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1. Overcrowding. The abatement of overcrowding necessarily involves night-visits, ie., domi- ciliary visits between the hours of 11.00 p.m. 5.00 a.m. (Vide S. 9 of Ord. 15 of 1894) and this work is at present done by one of the First Class Inspectors, but in order to be effective and to have any appreciable result, such visits should be made every night, and this can hardly be done by an Inspector who has in addition the supervision of two Health Districts, of several cemeteries and of the limewashing of tenement dwellings. Night visits frequently involve prosecution and I have found it most convenient therefore to place both these matters in the hands of the same man, with also the service of all Sanitary Board Notices as evidence of such service is required when prosecut- ing, and I consider that at least two additional Inspectors could well devote the whole of their time to night visitations and prosecutions and that their services are necessary if any systematic attempt is to be made to deal with the question of overcrowding.
Adulteration of Food and Drugs.
2. Early in 1896, the Government, at the instigation of the Sanitary Board, passed an Ordi- nance dealing with the question of the Adulteration of Food and Drugs, but this Ordinance has practically remained a dead letter since it was passed, owing to the absence of any Staff to administer it. During 1898 only 35 samples were analysed in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, and of these no less than 27 were specimens of wines and spirits mostly forwarded by the Police; nine of these specimens were found to be adulterated, while of six samples of milk submitted during the year no less than 4 were found adulterated and in view of the many cases of Typhoid Fever which are traceable to the adulterated milk, I consider that it behoves the Sanitary Board to recom- mend the appointment of one Inspector who shall devote the whole of his time to the administration of this Ordinance, with a view to the protection of the Community from such diseases as arise from adulterated or decomposed food.
House Drainage.
3. During the past two or three years great progress has been made with the re-drainage of the domestic buildings of the Colony in accordance with the scheme of separate drainage inaugurated by Mr. Chadwick and Mr. Cooper and as a natural consequence in dealing with Chinese who have no practical knowledge of under-ground drains and traps, the number of choked drains and broken traps on private premises which are reported daily is becoming very large indeed and I think that the time has now arrived for the Board to recommend the appointment of one or more Inspectors to devote the whole of their time to the abatement of drainage nuisances.
There is little doubt that at no very distant date at least three such Inspectors will be required, but it is possible that at first two would suffice although I must point out that this is a class of work which is most important to the preservation of health and that we are as yet by no means sure that Bubonic Plague does not bear an intimate relationship to a sewage contaminated soil.
I have the honour to be,
The Secretary,
SANITARY BOARD.
Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
FRANCIS W. CLARK,
Medical Officer of Health.