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$6 to $24 per month. Among the poorer classes both husband and wife usually work, so their combined earnings would, if on full time employment, range from $21 to $94 per month. As most of the poorer classes are casual labourers, it is probably that, amongst those normally employed, not more than twenty days work per month could be relied upon as an average. Proportionately therefore combined earnings would drop to between $14 and $61 per month. When both husband and wife are unskilled casual labourers, as they generally are, a normal wage level of between $14 and $30 per month is the most which can be expected.
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are,
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20. What are the maximum rents which can be expected from such incomes? It is a generally accepted principle that rent should not exceed one fifth of family income. In exceptional cases, where cost of transport, food, etc., is cheap, a rent equal to one quarter of family earnings might be permissible. For the poorer working classes of Hong Kong therefore rent should be between $3 and $6 per month and at worst should not exceed $4 to $7.50 per month. average the maximum rent should not exceed $5 per month.
There however, two other factors to be taken into consideration; namely, the number of mouths to be fed out of family income and the cost of feeding them. sufficient money is available the poorer Chinese normally spend $5 or $6 per month on food. It can be safely assumed therefore that food of satisfactory quality and quantity cannot be obtained at less than $4 per head per month. (The Society for Protection of Children normally limits its activities to those cases where family income is less than $4 per head per month.) A family of four therefore, earning a total of $16 per month, cannot really afford anything for rent or clothing. Actually they do pay something for these items, but only at the cost of under- nourishment, making them particularly liable to illness and open to attacks of infectious diseases, with consequent loss in earning capacity, and a further drop in income. No information is available as to earnings in relation to the numbers in families. It might however be reasonably assumed that, in a family with four children, the elder children will often be earning say sufficient to provide themselves with food. It might also be taken as a working basis that, where family income is less than $4 per head per month, rent of any sort is beyond their means.
21. For the purpose of housing it seems advisable to classify the population under three heads.
Class A.-Those who can remunerate private enterprise for housing accommoda-
tion.
Class B.-Those who can only afford to pay sufficient rent to provide a rate of
interest insufficient to attract private enterprise.
Class C.-Those who can only be housed at a loss.
22. No figures are available from which the numbers in each class could be estimated with any degree of accuracy.
25. Criticism of existing accommodation can now be based on certain known facts or reasonable assumptions. They are
(a) The regard for family ties amongst the Chinese is exceedingly strong,
and housing, to be satisfactory, must cater for family life.
(b) The normal size of family can be assumed to be between five and
six per family.
(e) For those whose earnings are fairly steady a rent between $4 and $7.50- per month per family might normally be expected, but there are large numbers who cannot afford even these low rents and for whom housing. can only be provided at a loss.
24. Plans are attached which show the three main types of Chinese tenement houses which are to be found in Hong Kong.
Plan No. 1 shows a typical tenement of the early type and the way it is used. in the congested areas. It will be noticed that the open space in rear of the house is negligible, and that there is no provision for sanitation. This type was normal until the passing of the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance of 1903. A very large proportion of the houses in Victoria are of this type.