HONGKONG.
PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE SANITARY CONDITION OF HONGKONG.
Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government.
PUBLIC WORKS OFFICE, HONGKONG, 10th April, 1902.
441
No. 17
1902
SIR,-In accordance with instructions, received through the Crown Agents for Report- the Colonies, from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, I have made a prelimi- preliminary. nary examination into the sanitary condition of Hongkong, from an engineering
point of view, and I have the honour to submit the following preliminary report thereon.
works on
2. In the various despatches which have been sent to me for my instruction Reference to and guidance, mention is made of the possible connection between the epidemic of effect of Plague and its recurrence, and the sanitary works, which have been carried out Plague. since my last visit, more especially the sewerage-works.
SIMPSON.
will be made
3. Inasmuch as Professor SIMPSON, M.D., F.R.C.P., has been appointed to investigate Cause of the question of Plague, it seems to me to be unnecessary for me to enter into this ques- referred to
Plague being tion; for it belongs rather to the province of the Medical man, than to that of the Professor Engineer. Suffice it, therefore, to say that, up to the present, no evidence has no reference reached ine which leads to the belief that any engineering work, which has been to it in this carried out, has occasioned or even contributed to, the outbreak of plague, or to its periodical recurrence. Some recommendations, which I made in 1882, have not indeed been carried out, and the result of this inaction will be better described by Professor SIMPSON, than by myself. The reasons for the non-compliance with the said recommendatious, will be discussed later on.
report.
of works
in this
4. In this preliminary report, I propose to confine myself mainly to statement Present, state of fact, discussing briefly the work that has been carried out since I left Hongkong only treated in August, 1890. It will, I think, be better to relegate nearly entirely detailed re- report. commendations as to the works to be constructed, and measures to be adopted in future, to a second report, to be written after I have had time to investigate and con- sider the subject, thoroughly.
Detailed recommend. ations as to future progranime defined.
5. The branches of the sanitary question which come within my province may Division of be arranged under the following heads :-
(1.) Water-supply.
(2.) Sewerage, including House-sewers,
(3.) Drainage or removal of rain-water.
(4.) Scavenging and cleansing.
(5.) House-construction and abatement of overcrowding.
I propose to treat these questions seriatim. Perhaps, however, before so doing, it will be well, in order to avoid repetition, to give a brief account of my professional connection with this Colony.
subject into bends.
of my pro- fessional
6. In 1881, I was directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to proceed Past history to Hongkong and report to him, and "not to the Governor of the Colony," as to the sanitary condition of Hongkong. This report was printed and presented to connection both Houses of Parliament, in 1882. An appendix was also printed, but was not 1881-82. laid before Parliament.
with Colony.
to 1889
7. From 1882 to 1889 I had no further relations with this Colony. The late From 1882 Sir ROBERT RAWLINSON, K.C.B., Past President, Inst. C.E., was Consulting Engineer origin of for the Taitam Water-works, the construction of which I had strongly recom- visit in 1889. mended in 1882. In 1889, the Taitam reservoir, the filter-beds and service-re- servoir were finished; but, no provision had been made for the improvement of the distributary system of pipes, to meet the largely increased water-supply. Sir ROBERT RAWLINSON was requested to visit Hongkong, and report on the water-supply, and
50-9.4.02.