492
filth in all its forms so that a death rate showing a still further diminution may be expected as soon as plague ceases to visit us. Even, with the repeated plague epidemics of the past five years the average death rate per thousand for that period is only 0.86 above that of the previous five years. The results so far achieve ought to encourage the colony to proceed with the good work of sanitation and to spare no expense within its means to render the colony thoroughly healthy. The saving of fifteen hundred lives a year is no mean achievement, though the means by which it is accomplished are not such as appeal to the imagination and consequently bring little praise to those chiefly responsible. As RUSKIN remarks, Let a child fall into the river before the roughest man's eyes, he will usually do what be can to get it out, even at some risk to him- self; and all the town will triumph in the Having of one little life. Let the man be shown that hundreds of children are dying of fever from want of some sanitary
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS. AND
PROPOSED` FORMATION OF A SANITARY 'TRUST',
(Daily Press, 9th December). As to the necessity of sanitary improve ments in Hongkong all parties are agreed. Whether the formation of a Trust would be the best way of determining the form those improvements should take and of providing the means for effecting them is quite different question. A resolution to that effect was passed at the last meeting of the Sanitary Board, on the motion of the Hon. F. H. MAY, seconded by Mr. E. OSBORNE,
of convincing in their arguments in support of the proposed Trust. The best means of effecting the sanitary improvements re- quired would be the formation of a Muni- cipal Council with full control of muni- cipal funds and power to raise money by loan for municipal purposes, and the strongest argument in favour of Mr. MAY's proposed Trust is that it might possibly prove a step- which it will cost him troubleping stone to a Municipal Council. But the to urge, and he will make no effort; and existing Sanitary Board would itself form a probably all the town would resist him very good nucleus of a Municipal Council, "if he did," The sanitarian, indeed, or, if the Government maintains its hostile often encounters not only resistance but attitude to the granting of full municipal inveterate hatred and personal abuse, in privileges, the Board might at least be
"
measure
[December 16, 1899. diminution in its numbers resulting from special causes. Vast numbers of rats must have been carried off by the successive epidemics of plague--far more than are at all likely to be caught in traps-yet to all appearance they swarm as freely in the colony to-day as they did before the disense made its first appearance. The most that can be said in favour of trapping is, as Dr. CLARK put it, that it will do no harm to set a few rat-traps. If any serious impression is to be made on the rat popula tion it will have to be by introducing some natural enemy. A suggestion made in a coco paragraph a short time ago that the rat population might be kept in encouraging an increase of the cat poiuli-
-
tion was received with some ridicule, but it would at least yield better results than the adoption of the Sanitary Board's suggestion.
GENERAL GATACRE'S REVERSE.
(Daily Press, 13th December.) The news of the dienster austurned by General GATACRE'S Columu is disconcert- ing, not only on account of the loss of six hundred men, serious as that loss is, but on account of the explanation put forward, which indicates an ignorance of the country lead to many similar disasters
that may
stances of which have not been wanting in granted full control over sanitary expend!- \ ¡f it be allowed to remain uncorrected. The
our local history.
