282
Report of the Sub-Committee of the Hongkong Typhoon Relief Fund General Committee.
The Sub-Committee appointed on the 22nd September, 1906, met the same day, and steps were at once taken to ascertain the loss of boats by directing the sureties of the boatmen to report to the Tung Wa Hospital and by authorising the Hospital to advertise that claims for relief should be received at the Hospital; and the work of registering the claims for relief was immediately undertaken by the Hospital. It was also resolved that the Registrar General and the Chinese members of the Sub-Committee should meet the boat builders and ascertain the possibility of getting boats built at an early date.
•
2. At a meeting held on the 26th September it was resolved that the purchase or build- ing of boats by the Committee was undesirable and impracticable; also that a grant equal to at least one-third of his loss should be made to each boatman upon the condition that he should get to work as soon as possible, the condition to be enforced by sureties.
3. On the 1st October an Investigating Committee consisting of twelve members was appointed to enquire into the claims for relief. They commenced work at once and on the 16th October reported to the Sub-Committee that 1,768 applications had been received and that the preliminary enquiries had been completed in all but 250 cases, and recommended that in 201 cases in which the final enquiries had been made, relief to the amount of $27,436 should be granted. The distribution of relief was thereupon commenced simultaneously with the completing of the enquiries, and from time to time as the work progressed, the recommendations of the Investigating Committee were presented to the Sub-Committee for consideration and adoption.
Each claim was made the subject of two distinct enquiries by two or more members of the Investigating Committee; the individual recommendations were then revised by the Committee and systematized, and finally at the actual distribution, occasion was taken to verify the claims.
4. By the 23rd October, 302 cases had been relieved at a cost of $40,302.
5. On the 24th October the powers of the Sub-Committee were further defined at a meeting of the General Committee.
6. On the 1st November it was resolved that no grant should be made towards building a boat unless security could be given that the boat would be built before China New Year (13th February).
7. During November searching enquiries were made by the Sub-Committee into claims made by masters of junks and large fishing boats, and a report was finally adopted recom- mending the General Committee to approve of grants in the case of 272 such claims.
8. By the 21st January the distribution of relief to Chinese. was completed, though subsequently one claim from a European was met by a grant.
9. As each boat is completed the master has it measured, and the certificate is endorsed by the Inspector who made the measurements to shew whether the boat is a new one, or from some other port or simply repaired, and the surety's bond is then cancelled. There remains about 350 bonds to be dealt with, but in connection with this work no expense will fall on the fund.
10. The relief distributed by the Sub-Committee is shewn in the accompanying schedule. The names of the Sub-Committee and Investigating Committee are also attached.
A. W. BREWIN,
Registrar General, Chairman.
7th March, 1907.