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two meetings-one to deal the ordinance, which must be dealt with in the first instance and passed into law before they could pass the régulations. What he would suggest that they should do that day was that they should' the word of the Church Body that the ance contained no change of importance that to which he had already referred.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
HONGKONG SANITARY BOARD.
oy, Captain Superintendent of Police), the
A meeting of the Hongkong Sanitary Board ent (Dr. J. M. Atkinson, Principal Civil Medical was held on the 2nd Junuary. The Presid.
Officer) occupied the chair, and there
were also present the Vice-President (the Hon. F. H.
[February 4, 1899.
Mr. OSBORNE I am quite prepared to defer my proposition until Mr. Ladds shall have had the
til next meeting perhaps he will be able to tell opportunity of telling us which be considers most important. If the matter is deferred un-
us which of these suggestions should be taken in hand first.
On the motion of Mr. BECK, seconded by Mr. Hon, R. D. Ormsby (Director of Public Works), Mr. Osborne had just said was very necessary, JACKSON, the ordinance was approved, and it | Mr. E. Osborne, and Dr. Clark (Medical Officer able one, and one which he as a member of the Mr. J. Dyer Ball (Acting Registrar-General),
was decided to forward it to the Government with a request that they should place it before the Legislature.
The election of the Church Body for the ensning year then took place as follows :-Sir John Carrington, Hon. R. D. Ormsbý, Hon. R. M. Ramsey, Mr. T. Jackson, Mr. McEwen and Mr. H. R. Hardcastle.
The existing regulations were formally ap. proved
Mr. W. CHATHAM was appointed auditor, on the motion of Mr. JACKSON, seconded by Mr. OEMSBY.
Mr. COBBOLD, in proposing a vote of thanks to the hon. treasurer, said that a great many little matters passed through his hands, such as the collection of chits, the collection of sub- scriptions, seat rents, and making ont debit forms to send to people after they had engaged seats. Then he had to be in touch with the secretary, who kept a list of the seat holders, and he had to see that the seats were properly
aken and so on.
Captain GODDARD seconded and the motion was carried.
Mr. JACKSON, in replying, remarked that as he said last year though he was the honorary treasurer Mr. Wright was the real treasurer. Mr. Wright did all the work. He would con. vey to him in a sort of vicarious way the vote which had just been passed.
of Health and Acting Secretary). Mr. Ladds (Colonial Veterinary Surgeon) also attended.
THE REPORT OF THE COLONIAL VETERINARY SURGEON.
The first item on the agenda was "Report of the Colonial Veterinary Surgeon for 1898." We have already published a copy of the report, as it came before the Board at their previous meeting but was deferred for further consid-] eration.
Wan,
8
The Hon. B. D. ORMSBY thought that what The had introduced was a very formide Government would not vote upon without some consideration. The question of the Board taking over the management of the slaughter- houses had been fully gone into by the Govern. ment, who had declined to entertain the pro- posal of the Board. He did not think it would be a right position of the Sanitary Board to press that again on them. He thought that if Mr. Osborne would divide his resolution and give them time to consider it it would be better. The VICE-PRESIDENT-I should imagine the most important recommendations are those in regard to the provision of inspection and the management of the slaughter-houses, Will Mr. Ladds tell us?
laire
Mr. Ladds-Yes, I consider that those two
are the most important.
The Hon. R. D. ORMBBY—Do you know what the estimate for the inspection lairs was P^ Mr. Cooper prepared one, and if I remember rightly the price was prohibitive.
Mr. LADDS-The estimate for a later scheme. than Mr. Cooper's was about $20,000.
Mr. OSBOBNE divided his proposals into three resolutions-first, that the Government be asked to provide as soon as possible inspection lairs for the reception of cattle on landing; second, that the Board recommend the Government to transfer the management and control of the slaughter-houses in the colony to the Board, on the expiration of the present lease to the farmer; and third, that the attention of the Government be raised to the other points raised in Mr. Ladda's report.
Sir JOHN CARRINGTON, in referring to the departure of Mr. Spriggs, said that Mr. Spriggs was for a long time a member of the choir, and was a constant and faithful attender at the practices. Besides that he helped the chaplain very greatly and very generously in the minis- trations in connection with the church. He believed the chaplain had said he had hardly ever been absent from a single service since he was first connected with the Cathedral. The Church Body had already placed on their minutes a resolution of gratitude to Mr. Spriggs re- cognising his services; but the Church Body visable or practicable to adopt the whole of but they were not informed what the objections
held their meetings in secret, and perhaps the seat holders and subscribers there present would think it was not inappropriate to make some public acknowledgement of his services to the church. He proposed that a resolution such as he suggested should be passed and for- warded to Mr. Spriggs.
Captain GODDARD seconded, remarking that Mr. Spriggs had been a most regular attender and had done all he could to assist Mr. Cebold.
Mr. COBBOLD endorsed these remarks, adding that in losing Mr. Spriggs he felt in the posi- tion of a clergyman who had lost his church- warden.
The resolation was passed unanimously. A vote of thanks was accorded the Bishop for presiding.
