46
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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revoked.
[July 15, 1901:
dated 15th June, from the Secretary of State 1. Bye-law No. 8, under the heading Dis- | cleansing and disinfection) of any furniture, for the Colonies, was submitted-"Referring infection of Infected Premises, is hereby to your telegram of 15th June, Atkinson will reach destination on or about 4th August. Pearse, Assistant Medical Officer of Health, leaves England 5th July."—(8d.) CHAMBERLAIN.
GOVERNMENT AND IMPROVED CHINESE HOUSES.
2. The following additional bye-law shall be adopted under the heading Disinfection of Infected Premises, that is to say:-
8. Any officer of the Board may, during the prevalence in the colony or in any district On the 14th ult. the Secretary of the Board thereof of any of the aforesaid diseases, make a forwarded the following letter to the Govern-house-to-house visitation within any district ment:"I have the honour to report that which has been declared by the Board to be the minute of His Excellency the Governor, infected, for the purpose of inspecting the dated 15th May, 1901, forwarding a plan of sanitary condition of any premises so visited and improved Chinese houses, was again considered of at a meeting of the Sanitary Board held yester- day, and it was resolved-That the Board ask the Government whether it is intended that the plan submitted shall refer only to buildings to be erected on land sold hereafter by the Crown, or also to buildings to be erected in future ou land already sold ?
The reply from the Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart, Colonial Secretary, is to the effect that the plan submitted referred only to build ings to be erected on land sold hereafter by the Crown. The Government had no power to impose conditions retrospectively on land already sold.
Mr. MAY-I move we notify the Government that the best plan the Board has yet seen is the plan submitted to the Director of Public Works and forwarded to the Government.
Dr. BELL seconded, and the motion was carried
Mr. FUNG WA CHUEN-I did not vote. The PRESIDENT-Are you against the proposal?
Mr. FUNG WA CHUEN-No, but I thought my plan was the best. (Laughter.)
INFANT MORTALITY.
Further correspondence was laid on the table relative to the infant mortality in the colony. This included a report drawn up by Chief Detective Inspector J. H. Hanson.
Dr. CLARK said it appeared that the births of Chinese infants were not registered for forty-two days, or six weeks. A registration fee of one dollar was then charged, and this, it was
believed, deterred Chinese parents from regis tering a birth, according at least to the report before them. Some good might be done by extending the period of registration to three months, instead of six weeks, because, even if & child lived for six weeks, parents were not willing to pay a dollar for registering the birth when it was possible that the child might very soon afterwards die. At the end of three months, if a birth remain unregistered, the parents might be prosecuted.
Mr. OSBORNE I recommend that the Go-
vernment abolish the dollar fee.
Dr. BELL-Altogether?
Mr. OSBORNE-Yes; why does the Govern ment want to make money out of a birth?
Mr. MAY-It isn't a question of making money; it is to hurry people up and make them register within the six weeks. If you don't charge the dollar you will find that you are no better off than before.
Dr. BELL-If you abolish the dollar fee and make the limit for registration three months, you will then have some justification for putting people in gaol if they don't register. I think the fee ought to be abolished altogether. I don't know that we get any more registration
on account of it.
Mr. MAY-I move as an amendment that the Board ask the Captain Superintendent of Police and the Registrar-General to endeavour to enforce the present law more strictly. I have
never been asked to find out the number of
infants not registered, but I daresay I could find a good many ont through the police.
Dr. BELLI second Mr. Osborne's motion. Mr. BREWIN-Is anyone seconding the Vice- President's amendment? It would be most ungracious not to do so. (Laughter.)
The PRESIDENT-I second it.
The amendment was then put to the meeting and carried by a majority of one. OSBORNE'S motion consequently was lost.
Mr.
DISINFECTION OF INFECTED PREMISES. The following additional bye-laws (relative to the disinfection of infected premises) made by the Sanitary Board under Section 15 of the Public Health Ordinance (No. 13 of 1901) were submitted for approval :
all and every part thereof, and of ascertaining whether there is any person in or upon the said premises attacked or affected by any of the said diseases or the body of any person who has died there. from. If the premises so visited or any part thereof shall be found in a dirty or insanitary condition in the opinion of any such officer, he shall report the same to the Medical Officer of Health or to any such other officer as may be appointed for that purpose by the Board, with the approval of the Governor, who shall inspect such premises, and if he considers them or any part thereof to be in a dirty or insanitary condition be may forthwith take steps to have the said premises thoroughly cleansed and disinfected by persons acting under his instructions, and may, if he think fit, have all furniture and
removed goods
therefrom during such cleansing and disinfection; and whenever in bis opinion it is necessary for the thorough cleansing and disinfection of such premises to do any or all of the follow- ing acts, namely, to take down, remove from the premises or destroy any mezzanine floor, cockloft, partition, screen or other similar structure or fitting, or any portion thereof, or when in his opinion any mezzanine floor, cock- loft, partition, screen or other similar struc- ture or fitting prevents the free access of light and air to the said premises, he shall forth with have the same taken down, and if he considers the removal from the premises or the destruc- tion thereof, or both, necessary in the interests of the public health, he shall forthwith cause the same to be removed from the premises or destroyed, or both. Such destruction shall be carried out with such precautions and in such manner and in such place as the Board may from time to time direct.
