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Mr. Gillies is entitled to a great deal of recognition for all his excellent services, energy and perseverance to promote the wel- fare and interest of the concern, and the shareholders are not likely to ignore the fact. There are recognitions at times to such men, when the monetary gift is to benefit, by the interest to accrue from such gifts for the future support of the individual or his family. Mr. Gillies is not depending on such a gift cr such an income?
I suggest that a handsome and valuable piece of plate with a special tablet engraved recognising all the goodness of the popular manager, which should not exceed say between $5,000 to $6,000 dollars, be given. This will be an heirloom and will remain a pleasing souvenir of his services in China to the shareholders of the Dock Company-Yours, etc.,
A SHAREHOLDER.
BUILDING INSPECTION IN
HONGKONG.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS.
M
17th August. SIR,-Kindley permit me space in your columns to asks a few pertinent queries as who is responsible for the loss of life that has occured during the past few years by the collapse of old, flimsily built houses, which ought to have been condemned and pulled down by the proper authorities; and moreover who will be responsible for all collapses and loss of life which are sure to take place in the future. if the present regime is permitted to continue? The Cochrane Street buildings in question are old, very old, as has even been admitted by the Acting Director of Public Works. Now if they were old, and, as the disaster has proven, unsafe as human habitations, why were they not condemned and pulled down, and have saved about a half hundred of lives? Have we no sur- veyors and inspectors of buildings whose duty it is to inspect buildings and condemn to destruction all those found unsafe? If we have, why is it not done? To all appearances, judging by the rotten bricks, wood and mortar of the ill-fated houses, the same ought in all reason to have been condemned a year ago. Either the men whose duty it is to see to the conditions of the various tenements in this colony wilfully neglect their duty or they are perfectly incompetent.
How can any one with common sense expect a building whose main walls are only twelve inches thick, and the partition walls from six to eight inches thick, to remain intact in this climate, with our moonsoons, for say twenty, or thirty years ?
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND proper supervision of old buildings; but can any one, much less the Government, expect the Surveyor-General and one Building In- spector to be capable of even casually examining the whole of the old houses in this colony periodically? The staff of the P.W.D. should be increa ed and the Dangerous Buildings laws amended.
"
Having held office under the London County Council, I bag to suggest that the Legislative Council consider the laws relating to Dangerous Structures now in force in the City of London. They are as follows:--
(1) Where it is made known to the County Council that any structure is in a dangerous state the Concil shall require a survey of such structure to be made by the District Surveyor or other competent surveyor.
(2) Upon the completion the District Surveyor or other surveyor employed shall certify to the Council his opinion as to the state of the structure,
(3) If the certificate is to the effect that the structure is not in a dangerous state, no further proceedings shall be had in respect thereof, but if it is to the effect that the struc. ture is in dangerous state the Council may cause same to be shored up or otherwise secured and a proper board or fence put up for the protection of passengers, and shall canse notice to be served on the owner or occupier of the structure. requiring him forthwith to take down, secure or repair same, as the case requires. (4) "If the owner or occupier on whom the notice is served fail to comply as speedily as the nature of the case permits with the notice, the Petty Sessional Court on complaint by the Council may order the owner to take down, repair, or otherwise secure to the satisfaction of the District Surveyor the structure or such part thereof as appears to the Court to be in a dangerous state, within a time to be fixed by the order, and if the same be not taken down, repaired, or otherwise secured within the time so limited the Council may with all convenient speed cause all or so much of the structure as is in a dangerous condition to be taken down, repaired or otherwise secured in a manner as may bo requisite.
(5) 1.
All expenses incurred by the Council in relation to the obtaining of any order as to the dangerous structure and carrying the same into effect shall be paid by the owner of the structure, but without prejudice to his right to recover the same from any person liable to the expenses of repairs.
2. If the owner cannot be found or if on
demand he refuses or neglects to pay the said expenses, the Counci', after serving him with three mouths notice of their intention to do so,
And not only are the old buildings neglected, | may, if in their discretion they think fit, sell the and permitted to fall down through sheer | structure, but they shall, after deducting from old age, and crush the life out of mou the proceeds of the amount, all expenses in- and women, but hundreds of similar build-curred by them, pay the surplus (if any) to the inge are run up in Wanchai, consisting of the owner on demand.' same flimsy material, the same thin walls, the These laws have been fouud efficient in deal same hapliazard mode of construction, usinging with the very many dangerous buildings in mere laths instead of boards and beams of the proper strength and dimensions, and merely using good bricks on the outside, and filling in the centre with rotten, broken bricks, the remnants of what once had been bricks. The main object of unscrupulous Chinese contractors and property owners seems to be to build the greatest number of tenements at the least possible cost and in the shortest space of time. The main objects are dividends; lives do not count.
