374
(c.) The steady improvement of defective house-drains;
(d.) The closure of polluted wells;
no one acquainted with the elements of sanitation and the conditions of overcrowding, filth and ignorance that exist can fail to see that it will be years before those conditions necessary for the maintenance of the public health are satisfactorily established in this City.
The Insanitary Properties Commission, who had been sitting since August, 1896, issued their report in March of last year, and in it they state :—
"That there are many insanitary properties in the Colony, and dwellings which, in their
present condition, are unfit for human habitation."
"The back portions of a number of houses visited by us are dark, ill-ventilated, extremely dirty and, in some cases, mere dens of filth. The interior of the cubicles or sub-divisions of the living rooms was such that in the great majority of cases their contents could only be seen by the aid of an artificial light,'
They call particular attention to the tabulated statement of the Medical Officer of Health, in which he states that in Health Districts V and VI out of a total of 3,095 Chinese houses 2,530 are insanitary. In the other Health Districts it appears from his evidence that a similar unsatisfactory state of affairs exists.
To show to what extent overcrowding exists I append the following table from the Medical Officer of Health's report for 1897 :-
Districts.
Chinese Houses.
Floors.
Chinese Non-Chinese Non-Chinese Population.
Houses. Population.
Acreage.
Total No. of Persons per acre.
1
503
811
7,720
31
428
531 ·
15.3
2
955
2,353
21,120
1,108
267
83.2
3
18
33
4,210
355
1,869
158
38.5
4
776
2,341
23,230
128
1,834
45
556.9
5
10
980
2,686
21,720
21
351
23
959.6
6
805
2,308
16,680
3
398
23
742.5
7
722
2,227
16,010
7
179
27
599.6
732
2,231
18,540
5
129
42
444.4
9
1,023
2,457
23,860
19
160
40
600.5
10
564
1,213
7,370
47
296
258
29.7
7,078
18,660
160,460
616
6,752
1,414
From this it is seen that in No. V Health District there are no less than 959 persons to the acre. A Bill has been framed to make further provision for the sanitation of the Colony and is now under consideration by the Legislature.
It contains regulations as to cubicles, doing away with them entirely in houses fronting streets of a width of 15 feet or less, limiting their height, &c.
It makes the erection of mezzanine floors or cocklofts illegal without the permission of the Sani- tary Board.
It limits the heights of buildings.
The most important regulations are those that insist on the provision of an open space in the rear of every domestic building already erected, erected hereafter or now in process of erection; these, if passed, will do away with back to back houses.
It also requires that no obstructions shall be in any private streets or lanes upon which domestic buildings abut.
To remedy these insanitary defects it is necessary to aim towards the attainment of abundance of pure air and light in houses, shops and streets, to provide an abundant supply of pure wholesome water, to do away with back to back houses, to abolish blind courts and alleys, to prevent overcrowd- ing and to increase as far as practicable open spaces in the crowded part of the city.