65
HONGKONG.
WEST RIVER FLOOD RELIEF FUND, 1914.
Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor, 2nd August, 1917.
No.
13
1917
The accounts of this Fund, administered by a joint European and Chinese Com- mittee, are published for general information. They show a balance in the hands of the Treasurer of $5,934.89: this balance being less than the Contractor's retention (vide below) of $9,490.27, the account may be considered as closed. Some $242,000 of the total subscribed was expended on the immediate relief of destitution and the repair of earth embankments--principally on the second item. This repair work was carried out on a plan which included such improvements as the time available to allow of the planting of new crops permitted, and the money was paid directly and publicly by our representatives to the representatives of the various districts concerned. In nearly all the cases the work stipulated for was inspected, either completed or in hand. Full reports by Mr. A. E. Wood were from time to time during 1914 and 1915 published in
the Press.
There still remained a balance to the credit of the Fund of over $60,000 at the end of 1915, and it was decided to utilise this for the erection of a sample water gate of a permanent character. A site as typical as possible was selected at Fu Wan near Shiu Hing: and the gate was built by Messrs. Sang Lee & Co. (Hongkong) to the design and under the supervision of Mr. D. Jaffé of the P.W.D., who had the assistance of other officers of his Department. The total cost of the gate was about $68,000—rather in excess of the balance of the Fund: the difference has been made good by the Hongkong Government. It is a piece of work that does credit to the Colony: and though there is little likelihood that it will be directly copied, the influence of the example will it is hoped make itself felt in the re-building of the subsidiary gates which are necessary to complete the system in the area of which the new gate is the key. Some such gates already exist in the ancient form.
Mr. Jaffé's work was purely voluntary: the only condition imposed was that a fee of $1,000.should be made over to the War Charities on his account when the work was completed.
17th May, 1917.
E. R. HALLIFAX,
Hon. Sec., West River Flood Relief Fund, 1914.