File 2908/1907 Pt 3 ‘Persian Gulf:- Quarantine; German complaint’ [‎38r] (75/250)

(ii) That Mr. Krumpeter violated the quarantine after specific warning
and had to thank himself for any inconvenience which he thereby
suffered.
(iii) That Captain Williams’ procedure was quite correct from a pro
fessional point of view, and indeed received the endorsement and
support of the Sanitary Council.
(iv) That he treated Mr. and Mrs. Krumpeter with as much courtesy and
consideration as the circumstances permitted.
(v) That there was no interference whatever on the part of the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
and Consulate-General.
In this connection I would observe that, with the knowledge
born of long experience that foreign representatives in the Gulf are
always prone to imagine, the British Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. to be the deua
ex machina in regard to such quarantine difficulties, the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
is primd facie proportionately careful to avoid giving grounds for
complaint in this respect.
(vi) That even had Mr. Krumpeter’s bearing at all encouraged (which
it did not) the sentimental suggestion, that he had made a mis
take and might have been granted the favour of exemption as a
special case, 1 am of opinion that Captain Williams would not
have been justified in adopting it ; and I feel that l have good
grounds for holding that view.
A few years ago the quarantine Administration was very indulgent in these
matters, and exceptions were often made in favour of European Residents of
Bushire, who were permitted to do quarantine in their houses; but in the first
place it was found that this discrimination in favour of Europeans created much
soreness and unpleasant comment among Persian officials and native gentlemen
of the community ; and, secondly, the practice was strongly disapproved by
experts such as Dr. Faivre who visited the Gulf, and by the Sanitary Council
whose President decided that “ ces pratiques detestable doivent cesser.” In
order to strengthen the Doctor’s hands in putting a stop to the practice I took
an opportunity, as senior European official in Bushire, to perform the full period
of detention at the quarantine station on my next arrival by mail steamer at
Bushire and since then all exemptions have been rigidly refused, even in the
case of exalted personages with strong introductions like the Prince Bibesco
party as you will perhaps remember.
I may also mention that I supported the quarantine authorities in sending
to quarantine one of my own assistants who had_ thoughtlessly boarded a vessel
in quarantine in order to say goodbye to some friends.
I have merely mentioned these facts in order to demonstrate the necessity
which exists for rigid enforcement of the Regulations.
In conclusion I venture to explain that two matters of complaint contained
in the present memorandum from the German Legation, regarding [a) the
treatment of pilots and {b) the treatment of Mr. Krumpeter’s boatmen, are
entirely new to Captain Williams, and although I quite understand, that the
German Minister’s communication was purely friendly and informal in nature,
as it indeed could only be, in the matter of a complaint against the quarantine
administration of the Persian Government, I am not sure that it is techni
cally advisable for the Chief Quarantine Officer to defend himself in the first
instance through diplomatic channels against complaints which have never been
made to him locally or through the Sanitary Council. This, however, is a point
which you are in the best position to appraise and I have therefore forwarded,
though separately, the explanations afforded on these points as well as the others
for such treatment as you may consider expedient. I have no special comment
to make in regard to these latter explanations except to say that they seem to
me complete.