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Medical Officers of Health in the large cities of England are always given full powers of administration in their own Department, and are not made subordinate to any physician, however eminent, while the Sanitary Committee of the Municipal Council merely governs the general policy of the Department, as I have suggested that the Sanitary Board should continue to do in this Colony. The Medical Officer of Health for Liverpool, a city with a population of about double that of Hongkong, has 97 Sani- tary Inspectors and a staff of 21 clerks, under his orders, and has also an Assistant Medical Officer of Health for the City and one or more Assistant Medical Officers of Health for the Port.
(5.) Dr. A1KINSON speaks of the anomaly of the Medical Officer of Health being the chief executive officer of the Board and at the same time a member of the Board; on that subject I wish to say that were I not, at present, a member of the Board, my position in the departinent would be absolutely untenable. Much of the official cor- respondence of the Department is at present addressed to the Secretary-this being a relic of the old days when Mr. MACCALLUM was both Secretary and Sanitary Sup- erintendent—and never passes through my hands at all, and were I not a member of the Board and therefore entitled to see everything addressed to the Board, I should know absolutely nothing of what was going on in the Department.
If the Medical Officer of Health is recognized officially as the Head of the Department, all correspondence with the Governinent would pass through his hands and there would be no longer any necessity for him to have a seat on the Board, although it would still be necessary that he should attend the meetings of the Board and have the right of speech, just in the saine way as the Medical Officer of Health of an English city is entitled, and is indeed encouraged, to express his views at the meetings of the Sanitary Committee of the Municipal Council, which is always the largest and most important Committee appointed by the Council.
(6.) I see that some reference has been made to my proceeding on leave at an early date, but I can assure the Committee that I have no intention of taking my leave (although it was due in September last) until I am satisfied that Dr. PEARSE, the Assistant Medical Officer of Health, is thoroughly able to undertake the administration of the Department, and until after the sanitary experts from England-Professor SIMPSON and Mr. CHADWICK-have completed their investigations, and it would appear now, that that will probably not be until after next year's plague season is over.
Mr. SHARP. Do you think the Sanitary Board ought to have control over the Port Officer's work?
Dr. CLARK.That question has been before the Sanitary Board, and on April 8th, 1897, they unanimously recommended it should be so, but nothing has been done since, and I take it the matter has been waiting until Dr. JORDAN retired.
Colonel HUGHES.-Who recommended it?
Dr. CLARK.-
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The Sanitary Board.
Dr. STEDMAN. Do you think it is a great matter?
Dr. CLARK.—I don't think it is a matter of very great consequence.
Dr. STEDMAN.-We have a scheme under discussion in which the new Medical Officer of the Port, who has a certain amount of work in Kowloon, should, with regard to that work, be under the Principal Civil Medical Officer, but it would be hard to put him also under the Medical Officer of Health.
Dr. CLARK.-I think under those circumstances he should be solely under the Principal Civil Medical Officer.
Colonel HUGHES.-How would the Port Officer like to be put under you?