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forwarded to the Secretary of State in Governor's Despatch No. 384 of the 29th August, 1902, represented-
(1) that in the general rate paid by Petitioners was included the rate chargeable for water, which had for same years been supplied to their residences and places of business by means of a system of house service:
(2) that the new Ordinance made several material alterations in the existing law with regard to the supply of water, which were likely to inflict great hard- ship on and do injury to the Chinese inhabitants of the Colony:
(3) that clause 5 of the new Ordinance contained the most objectionable altera- tion of all that the effect of this Clause would be that the Water Authority would be bound to disconnect the water service from every 'Tenement house', and that the Ordinance directed him to refuse to connect any new service unless the owner of the "Tenement house' had obtained the previous consent of the Governor in Council: that the Petitioners "venture to predict that the effect of the clause as passed will be that the water service of each and every 'Tenement house' in the City of Victoria occupied by Chinese will be summarily cut off with a very small chance of any re-connection or of the connection of any new service to any such being sanctioned by the Governor in Council":
(4) that the effect of the new Ordinance would be to give to the wealthier classes a full and ample supply of water for all purposes, while the occupiers of "Tenement houses' would at all periods of the year and even in the rainy sea- son have to carry every drop of water they may require from the street hydrants to their quarters :
(5) that in lieu of the very drastic measure contemplated in clause 5 of the Ordi- nance Petitioners suggested the adoption of the Rider-main system as pro- posed by Mr. Chadwick in this Report of the 10th April, 1902, "so that the occupants of "Tenement houses' may at least be supplied with an intermittent supply during the period which will elapse before the gathering ground and reservoir capacity of the Colony have been sufficiently increased to admit of a constant supply. This would at least enable occupiers of "Tenement houses' to avail themselves of a water service whilst the reservoirs are full to overflowing":
(6) that these rider-mains would provide "a permanent and not a temporary arrangement for the purpose of supplying "Tenement houses' with a constant or an intermittent supply or being entirely closed according to the rainfall":
(7) that the owners of "Tenement houses" would bear the cost of the laying of
the rider-mains:
(S) that Petitioners asked that the Ordinance be returned for amendment and "that Section 5 be amended by the insertion of a provision authorizing the connection of 'Tenement houses' with the water supply by means of the system suggested by Mr. Osbert Chadwick so as to allow such 'Tenement houses' a constant or an intermittent supply of water as circumstances may permit".
16. In forwarding the Ordinance and the petition to the Secretary of State, the Governor (Sir Henry Blake), in despatch No. 384 of 29th August, 1902, explained the conditions, as regards the supply of water to dwellings, existing up to the date of the passing of the Ordinance. Within the City of Victoria water for domestic purposes was supplied without check or restraint of any kind, to both European and Chinese houses, through services laid on to the houses: any house could have its service: meters were fixed only in the case of supplies for trade or non-domestic purposes. Outside the City of Victoria and in Kowloon the supply of water to Chinese houses was entirely by means of public fountains. services for the supply of water for do- mestic purposes were permitted to European houses only, and in all cases meters had to be fixed. It had, he explained, become apparent that something should be done to conserve the water supply. The experience gained in Kowloon had shown that the most