4thly, The provision of an adequate quantity of necessaries for the sick.
5thly, The gratuitous supply of certain medicines.
6thly, The curing of certain diseases on board instead of sending them to hospitals; and,
Lastly, The preventing of filth, crowding, and the mixture of diseases in hospitals, by proper regulations, and by establishing hospital ships.
I beg leave again to call to mind, that 1518 deaths from disease, besides 350 invalids, in 12,109 men, in the course of one year, is an alarming waste of British seamen, being a number that would man three of His Majesty’s ships of the line; and what I advance is from a real conviction that a due attention to the above-mentioned propositions would save more than two thirds of the seamen that would otherwise die in that climate. It was to set this in a proper light that I requested leave to quit my duty during the absence of the greater part of the squadron in the hurricane months; and should any thing I propose meet with public approbation, and be carried into effect, I should esteem it a recompence far above any other gratification I can derive from the service.
London,
October 13, 1781.
To the Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty.
Next year the following Supplement to the preceding Memorial was sent to the Board of Admiralty:
Supplement to the Memorial delivered last Year to the Board of Admiralty.
Since my return to my duty on this station, additional experience has afforded me farther practical confirmation of the utility of the former proposals.