The General Officer Commanding was fully alive to the dangerous and insanitary condition of some of the older parts of the town. For the greater security of his household he took an airy house on Malabar Hill, instead of inhabiting the official residence in the Marine Lines. He further arranged for the Marine Battalion, which forms the permanent garrison of Bombay, to leave their antiquated huts in the same road and go out under canvas. Two English ladies living in the Marine Lines caught the plague, but fortunately both recovered.
A white man dies
The European colony were profoundly distressed on hearing of the death of Surgeon-Major Robert Manser on January 6, 1897. He was First Physician of the Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy Hospital, and Professor at the Grant Medical College. It was said at first that pneumonia was the cause; but when Nurse Joyce, who had been attending him, died on the following day, suspicions were aroused, and the bacteriological examination established the connection between plague and pneumonia.
Early in February, under a pseudonym, the General published two carefully reasoned and suggestive articles in The Times of India. In the first he pointed put that the existence of the plague and the consequent exodus of the population afforded an excellent opportunity of carrying out extensive improvements in the housing and sanitation of the worst parts of the city, and in acquiring official control over the disposal of the dead. In the second he called attention to the inadequacy of the hospital accommodation to meet even the present demand, and boldly handles the question of finance, saying:
"What is a lakh or ten lakhs of rupees where the prosperity of Bombay is concerned? The question is not one for Bombay to haggle over. The plague has become a thing of Imperial importance, Her Majesty takes a deep interest in it, and the necessary funds must be found. But the Government of India will want to see some exhaustive efforts on our part; they will expect an amount of thoroughness in combating the disease which up to the present we have not shown."
After this appeal the writer goes on to suggest that a hospital should be established in Government House, Parel, a large mansion which had been the Governor's residence in the time of Sir James Fergusson, and had since been discarded in favour of a more breezy site on Malabar Point.
Official thanks
The municipality took the hint and voted funds. Lord Sandhurst responded readily and offered his "country seat" for the purposes of a Special Plague Hospital, and the General came forward officially, and promised to see to the equipment of the wards, and to provide doctors, orderlies, attendants, etc., from the troops under his command. His call for volunteers met with the same ready response; for nurses he applied to the various Roman Catholic Convents in the neighbourhood; and expended a special donation from Lady Sandhurst in making the Sisters' quarters as comfortable as possible, and in fitting up a little Oratory for them. In ten days 150 beds were ready, and by the erection of matting huts in the large compound accommodation could be quickly provided for several hundred more.
The following paragraphs, taken from a letter from the Government of Bombay to the Government of India, dated February 23, 1897, foreshadow the policy which was adopted a few days later:
"3. To General Gatacre the thanks of His Excellency the Governor in Council are in a special degree due, both for the offer of assistance and for the energy he has thrown into the undertaking. He has spared himself no trouble, and the result will be an unquestionable benefit to the city.