emergency the district Collector may notify by tom-tom and by publication in the district gazette, as soon as possible there- after, that any such place or area is infected with plague. The Governor in Council may in the same manner notify as a notification station any railway station or other place, which from its proximity to infected areas or otherwise is liable to be used or passed by persons leaving such areas and may notify as an inspection station any railway station which may be convenient for the inspection and observation of passengers by rail. 4. In areas under observation and infected areas every house-holder and every medical practitioner, who finds or becomes aware of the finding of a dead rat in his house, or in any public or private dwelling or place within the limits of the municipality, town or village in which he resides, shall be bound to give information of the fact with the least practicable delay to the nearest local authority. 5. In areas under observation and infected areas, the Collector may close existing markets and may appoint special places where markets may be held and may prescribe limits beyond which it shall not be lawful for persons bringing articles for sale from or to an infected area to pass. 6. In areas under observation and infected areas the Collector may direct that consignments of grain arriving from plague-infected areas and that landing places, railway goods- sheds, and bazaars used for traffic in grain shall be inspected;