the services
TRANSCRIPT
152
was the same urge for any authority, Government or local,to act as there was in Westminster. Anyone who believedthe contrary was believing something which was utternonsense. He might refer to what had been done for socialservice by such institutions as the Social Service League ofBombay, run very largely by Indians. He knew most ofthe people who ran it and very good work had been doneby them. He might refer to what had been done by dis-pensaries for the supply of medicine and things of thatkind, but he could only say that a great deal had been done.As regarded the recruitment for the services, he was ableto report that the improvement which he noted last yearhad been continued. It was moving upwards in a steadycurve. Last year 93 Europeans entered for the Indian CivilService examination and this year the number was 112.It was a satisfactory feature that a number of Europeanshad chosen the Indian Civil Service in preference to a careerin the Home Civil Service. As regarded the army, the positionthere was better than it was when he last had occasion todeal with these estimates. It had been slowly but steadilyimproving, though they were not yet in the same happyposition as they were in the matter of recruitment for theCivil Service, and they were not yet getting as many youngofficers as they required to maintain the establishment ofthe Indian army. The whole position was being verycarefully watched by the Government of India and theSecretary of State, and all necessary measures would betaken to ensure that the recruitment of the British officersin sufficient strength would be adequately maintained inthe future.
Sir RICHARD LLTCE raised the question of the IndianMedical Service. He said he gathered that the long negotia-tions and the long consideration of the future of that Servicewere now almost completed. It was now over three yearssince the Lee Commission on the superior services reportedon those services, and although the findings of that com-mission were largely implemented with regard to the otherservices they were left on one side with regard to the IndianMedical Service. He wished to refer to what was the veryunsatisfactory condition of the present recruitment of thatService. From certain figures which had been supplied tohim he found that at the present time there was a loss inthe last five years of British medical officers in the IndianMedical Service of 61. That was an average of 12 Britishmedical officers per year for the last five years. The presentstrength of the British members of the Indian MedicalService was 4S9 and that of Indians 158, to whom mustbe added 138 temporary Indian medical officers, leavingthe proportion 1’6 British to one Indian. He understoodfrom his noble friend that it had been laid down that for theefficient working of the Indian Medical Service there shouldbe at least a proportion of two British to one Indian officer,and with the yearly loss of 12 officers that proportion whichwas already reduced to 1’6 to 1 must very rapidly deteriorate.It was laid down by the Lee Commission that it was necessaryto maintain the definite proportion in the Indian MedicalService of British to Indian officers for two very importantpurposes, one of which was that the European officers servingin India as members of the Indian Civil Service and theirfamilies should have the advantage of having British medicalofficers attending them when they were ill. That seemedto him important and it was the idea of the Lee Commission.It was one of the ideas for the carrying on of the IndianMedical Service by British officers. The other requirementthat was necessary was that there should be a sufficientreserve of British officers for the Indian armv. That reservewas called upon to its very last ounce in the Great War,and it was absolutely essential if they were going to havethe Indian army serve with the British forces wherever thatmight be that they should have a sufficient proportion ofBritish medical officers among them to bring about a properstate of efficiency in that Service. Therefore it seemed tohim that they were in a position of very considerablegravity with regard to the Indian Medical Service at thepresent time. They had already a proportion of British toIndian officers which was considerably below the proportionwhich was considered necessary for the efficient work ofthat Service, and they had further a very rapid rate ofdiminution on that percentage.With regard to what might be the causes of the unpopu-
larity-which was quite obvious-of the Indian MedicalService he was not able to say. There was, however, at thepresent time an unwillingness on the part of young doctorsto go into any service abroad. Whether that was due tothe loss of the spirit of adventure, or whether that spirithad been exhausted by the Great War, he could not say,but the fact remained that they had a very great difficultyin getting into the medical service, whether in the Army,Navy, Air Force, or the Indian forces, suitable medicalcandidates. He had gone carefully into the question whetherthat could have any connexion with the rates of pay, or theconditions of service, but he did not believe that it was atall due to that cause. The pay in the Indian Medical Service
and the conditions of the Service compared favourably withthe conditions in the other medical services at home. Hethought that the great cause, apart from the one to whichhe had referred, was the spirit of uncertainty as to the futureof the Service which they were joining, and he believed thatif steps could be taken to get over that uncertainty, whichwas due to the very long delay in bringing to completionthe negotiations as to the future of the Service, confidencewould be restored and there would be a considerable possi-bility of getting recruits in future. If a campaign could beundertaken by the Government at the present time, and ifthe Under Secretary himself would visit some of the hospitalsor encourage some of the officials who happened to be athome to go to the various hospitals in England to showthe students that there was an assured future-which hebelieved was the case-for young medical men who joinedthe Indian Medical Service, a great deal could be done toget over the difficulty and to ensure a satisfactory recruit-ment. If he would undertake that he was sure that thenoble lord would receive the support of the whole of themedical profession in England who looked with grave disquietupon the unsatisfactory state of the Indian Medical Service.
