‘To prevent the plague and other infectious distempers’ (1805)

The proclamation had been issued on November 20th, 1804, and had been issued to the News Letter for publication since that date.

It read: “Whereas by an act passed in the Fortieth year of his present Majesty’s reign, entitled, ‘An act to oblige ships more effectually to perform their quarantine, and to prevent the plague and other infectious distempers being brought into Ireland, and to hinder the spreading of infection’, it is amongst other things enacted, that all ships and vessels arriving, and all persons, goods, wares, and merchandises whatsoever, coming or imported into any port within the Kingdom of Ireland, from any place whence the Lord Lieutenant or other Chief Governor or Governors of his Kingdom, by and with the advice of the Privy Council, shall judge it probable that any infection may be brought, shall be obliged to make their quarantine in such place, for such time, and in such manner as hath bees, or shall from time to time be directed by the Chief Governor or Governors of this Kingdom, for the time being, by his or their order or orders, made by the advice of the Privy Council, and notified by proclamation.

“And whereas information hath been received that an infectious distemper prevails in the city of Charlestown in the State of South Carolina, in the Town of Darien in the State of Georgia, and at New Orleans in the territory of Louisiana.”

The proclamation continued with further details of those who were to impacted by the proclamation and the demanded quarantine rules.

It continued to read: “Now we the Lord Lieutenant and Council of Ireland, in pursuance of the said act do therefore order, that all ships, vessels, persons, goods, wares, and merchandise, now arrived or which may hereafter arrive in any of the ports of Ireland, from Charlestown in the State of South Carolina, from the town of Darien in the State of Georgia, of from New Orleans in the territory of Louisiana, or from any port within the said States of South Carolina and Georgia, or the territory of Louisiana, and shall have cleared out from any of the said ports or places subsequent to the first day of September last, (not having any person or persons on board, the same ill of the said infectious distemper), do perform a quarantine, of fifteen days at the several places appointed, and according to the rules prescribed by the proclamation of the Lord Lieutenant and Council of the fifteenth day of September, one thousand eight hundred, and of this date, for performance of quarantine by all ships and vessels coming from or through the Mediterranean, or from the West Barbary on the Atlantic Ocean, or from any port or place on the coast of Spain, without the Straits of Gibraltar to the southward of Cape Saint Vincent, and arriving with clean bill of health; but in case it shall appear upon the arrival of any ship or vessel at any of the ports of Ireland, which shall have cleared out subsequent to the said first day of September last, from any of the ports or places before mentioned within the territory of the United States of America that any of the crew or passengers belonging to the to, are actually ill of such infectious distemper, or any of the crew or passengers on board any such ship or vessel shall have died of said infectious distemper or have been ill of the same, during the course of the voyage, the clothes and all personal effects, which are susceptible of infection, worn by or belonging to such person, shall be forthwith burned or sunk in deep water, and the said ship or vessel, with the whole of her cargo, shall not be permitted to perform quarantine at any port or place except Carlingford, and shall be compelled to depart from any other port or place at which the same has arrived, or shall as aforesaid, and shall repair to Carlingford, and there perform quarantine, and not elsewhere, and be subject to all the rules and regulations to which ships and vessels coming from or through the Mediterranean, or Cadiz, or other ports of Spain without the Straits of Gibraltar to the southward of Cape Saint Vincent, and not furnished with clean bills of health.”

It concluded: “And the commissioners of His Majesty’s Revenue are to give such further directions herein as to them may respectively appertain.”