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of Madras, Bengal and Burma, after consulting the Mercantile
Community, consider that prohibitive orders should issue
with regard to all or any of the susceptible articles for the
protection of clean ports, the Government of India will be
prepared to consider proposals with this object.
(b) It is to be remarked that new gunny-bags are not
in the list of articles classed as susceptible by the Confer-
ence.
10. The portion of Chapter II which relates to traffic by
sea and the measures to be adopted at ports of arrival is of
great interest, not only because of its direct bearing on the
conditions of intercourse between India and Europe, but also
because it contains the conclusions of the Conference on the
important subject of the quarantine of vessels.
(a) The threefold division of vessels, referred to above,
is maintained in this chapter. The regulations respecting
infected vessels, are that the sick are to be landed and iso-
lated, and the remainder of those on board to be subjected, at
the discretion of the local authority, either to " observation "
or to " surveillance " for a period which is not to exceed ten
days from the occurrence of the last case of plague. The
term " observation" means the detention under observation
of the person either on board a ship or in a place of segrega-
tion on shore. Persons subjected to " surveillance " are not
to be isolated, but are to be allowed to proceed at once to
their destination where they are to remain under medical
supervision. In case of an infected ship the dirty linen and
other effects of the passengers and crew which the local
sanitary authorities may consider likely to be contaminated,
must be disinfected. So also must the parts of the ship
where the sick have resided, and the local authorities may
require a more extensive disinfection to be carried out.
Lastly the bilge-water must be thrown out after disinfection
and fresh drinking-water supplied.
(b) In the case of suspected vessels, a medical inspec-
tion and the same process of disinfection, discharge of bilge-
water and supply of fresh drinking-water is prescribed. It
is further recommended that the crew and passengers should
be subjected to " surveillance " for a period of ten days from
the date of arrival of the vessel. Pratique is to be given at
once to healthy vessels, but it is also provided that, at the
option of the local authority, the precautionary measures en-
forced in the case of suspected ships, except the disinfection
of the vessel, may be required; and it is also recommended