Progress was reported and the debate was adjourned.MONDAY, JULY 11TH.
Pension Rights of lnclian Provincial Officers.Mr. WARDLAW-MlLNE asked the Under Secretary of State
for India whether, now that orders had been issued bycertain of the local governments extending to certain ofthe provincial service officers of non-Asiatic domicile someof the concessions recommended in the Lee Commissionreport, the question of the extension of the concessions toinclude the right to retire on proportionate pension wouldbe considered.-Earl WiNTERTON replied : My noble friendis not prepared to extend the right to retire on proportionatepension beyond the All-India services to whom the prematureretirement rules apply, but he has directed the Governmentof India to notify local governments that lie will be preparedto consider on their merits, as cases falling outside the rules,applications for permission to retire prematurely fromofficers serving under local governments who either (1) wereappointed by the Secretary of State in Council, or (2) wereappointed by a subordinate authority, but in the localgovernment’s opinion are deserving of special consideration.
TUESDAY, JULY 12TH.
,, Experiments of Dr. Voro7zoff.
I Sir ARCHIBALD SINCLAIR asked the Secretary of State for
Scotland whether his attention had been drawn to theexperiments of Dr. Voronoff, who claimed greatly to haveincreased the size of sheep and wool production by glandoperations ; and whether the Board of Agriculture proposedto make any inquiry into these claims.-Mr. MACROBERT(the Solicitor-General for Scotland) replied: Yes, Sir. Myright hon. friend is aware of the work of Dr. Voronoff. TheMinistry of Agriculture, in conjunction with the Board ofAgriculture for Scotland, propose to carry out an expertinvestigation of these experiments during the autumn.
The Services.ROYAL NAVAL MEDICAL SERVICE.
Surg. Capt. A. R. H. Skey to be Surg. Rear-Admiral,and is placed on the retired list.
Surg. Capt. H. C. Whiteside to be Surg. Rear-Admiral.Surg. Comdr. P. D. Ramsay is placed on the retd. list
with rank of Surg. Capt.ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS.
ARMY DEXTAL CORPS.
I Lt. G. A. Ballantyne (Temp. Flying Offr., R.A.F.) to beCapt.
ARMT RESERVE OF OFFICERS.
Capt. S. Robertson relinquishes his commn., and retainsthe rank of Capt.
DENTAL OFFICERS IN THE ROYAL NAVY.The undermentioned were successful in the competition,
held on June 29th and succeeding days, for entry into theRoyal Navy as Dental Officers, and will receive appoint-ments as Acting Surgeon Lieutenants (D) : Henry ArthurGinn (Guy’s Hospital), Harold Edward Rose (King’s CollegeHospital), George Blackbarrow Fellows Reece (Royal DentalHospital of London), Louis Victor Donegan (IncorporatedDental Hospital of Ireland), Herbert Vincent Pell (RoyalDental Hospital of London). _The King, on the occasion of the visit of the Duke and
Duchess of York to New Zealand and Australia, has pro-moted Surg. Comdr. H. E. Y. White, M.V.O., O.B.E., R.N.,Medical Adviser to His Royal Highness, to Commander ofthe Royal Victorian Order.