For the purposes of this bye-law any officer of the Board may enter any premises without notice between the hours of 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.
9. Any officer of the Board or any police officer may prevent the removal (except under the directions of the officer in charge of the cleansing and disinfection) of any furniture, clothing, bedding or other household goods to or from any premises within any district which has been declared by the Board under Bye-law 8 to be infected, unless the person so removing them has obtained, and produces to such officer, a permit in writing from the Medical Officer of Health, or any Assistant Medical Officer of Health, authorising such removal.
The Medical Officer of Health, or any Assist- ant Medical Officer of Health may, as a condition of granting any such permit, require the articles in respect of which the permit is applied for, to be first cleansed and disinfected to his satisfaction.
Any person removing any such article to or from any premises within any district so declared to be infected as aforesaid, without sach directions or permit as aforesaid, shall be deemed to be guilty of a breach of this Bye-law.
clothing, bedding or other household goods to or from any premises within the limits so defined, unless the person so removing them has obtained, and produces to such officer, a permit in writing from the Medical Officer of Health or any Assistant Medical Officer of Health, authorising such removal. The Medical Officer of Health or any Assistant Medical Officer of Health may, as a condition of granting any such permit, require the articles in respect of which the permit is applied for, to be first cleansed and disinfected to his satisfaction.
Any person removing any snch article to or from any premises within the limits so definod as aforesaid, without such directions or permit as aforesaid, shall be deemed to be guilty of a breach of this by-law.
The PRESIDENT-Do you think it advisable to postpone the consideration of these bye-laws till a future meeting, or do it now?
Mr. FUNG WA CHUIN- Let us wait until Don't make provision for a change be made. bye-laws every day. How can you expect the Chinese to understand so many bye-laws?
Dr. BELL-We cannot start now to make all the bye-laws we need for the next twenty years. The only time the Sanitary Board is to make bye-laws is when the allowed
them crops up. No one necessity for
all the bye-laws off by wants to learn heart, neither Chinese nor European. The Sanitary Board or one of its inspectors will You cannot, tell you when you are wrong. as I said before, make bye-laws right off the I don't think we should postpone the reel. consideration of them.
Dr. CLARK explained that one effect of the bye-laws was to provide for the disinfection of premises before an epidemic of plague. There must be some means by which infection was retained for a year or so, and therefore, if during non-epidemic times they were to go over the whole city, district by district, and thoroughly disinfect the houses, there was a possibility of preventing an outbreak of plague in the following spring. They all knew, for instance, that plague would break out
this year in No. 9 Health District, and it did, and was there, too, for two-and-a-half months before it spread to the other parts of the city. The Board had no power in the matter, and they had to wait till plagne was epidemic before they could do anything. If power were given the Board before an outbreak to go over every district and thoroughly disinfect the houses, there was a chance, Dr. Clark repeated, of It could preventing an outbreak of plague. be done gradually and slowly.
Mr. BREWIN-Oh no, you cannot be too long over it, you know. You must burry up.
Dr. CLARK-Well, we could do sixty houses a day.
Dr. BELL-The only way to stop plague is at the beginning of an epidemic. However, I wish to move that the Board go into committee
on the bye-laws.
Mr. MAY. seconded, and the motion was considered.
On the Board resuming, the SECRETARY read the bye-laws, which were all approved.
RESIGNATION OF MR. CHAN A FOOK. It was intimated that Mr. Chan A Fook
hd tendered his resignation as a member of the Board, and that the Government had accepted his resignation.
NOISE NUISANCES.
Prevention of epidemic or contagious
In submitting a suggestion for the suppres disease-1. The Board may at any time with a view to the prevention of epidemic, endemic sion of nuisances by noises, Mr. May minuted "I beg to suggest for the consideration of or contagious disease (even when any such disease is not existent in the colony) direct any the Board the desirability of the Board address- officer of the Board to make a house-to-houseing the Government on the subject of legislat- visitation within such limits as may be defined ing for the suppression of nuisances by noises. by the Board, and any officer so directed may, At present, unless it happens to be a contraven- with such assistance as may be necessary, cleansetion of the terms of the house-lease, a person and disinfect any premises within such limits, under the directions of the Medical Officer of Health, or of any Assistant Medical Officer of Health, and during such cleansing and disin- fection may, if he thinks fit, have all furniture and goods removed from such premises.
2. During such cleansing and disinfection of premises within the limits so defined by the Board any officer of the Board or any police officer may prevent the removal (except under the directions of the officer in charge of the'
can (and persons do every day all over the colony, vide Wanchai and Yaumati_more particularly) rent an ordinary house in populous street, and start a boilermaker's shop in it, or any other noisy trade he likes. I am of opinion that the time has come when such trades should be relegated to certain well- defined districts."
The following minutes were appended :- Lieut. Col. Hughes "I agree with the Vice-President.”