600
change of title) but the duties of Sanitary Superintendent being entrusted to one of the medical assistants deputed to act as Officer of Health. On this point I would suggest that the Principal Medical Officer should be formally recognised as the responsible Health Officer of the Colony, leaving him to apportion the sanitary and medical duties among his assistants as he thinks fit, and in this you will probably agree with me.
You consider that it will suffice if he is given four assistants, but I should doubt whether four will be able successfully to carry on all the medical and sanitary work of the Colony when the post of Sanitary Superintendent becomes vacant and the duties attached to that post devolve upon one or other of the members of the medical staff, even though the whole time of all these officers will be devoted to the Government service. It may be also necessary to re-arrange the salaries and possibly to offer better terms than have hitherto been offered, but the new scheme can be carefully worked out pending the occurrence of vacancies which will enable it to be carried into effect.
#
Governor
*
SIR W. ROBINSON, K.C.M.G.,
&c.,
J'c.,
jc.
*
*
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient,
humble Servant,
J. CHAMBERLAIN.
(Governor to the Secretary of State.)
No. 337.
SIR,
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, HONGKONG, 2nd December, 1895.
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despateh No. 229 of the 18th September last, on the subject of the Sanitary Board and Medical Staff of the Colony.
2. In the course of your remarks on the former important question, you refer to the unanimous opinion held by the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council in favour of the direct responsibility of the Government for the sanitation of the Colony, and you naturally draw the inference that this unanimity extends to the practical side of the question.
3. From the enclosed written opinions of the several Unofficial Members (with the exception of Mr. WHITEHEAD) you will learn that this is, unfortunately, not the case, and that there is a considerable divergence of views on the practical point at issue.
4. I consider it would be futile to formally approach the Legislative Council on the subject of the abolition of the Sanitary Board, and the only alternative that occurs to me is to adopt the opinion shared by the majority of the Unofficial Meinbers, viz., Messrs. KESWICK, CHATER, MCCONACHIE and BELL-IRVING.
The remainder of this despatch deals with the Constitution of the Medical Department.
† Printed in Sessional Paper No. 7 of 1896.