Who passes the plans for new houses of. this description? Whoever does is morally guilty of man-slaughter. Who employs in- competent and underpaid building surveyors and inspectors? Where is the Public Works Depart ment and where are its officials? Why do they not bestir themselves and do their duty as it ought to be done? What is the head of the Govern- ment about that he allows such a state of things to exist ?
These are a few questions I would wish to see answered.-Yours, etc.,
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London for some thirty years. Why, if they are suitable there, with the 65 odd District Surveyors (and their staff), should they not he included in our laws?
The new buildings here, generally speaking. are not as good as the so-called jerry-built
houses in the suburbs of London.
Trusting that in the interests of the Colony will find space to publish this rather lengthy letter, yours, etc..
· Vou
ANXIOUS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE “DAILY PRESS.
20th Angust. SIR-Nothing short of drastic measures and thorough overhauling of the Public Works Department, or rather its Buildings Inspection (though practically it is non-inspection) Branch, would save the situation. Apparently, this branch of the department is criminally negligent. The Building Inspectors may be honest, hardworking men, but if this wholesale massacre of poor inoffensive people is the only fruit of all their pains and trouble, it goes without saying that they stand in bad need of DAILY PRE88.”
a closer supervision and stricter rules of conduct. 19th August. These inspectors must be made to feel and SIE,-I have read with interest your cor-recognise the risk and responsibility attaching respondent's letter with reference to the recent to their duties as such. The P.W.D. should collapse of houses in Cochrane Street, and I open a Departmental Fund, somewhat on the quite agree with him as to the absence of basis of a Provident or Pension or Guarantee
TO THE EDITOR OF THE
.
ENQUIRER.
|
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[Angust 26, 1901.
Fund to which each inspector should be made to contribute a specified sum every month pro- portionate to his pay. Each inspector should be placed in charge of a district or districts, if small, with a limited number of houses. At the end of each day he should be required to fill in a form showing his locality, the number of houses he has inspected that day, the nature, scope, and result of his inspection, the then condition of the houses, the kind of materials used, the then state of the walls, the number of persons residing therein and last, though not least, the name, identity, and financial standing, if practicable, of the landlord or landlady. Whenever hereafter any such deplorable entastrophe occurs, the inspector or inspectors involved therein should be at once suspended and called upon to explain the situation. If he is found to blame, he must be dismissed the service and he forfeits all claim to the proportionate participation in the accumulations of the Fund to which he has been one of the contributors, and his share shall be given away as compensation to the injured or bereaved person or persons, especially in cases where they have lost their bread-winner. If the inspector carries a clean record, or even has had catastrophes entered against him which on inquiry could not be put to his bad account, he should be entitled to received his proportionate share in the Fund by way of reward for service conscientiously done and performed. Periodical reports should be published in the papers detailing records of individual inspectors.
alone be made the scapegoats. This work But the hard-working inspectors should not
in A British Colony and under the British Flag, is not to be_laid__at_the door of the inspectors or the P.W.D. alone. It is the work of factors of which are
A guild the moving money-lender, and the blind and unscrupu- the contractor, the
lous gambler and speculator in property. It is a widely known fact that 10-day there are two-penny men, Chinese and foreigners, who in the property market many half-penny and blindfoldedly gamble and speculate in pro perty and whose financial mainstay is the professional money-lender, the Loan Company, and the Bank. They pay any amount of in- terest. Twelve and fifteen per cent. are even talked of. How long is this state of things going to be tolerated? It is a matter for ur gent and special legislation. Legislature has already stepped in other directions to the great relief of the community. Fifteen years ago all Hongkong and his wife went mad over stock. jobbing and share-speculating; gentlemen of birth and position connected with highly re spectable firms fell from their commercial posi- tions; from principals they because brokers; from brokers they were driven to be suicides. Legislature came forward and did its duty. namely introduced and passed the share bill. Again, fifteen years ago, Fire Insurance Com- panies were cutting each other's throats, so to say, and unscrupulous people were not wanting to take advantage; all sorts and c'asses of people insured their belongings and incendiarism was the order of the day. Legislature indirectly brought pressure to bear upon the Insurance Companies who had their eyes already opened and who at once set about remedying this dreadful evil. Doos Government "intend to wait till the bubblo bursts again, till more human lives are sac- rificed.
Of course, respectable and boni fide landlords are, like Cisar's wife, above suspicion.and above slur.
BOMBAYITE. [Our correspondent is rather strong in places. We believe there is really only one inspector of buildings in this largely populated and wealthy colony of ours.—ED. D.P.]
19
TO THE EDITOR OF THE “DAILY PRE88.
21st August. SIE,-Much has been said about the jerry. building in this Colony, but nobody has yet given the reason why such buildings were allowed, and are still progressing rapidly in their construction in every corner of the city, and in the narrowest streets, to the utmost danger both of the inmates and of the passers- by. In my humble opinion, money in the chief motive of all this corruption. Everybody in too selfish in making morey, no matter what may