162
24th August
IN ORIGINAL JURISDICTION.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
BEFORE SIR JOHN CARRINGTON (CHIEF JUSTICE.)
▲ PORTUGUESE GENTLEMAN ADMITTED AS A SOLICITOR.
The Attorney-General (Hon. W. M. Good- man) applied that Mr. F. X. d'Almada e Castro be approved, admitted, and enrolled as an attorney and proctor to practice in the Supreme Court of Hongkong. The learned counsel said Mr. Castro was articled to Mr. Wilkinson, solicitor, who had filed an affidavit showing that the articles were dated 2nd April, 1892. Mr. Castro
was examined at the end of last month and was found to be a fit and proper person to practice in the Court.
His Lordship, in making the order asked for, said he did so with pleasure. He understood that Mr. Castro was the first gentleman of Por- tuguese descent who had been admitted as a solicitor in the Hongkong Court, and his Lord- ship wished him success.
HONGKONG SANITARY BOARD,
A meeting of the Sanitary Board was held at the offices on 19th August. Dr. Atkin- son (Principal Civil Medical Officer) presided and there were also present-Hon. F. H. May, (Captain Superintendent of Police), Hon. W. Chatham (Acting Director of Public Works), Dr. Clark (Medical Officer of Health), and Mr. H. McCallum (Secretary).
MINUTES,
**
[August 26, 1897.
Health wrote:-The attached report suggests to me the following course of action is-most suit- able for this port. (1). All vessels, whether "healthy," suspected," or "-infected arriving from an infected port, to proceed at once to the quarantine anchorage for medical inspection in accordance with existing quarantine regulations and to be granted free pratique as soon as (1) the sick, if any, have been removed to hospital, (2) the vessel disinfected, if necessary, and (3) the
our
and confirmed.
The minutes of the Inst meeting were road passengers and crew have complied with the
THE MEDICAL INSPECTION OP
SHIPPING
AND THE VENICE PLAGUE CONFERENCE,
Further papers relating to the proposal to institute a systematic, medical inspection of vessels arriving in the harbour were laid on the table. Following upon the report of the Com. mittee of the Chamber of Commerce (which was given in the Daily Press of July 21st) the Medical Officer of Health wrote the following minute:- The fact that a few persons may cross the frontier or land at Aberdeen or Stanley is no more an argument against medical inspection of the shipping entering this harbour than is the fact that criminals occasionally escape the consequences of their crimes an argument
following requirements, namely, (a) All Euro- peans, Americans, and Australians desiring to land must give to the boarding medical officer their names and the addresses at which they intend to reside, and they will be subjected to to medical surveillance" for a period of five days if the port of departure is infected with cholera, ten days if with plague, and fifteen day if with smallpox, from the date of leaving the ship, if any cases of bubonic plague have occurred thereon during the voyage, or from the date of leaving the infected port if the ship has been free from such sickness since the departure therefrom. Should any such person desire to reside at any other address than that within the said period of ten days, he must first given by him to the boarding medical officer,
Mr. Francis, who was in Court at the time, mentioned the interesting fact that Mr.Costro's father was one of the oldest public serrauts in against the maintenance of a police force. communicate the new address to the Medical
the colony at the time of his death, and for many years he was chief clerk in the Colonial Secre 'tary's office.
His Lordship-That makes it all the more gratifying that Mr. Castro should become a solicitor in this Court.
CHONG CHAI SHANG V. KAW HONG TAKE.
The hearing was resumed in this case, in which plaintiff sought to recover damages for the non-delivery of goods shipped by the Cosmopolit.
Mr. J. J. Francis Q.C. (instructed by Mr Looker), appeared for the plaintiff and Mr. E. Robinson (instructed by Mr. Bowley) for the defendant,
His Lordship gave judgment for the plaintiff for $1,060, including $950 paid into court, as damages for the non-delivery of goods, and also $300 damages for loss of reputation.
IN SUMMARY JURISDICTION. BEFORE MR. A. G. WISE (PUISSE JUDGE.)
LEUNG TSUN KIN v. HO KWAI TING.
Plaintiff sought to recover $1,000 damages
for slander.
Mr. J. F. Reece appeared for the plaintiff and Mr. M. W. Slade (instructed by Mr. Mounsey)
for the defendant.
Mr. Reece read the pleadings, which set forth that the plaintiff was a second-hand clothes dealer residing at 60, Jervois Street, and the defendant was a compradore residing at the Old Victoria Hotel. On the 31st July the defendant maliciously slandered the plaintiff by saying and publishing that plaintiff set fire to his house and fraudulently received fully $10,000 insurance money. How was it possible to do business with that man? Defendant denied having published the words or having injured the plaintiff by any words alleged to have been spoken.
The evidence showed that a fire broke out at 76, Jervois Street, which was formerly occupied by the plaintiff. A fire inquiry was held, the result being that the premises were -released.
His Lordship gave judgment for $250 and
costs.