Mr. JCRSON, in proposing the same, said that the more they saw of the Bishop the better they liked him. Let them hope he would be with them for many years, that he would be blessed in his office, and that church matters would prosper under him.
The BISHOP, in replying, said he did not think he deserved a vote of thanks for taking the chair, because it seemed that by Govern- ment ordinance he was compelled to do so.
The proceedings then terminated.
Antonio Borges Pereira, the murderer of Colonel Porphyrio Zeferino de Souza, has been tried by Court Martial at Macao, found guilty, and sentenced to death. It is believed that His Majesty the King of Portugal will com- mate the sentence.
On the 19th January Captain Slade and the Officers of H.M.S. Algerine entertained the Foochow community at a ball at the Foochow Club. A very glowing description of the func tion is given in the Echo and regret is e pressed that the community is so soon to lose the genial society of Captain Slade and his officers.
ng
The VICE-PRESIDENT, in seconding, said the question of providing inspection lairs for cattle was one which had been under consideration for a number of years. As regarded the taking over of the slaughter-houses, he was aware that. the Government did not see their way to adopt the Board's suggestion on the subject last year,
Mr. OSBORNE said that Mr. Ladds's report contained a number of suggestions, some of which had been made as far back as 1889 and repeated in subsequent reports. The recommen- dations might be placed under two heads-those which involved an expenditure of money and which could not be dealt with by the Board itself but must be referred to the Government, and those which the Board could deal with itself without reference to the Government. The first of these classes of recommendations included the provision of inspection lairs for cattle on landing, the provision of slaughter-bouses at Aberdeen and Shanki. the provision of swine depot at Kowloon, the provision of additional poultry plucking and dressing accommodation in the Central Market, the provision of additional stalls in the Shankiwan market, the transfer of the management and control of the slaughter houses to the Sanitary Board when the present lease of the farmer expired, and the amendment of section 12 of Ordinance 17 of 1887 in accor dance with Mr. Ladds's suggestion. These he imagined they would have to refer to the Government. The other points raised in Mr. Ladds's report were that the Board should licence no more cow sheds in the precincts of the city, that the Board's inspectors should take milk for analysis, and that the Chinese mortuary at Kennedytown should be closed. He was not prepared to say it was either. ad-
these recommendations at once, but he did say were. It seemed to him it was a confession of this, that in consequence of his experience Mr. weakness for a Board consisting of a body of Ladds's views and opinions were entitled to Englishmen not to be able to control the receive more consideration than they appeared slaughter-houses of the city. He remembered to have had in the past, judging from the distinctly that when the Board asked to be remarks made in the report, and with a view to allowed to take over the animal depots the same this end he moved that the whole of the recom- objections were raised. It was said that they mendations be approved by the Sanitary Board would not run them properly, and that they that the Government be asked to give effect must go on farming the management of slaughter. to those of his suggestions which concerned the houses out to Chinese farmers. However, the Government, and that the Board adopt those of Board carried their point and the animal depots his recommendations which could be dealt with
were a paying concern. But that was not the without reference to the Government. This was a point at all. They did not want to maķe somewhat formidable list, but when it was taken money out of them, but they were thoroughly into consideration that it embraced the recom-well-managed and far more satisfactorily mendations of several years' reports he did not managed than ever they were in the hands think they could be called excessive. Some of of a Chinese farmer. It seemed to him s them would involve the expenditure of money monstrous thing that the slaughter-houses, where and they might be told that the Government the whole meat supply of this large and import- had no money to spend, but he thought when it ant colony was slaughtered, should be under the was pointed out to the Government that most absolute control of a Chinese farmer. Recent of these schemes or suggestions were remuners-experiences had shown them what grave abuses tive perhaps they would see their way to allow the expense.
The VICE PRESIDENT-When does the lease of the slaughter-houses expire?
Dr. CLARK-It is annual.
The VICE-PRESIDENT-I think we had a report in July as to how we proposed to run this matter.
Dr. CLARK-Yes, we have already recom- mended it to the Government quite recently.
The VICE-PRESIDENT-How many cow-sheds are there licensed in the city at present?
Mr. LADDS-I am afraid I cannot give you the exact number, but I should say there are ten or twelve.
The VICE-PRESIDENT-I do not think you can expect the Government to carry out all the recommendations at once. Would it not be bet- ter to pick out those which you think most im- portant. The one which I consider to be the most important is that as to the management of slaughter-houses,
orept in under the present arrangement. Mr. Osborne and himself were appointed a committes to enquire into these abuses, and in their opinion such things could not be put a stop to until the Board had the sole control of the slaughter-houses. He failed to imagine what the evils were which would result from the Board getting sole control. It was not going to cost anything. They showed last year that Mr. Ladda's estimate of the revenue derivable from it proved it to be a remunerative under taking. He was not without hopes that they could reduce the fees for the admission of cattle into these places and thereby help to keep down the price of food, which was con tinually rising in the colony. What the Board, he imagined, wanted to do was to get the place under its control simply on the ground of public bealth, and he was confident himself that with the assistance of Mr. Ladds and his inspectors, and by taking a little interest in it themselves, they could do this and do it successfully.