94
5. Table B gives a summary of the work which has been carried out under the superintendence of the Sanitary Surveyor since the passing of the Public Health Ordinance. The year 1892 which has just passed, compares favourably with previous years, the record of drainage plans of houses received and the number of houses re-drained being much the same, The decrease during the year in the number of houses certified under Section 74 of the Public Health Ordinance, which appears in the last column, seems to point to a return to a normal state after the exceptional activity in building operations obtaining during the years 1890 and 1891.
6. The total number of houses in Hongkong and Kowloon (including the villages and Hill District) is approximately eleven thousand, six hundred and fifty (11,650). Two thousand three hundred and twenty-two (2,322) have been drained in accordance with the Bye-laws, and one thousand two hundred and eighty-seven (1,287) are certificated, the former being 20% of the total number and the latter 11 %.
7. Special attention has been paid to the condition of the down-pipes and cook-house floors. In the old houses the former are almost invariably constructed with the common Chinese clay-pipes, without any sockets; no jointing material has been used in fixing them and they are merely plastered over, the walls to which they are fixed being generally saturated in consequence of such defects; added to this they are frequently broken off to a height of 2 or 3 feet from the ground. It is by no means an uncommon occurrence to find the pipes completely choked by the dirt, vegetable refuse, &c., which has been forced into them.
8. In all cases of re-drainage care has been taken that these down-pipes should be renewed, with heads fixed at all inlets, gratings being fixed inside the cook-houses to prevent the new pipes being choked by refuse which they are not intended to take.
9. The cook-house floors have also received my careful attention. Where they are paved the paving usually consists of red tiles or flags carelessly laid and imperfectly jointed, but many instances have come under my notice where nothing but the rough earth forms the floor.
10. The red tiles are in my opinion too soft for the purpose; they wear in the centre of each tile, forming small basins which hold the water thrown on to the floor. Owing too to their soft nature the tiles become much broken by the chopping of wood which is usually performed in the cook-house. I believe that where these tiles are used the life of the floor might be considerably lengthened by providing a piece of stone in some corner of the cook-house where the tenant could chop his wood. Hard stone seems to me the only material which will effectually resist constant wear of this nature.
11. During the past year permission has been granted to connect the water-closets at the Mount Austin Hotel, Hongkong Hotel (New Wing) and French Sanitarium at Pokfulam to the house-drains; these connections are now completed. In consequence of these applications and of the progress made in the main sewerage of the city, bye-laws were drawn up under Section 3 of Ordinance 12 of 1891 to regulate the construction materials and fittings of water-closets and these bye-laws were approved by the Legislative Council on November 30th. I would venture to hope that owners and occupiers of property will see the advantages and appreciate the improved state of domestic sanitation to be obtained by the more general introduction of the water-carriage system in place of the existing pail system, and that in the course of the next few years the latter will have entirely disappeared, at least in all European houses.
12. The records which were started in 1888 have been maintained and are complete to date.
I have the honour to be,
The Secretary
SANITARY BOARD.
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
J. ROWLAND CROOK, Sanitary Surveyor.