The Foochow Echo of the 14th August says:- On Monday last the barometer fell to 29.20, a lower point than it is remembered ever to have touched here before, On Tuesday morn ing it rose a tenth but remained stationary at that for some time. It was certainly a relief to feel from this that the typhoon had passed by. The weather telegram from Hongkong, kindly supplied us by the Telegraph Companies, advised that the typhoon had struck the land North of Wenchow and a later wire stated that it was moving in the direction of Kiukiang, For three days subsequently we had to put up with the usual consequences of one of these big blows, namely, disagreeable rainy weather,
**
are prav-
abili y of medical inspection of vessels arriving The Chamber of Commerce admits the desir
from infected ports, but overlooks the fact well known to the Government-that it is im- possible to obtain the necessary staff in such emergencies and that if we have not permanent men trained in this work we cannot cope with point of great importance is that we any extra work without serious delay. Another tically at all times in communication with some infected ports, and if we do not have a general medical inspection of the shipping the Govern- ment is compelled to officially Jeclare such ports infected bofore such medical inspection can be enforced. Hitherto the Government of this colony has, in the interests of the shipping community, refrained as far as possible from resorting to such official declarations in con- sequence of the effect it has upon the authori. ties of the neighbouring ports, who so often follow suit by imposing a lengthy in fature, however, this course will, I hope, not be followed. for if the shipping authorities object to a properly organised general inspection the Government should certainly not hesitate to insist
проп 2 suspected ports, and as they can as yet only do medical inpection of all vessels from infected or
this should be resorted to without delay. A so by declaring quarantine against such ports very exaggerated idea seems to exist in the the Chamber of Commerce in reference to the minds of the members of the sub-Committee of expense of this scheme. I wonder what the cost to the shipping and to the colony generally would have been if any one of those fifty coolies who were landed on the s.s. Cheang Hok Kian, in November of last year had found beds while suffering from cholera. his way to one of the water reservoirs or filter had no less than 14 deaths on her voyage from Singapore to this port, ten of which occurred within 24 hours of her arrival here, and yet the rest of them were allowed to land and disperse that if the scheme of medical inspection of all themselves over the colony. I venture to think shipping had been in force at that time this colony would not have been exposed to such an awful danger as that which threatened us by those who know the true explanation of the thena dauger which can only be fully realized outbreak of cholera in Hamburg in 1893. Smallpox, again, is constantly being introduced into this colony from Japan and from other ports, and leads to sickness and deaths among the European community, and, in fact, as I pointed out in my annual report for 1896, more than 50 per cent. of our cases of in- fections disease (exclusive of bubonic plague) are imported and the danger to the com- munity would thus by medical inspection be practically reduced to one-half of its present proportions. I suggest that the papers relating to the Sanitary Conference at Venice be at- tached to these so that they may be considered together.
This ship
In reference to the report of the Venice Plague Conference, the Medical Officer of
Asiatics and Africans must similarly furnish Officer of Health of the colony. (B). All
their names and addresses of destination and will be subjected to medical surveillance for a furnish a reliable surety resident in the colony, like period, but each one must in addition
who shall guarantee in writing to the extent of $50 that such person shall continue to reside at the address given by him, for a period of surety not being forthcoming for not less than ten days. In the event of such per- any such port the vessel will not be granted pratique. sou brought into the harbour from an infected
from an infected port, en route for some further All Asiatic and African passengers arriving port, must be detained on board ship, and the master of any vessel allowing any such person who has not furnished the boarding medical officer with his name and address of destination and the necessary surety to land, shall be
emed to have committed a breach of the additional regulations be forwarded by the Quarantine Regulations. I suggest that these Sanitary Board for the
approval of the Governor in Council and for their incorporation in the Quarantine Regulations of this colony, and I also suggest that the Board advise the Government of this colony to become a party
to this Convention.
Dr. Jordan furnished the following report to the Venice Plagne Conference and medical the Principal Civil Medical Officer of Health re inspection of shipping in Hongkong:-
Health Officer's Office,
in connection with the above questions, I have
12th August, 1897. Sir. Having studied carefully all the papers now the honour to submit my report thereon and its applicability to the port of Victoria, Hongkong,
The subject will be best put forward under two headings-(1) the application of the views of and (2) the views given by the Medical Officer the Venice Plagne Conference to Hongkong, of Health and his “suggestions."
(1). Views of the Venice Plague Conference.- The points agreed to at this Conference were that there should be medical inspection of only that such port shall not be declared infected those vessels coming from an infected port and
simply because there are two or three cases of an infections disease present. So far this is exactly in accord with the practice carried on in this colony. The Conference requires that in the case of " infected vessela the sick be landed and isolated and certain processes of dis- infection carried out; both of these are done here. But, however, it is required that the remainder of those on board be subjected to
observation'
or "surveillance and that all passengers and crew from suspected" vessels be subjected only to surveillance. To carry ont a process of "observation" in this colony would mean that the ship be detained in quaran- tine for a period of ten days from the date of exposure of infection or of the occurrence of the last case of sickness. This would be reverting to
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