It does not appear from the Government Gazette what considerations have dictated the publication in the last issue of the death rates for the past twenty years, but,
ture and have a certain proportion of the revenue allocated to it to meet such ex- penditure. Mr. MAY in proposing his re- solution said the subject was a difficult one and the resolution simply aimed at obtaining consideration from
men
{"
"
"
miost
**
whether by design or mere coincidence, the
who have knowledge of sanitary figures have made their appearance very op-
matters and large business capacity to portunely on the eve of an election of two
see if some feasible scheme could not be members of the Sanitary Board by the rate-
'Hongkong,' laid before the Government. payers. They show in a striking way
is in its infancy; it has a very what can be accomplished by sanitation he said,
large future before it, and it behoves us and ought to influence the electors to re-
men of the present day to do all we pos turn men pledged to support and not
sibly can to make this port a healthy one; to obstruct sanitary progress. That the
otherwise its development cannot be so Government makes mistakes, that the Sani-
large
nor its future so brilliant as it tary Board makes mistakes. we all know, and no doubt they will go on making mis-ought to be." In that the whole com- takes to the end of the chapter, but the qualification that should be sought in a can- didate for the Sanitary Board is not the mere ability to cavil at other people's mistakes, but the ability and the willingness to actively help forward the work of sanitation. We want level headed men of affairs who can
munity will agree with Mr. MAY and we congratulate him on his suggestion that the co-operation of the public through duly ac credited representatives should be invited in the carrying out of the work, though we think the particular form of representative body he suggests may not be the best that
Ladysmith disaster was bad enough, but that was accounted for by a tactical error, and even the best General may err at tiines. The Stormberg affair, however, seems to have been the result of ignorance
Dure
and simple, and, although further details may put a different complexion
on
to
the matter, the ignorance seeins have been quite inexcusable. When the Germans invaded France one of the elements which contributed largely to their success was the fact that they knew the topography of the country a great deal better than the defenders. The Boers appear to have a similar advantage over the Br·tish in their invasion of Cape Colony. General Ga- TACRE, Operating in a British Colony, every mile of which ought to be familiar to the responsible military and civil officials, is dependent upon treacherous or incom petent guides and is led into a trup set for him by the Boer invading force. It is to be hoped the other columns have not been left so destitute of information concerning
not only see the goal to be aimed at, but could be devised for the purpose. The op- the country as General GATAURE's seems to
also the practical means of attaining it. Several gentlemen have been mentioned in connection with the election that takes place next week, but so far none of them have openly proclaimed themselves can- didates or made any public declaration of their policy. It is a defect in the procedure that the election should have to take
position of the Colonial Secretary has, how- ever, to be counted with in any project of public reform in Hongkong involving any thing in the nature of popular representa
tion. Being in closer communication than else with the Governor Mr. anyone
STEWART LOCKHART may be able to in fuence Sir HENRY BLAKE's mind in the
fence of Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking ave been. The heroism displayed in the de- evokes enthusiastic admiration, but heroism alone will not suffice to carry the campaigu
to a successful conclusion. We were told at the beginning that in this campaign there were to be no military mistakes, but so far that promise has not been fulfilled. Gen-
place immediately after the nomination. It same direction as he did Sir WILLIAM ROB- erni BULLER, however, is believed to know
would be better if the nomination were munde some time before the election and the names of the nominees published in the Government. Gazette, so that the electors might have time to consider the merits of the respective candidates.
The Pahang correspondent of the Straits Times writes:-Mr. W Kerfoot Hughes of Hongkong, one of the Directors of the Punjam Company, has paid Ulu Pahang a visit, and bas since returned to Singapore on his way back. Mr. Hughes went into matters at Punjam, and it is an open secret he is not exactly pleased with affairs as he found them. While here, Mr. Hughes was on the look-out for likely mining land, and has found it on the watershed of the Tabor River, a stream which rises north of Panb and flows into the Semantau about three miles above a
INSON's.
THE SANITARY BOARD AS FAT-
CATCHERS.
མ་
(Daily Press, 9th December.) We have not much faith in the Sanitary Board as rat-catchers. The theory that plague is chiefly or largely propagated by rats, and that the destruction of these ver- min would remove or diminish the risk of the disease appearing in epidemic form, is supported by competent authorities, and if it were possible to exterminate the rats it would be worth while going to very considerable expenditure to accomplish that object. Trapping, however, will fail to produce any appreciable effect upon
his ground and to have a correct apprecia- tion of the conditions of Boer warfare; it will be a relief when justification for that belief is forthcoming in the news of some signal success for the British arms,
The Peking and Tientsin Times says:- We regret to announce the untimely and shocking death of Mr. F. F. W. Richmond, who, until quite recently occupied the position of band. master to the Tientsin Public Band. It appears that on the 19th inst., Richmond and a friend were in Ryan's Hotel, Chemulpo, where an altercation arose between Richmond and a per- son supposed to be a passenger on board the S. S. Songari. Richmond left the hotel about 6.30 p.m., and was found at 7 o'clock in an alley way quite dead, with several wounds on the head
applied for called l'anjong Aur. He has since the numbers of the rat population. T. and neck, supposed to be inflicted by a dagger.
special prospecting rights over the river in question, with the right to ultimately select an area of 250 acres for permanent mining. deningo nyicquiao | vliegria
characteristics of the rat are its cunning, which renders it difficult to trap, and its fecundity, which soon makes good any
An investigation has been opened at HB.M:'s Consulate, but at the time of our correspon dent's writing it was not concluded. The murdered man was buried on the 22nd Nov, wi