Goods carried in ships or by land are subject to quarantine, according as they belong to the class of susceptible or non susceptible goods. Goods which are supposed to be capable of containing and transmitting the poison of the plague are called susceptible. Goods which are supposed to be incapable of containing and transmitting the poison of the plague are called nossuseeptibk. All animal substances, such as wool, silk, and leather, and many vegetable substances, such as cotton, linen, and paper, are deemed susceptible. On the other hand, wood, metals, and fruits are deemed non susceptible. In Venice an intermediate class, subject to a half quarantine, is intro duced between susceptible and nonsus ceptible goods (Segur Dupeyron, p. 70) ; but this classification appears to be pecu liar to the Austrian dominions. All sus ceptible goods are unladen in the laza retto, and are there exposed to the air, in order to undergo a process of depura tioa.
The grounds of the received distinc tion between susceptible and nonsuscep tible articles must, we conceive, be alto gether fanciful ; since we cannot discover any evidence that the plague has ever been communicated by merchandise. Whenever the plague has been intro duced into the lazarettoes of the Mediter ranean, it has always been introduced by passengers or their clothes (Signr Dupeyron, pp. 45-48). It may be added, that persons employed in the process of lepurating susceptible goods have never been known to catch the plague, which could scarcely have failed to be some Imes the case, if the poison of the plague mild be transmitted through goods. Bee answer 28 of the Maltese Protome hes, in Maclean, vol. ii. p. 31 ' It seems o be likewise supposed that some sub uances are not only nonsusceptible, but can even nullify the poison of the plague in susceptible articles. " At Trieste (says M. de fidgur Dupeyron), the juice of dried grapes is considered as a purifier ; and consequently currants in susceptible wrappers are allowed to pass without the wrappers being subjected to any quarantine" (p. 72).
There appears, however, to be conclu sive evidence that the clothes and bed ding of plague-patients have transmitted the plague (Dupeyron, p. 32-71). We believe the danger of its transmission in this manner to be equal to the danger of its transmission by passengers.
We are not aware of any well authen ticated example of the transmission of the plague by means of letters. Neverthe less, as paper is considered susceptible, letters coming from and passing through the plague countries, are opened and fu migaW at the lazarettoes—a process which is often productive of mistakes, delays, and other inconveniencies.
Every ship is furnished by the consul or other sanitary authority at the last port where it touched, with an instru ment, styled a bill of health, declaring the state of health in that country. if the ship brings a clean bill of health, the passengers and goods are not subject to any quarantine. If she brings a foul bill, they are subject to quarantines of dif ferent durations, according as the plague is known or only suspected to have ex isted iu the country at the ship's depar ture. On account of the prevalence of plague in the countries upon the Levant, they are considered as permanently in a state of suspicion, and no ship sailing from any of them is considered to bring a clean bill. The periods or quarantine vary from two or three to forty days ; the usual periods are from ten to twenty days.
The building in which passengers 'usually perform their quarantine, and in which goods are depurated, is esdled a lazaretto. The most spacious and best appointed lazarettoes in the Mediter ranean are those at Malta and Mar The institution of quarantine origi nated at Venice, in which city the ex pediency of some precautions against the introduction of the plague was sug gested by its extensive commercial rela tions with the Levant. A separate hos pital for persons attacked by the plague was established in an island near Venice, in 1403 ; and the system of isolating pas sengers and depurating goods appears to have been introduced there abput 1485.
The system thus established in Venice gradually spread to the other Christian countries in the Mediterranean, and has been adopted to a greater or less extent, over all the civilised word. (See Beck mann's ' History of Inventions,' art. Qua rantine,' vol. n. p. 145.) It is much to be desired that the plan of an inquiry, by competent medical au thority, into the grounds of the existing quarantine regulations in the Mediterra nean, to be conducted under the direction of the chief European powers (which has been suggested by M. de Sdgur Du peyron, Dr. &wring, and others), should be adopted. It cannot be expected that the causes of plague and the mode of its communication will receive any light from the semi-barbarians who inhabit the Mohammedan countries of the Levant. Moreover, quarantine regula lations cannot be changed without the consent of different nations which are concerned in their enforcement. The reason why it is necessary for a nation to adapt its quarantine regulations to the received opinions upon the subject, is ex plained in the following extract from a paper respecting quarantine regulations in the Mediterranean, which was printed in the Malta Government Gazette' of the 19th December,1838 :—" The quaran tine regulations of the English colonies in the Mediterranean cannot be changed by the simple will of the English go vernment without producing inconveni ences far greater than those arising from the existing system. If the English go vernment should change the quarantine regulations of Malta and its other colonies in the Mediterranean without previously obtaining the approbation of the sanitary authorities of the neighbour ing countries, the pratique granted in those colonies would not be received elsewhere ; and all vessels coming from any of those colonies would be sub jected to a quarantine of observation (from eight to fifteen days). The latter liability would attach to the ships of the royal navy as well as to the merchant vessels ; so that no ship of war sailing from Malta could communicate with any part of France, Italy, or Austria, with out being previously subjected to a qua rantine of observation. Malta, in particu lar, would suffer most severely by being unable to give an effectual Fatigue to ships perfbrming quarantine in the harbour of Valletta, and by subject ing all ships clearing out of that harbour to a quarantine of observation. Not only would its transit-trade be almost completely destroyed, but it would lose its importance as a quaran tine station. Its importance as a quaran tine station is now daily grolving, on ac count of the establishment of the French steamers to the Levant, and the use of the overland journey to India. It would, however, cease to be a quarantine station if its pratique were not received by the Board of Health at Marseille, and by the other sanitary authorities of the Mediterranean. In order therefore that the quarantine regulations of the English colonies in the Mediterranean might be safely altered, it would be necessary that the alterations should be made in concert with the governments of the neighbour ing European countries." The small states of Italy are suspected (and, we fear, with justice) of abusing quarantine regulations for the purpose of preventing commercial intercourse, and also for the sake of the profit to be made by farming out the quarantine dues.
The heads of the English law respecting quarantine are contained in the 6 Geo. IV. c. 78. This Act also confers upon the queen in council extensive powers for making quarantine regulations. A full official abstract of the regulations essablished by this statute, and of the orders in council made under it, may be seen in M'Culloch's Commercial Dic tionary, article • Quarantine.'