School
itory
THE HONGKONG WENKLY PRESS AND
tain reductions, where | THE CHINESE AND THE PUBLIC the same family are at
expenditure for the Department
GENERAL.
25 Since arriving in the Colony I have written a report on the system of educați n in the Colony for the Board of Education at home. and I have soted as Honorary Secretary to the Education Committee of which body I was also member My views have thus been put before the Government at considerable length and there is little to add.
HEALTH BILL.
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moan" that iev'ry Ob occupy a whole floor. themselves. I wonder how families, seeing that, rental
An extraordinary general meeting of the against $40,532 in 1900.The Chinese Commercial Union was held on the raised to killing rate, can afford inly due to the cost of the Belilios 19th inst. at 3 p.m., at their premises in Des There are many details in the Bill, which, if experiment which has failed Voeux Road, to discuss the Public Health and they become law, would be found to be unwork- able and would, cause the Government, and been abandoned; and to an increase in Buildings Bill and the Water Bill, and was
inhabitants enormous trouble and annoyance. and salaries of the Belilios Public very largely attendel. The hall was almost All these things would be better särsta fally packed full. There were present Mr. Fung threshed out and public opinion taken before Wa Chün (Chairman). Messrs. Lau Chupak, Liao Tez Shan, Chan Lau Hin. Kwok Tuen, laying the views of the community before the Tam Tsz Kong, Chau Kang Yer, Loo Koon Government through our representatives.
Mr. TREUNG S2. KAI. JIP., one the repre- Ting, Hn Shun Chuen, Teening Sa Kal, Hesentatives of the Nam Pak Hongs, said..) Kom Tong, Sin Tak-fan, and a great many loyal and law-abiding subjects than Chinese others representing almost all branches of trade.
are hard to be found, and yet we are frequently Mr. Ahmet Ramjahn was invited to be present ill-treated. For the erection of ma sheds for The CHAIRMAN said-Gentlemen, you are the Coronation for example, the fallred-tapoism called together here to-day to discuss two important measures, the Public Health and system of granting perm is has to be gone
With one heart and soul we tal English] School. The Belilios Public School Buildings Bill which will shortly be introduced through. for Girls is the only Government School. The into the Legislative Council and the other, the great pleasure in joining the ge ebration, but staff was strengthened, as already stated, during Water Meter Bill, the second reading of which individual guarantee for the consequences of the year, and is now fully equal to the work will take place at the next sitting of Council.these matsbeds had to be given before permite were issued. We must engage lawyers to draw before it. The very satisfactory education
Letters having been read from the Hon. Ho given reflects credit on all concerned. I have, Kai intimating that he and the Hon. Wei A up a petition about this Bill. however, thought it desirable to request that Yuk, Chinese representatives, would be glad to certain changes should take place in the course know at an early date the views of the Chinese studied by the highest class, in the hope of mak-community on these measures, Mr. Fung Wa ing it more useful in itself and 1 ss intended for purposes of examination; the result of the change will appear in the next year's report.
GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS.
ANGLO-CHINESE DISTRICT SCHOOLS.
further sanitary legislation for a few years at least.
Chun proceeded :-As the result of the petition got up by some European ratepayers and some members of the Chinese community, two sanitary experts, Professor Simpson and Mr. Three of these schools. at Saiyingpun, Chadwick, bare been sent out to report on the Wantsai, and Yaumati—are in as nearly a sanitation of this Colony Their conjoint re- satisfactory state, as can be expected so port, embodying a draft Bill, now before the long as English subjects are taught exclu public intimates that the Bill might reason- sively by Chinese. The report of the Ednably be expected to obviate the necessity for cation Committee. recommends a complete. reorganisation of these schools. The fourth school at Wongnaichong is less satisfactory.
These are seven in number of various degress of efficiency. I was compelled to recommend that the school at Aplichau should be closed, and that the services of the master at Wantsai should be dispensed with. Shek-o, Tanglung chau and Pokfulam are small schools which do not seem to be particularly needed. There is no doubt that this class of schools is in want of
radical amendment.
GRANT-IN-AID SCHOOLS. These schools, and education in general, are so thoroughly discussed in the report of the Committee on Education that it is useless to deal with the matter further. I propose to give in my next annual report a full description of the more important grant-earning schools under the different missionary bodies.
Iz
THE FIRE BRIGADE IN 1901. The Hon. F J Badeley's report on the Government Fire Brigade, for the year 1901, is published in the Gazette. It is very brief and we publish it almost in its entirety :-
There were fifty-eight fires and eighty-four incipient fires during the year. Details regarding each are attached. The Briade
I
The Bill contains 276 sections, many of which are subdivided into various sub-sections.
The CHAIRMAN explained that the official whose duty it is to grant permits for matsheds had not been authorised to go beyond the régd- lation governing this matter for this extra- ordinary occasion and, consequently, the usual formality had to be gone through. The respon sibility and risks should be borne by the kdi. fong and not by any particular individual. He felt really sorry that Mr. Tseung Sz: Kai had been put to some trouble and inconvenience. About the matter of getting up a petition, a member of the foreign community had ap prouched him with a view of asking the Chinese community to join in the petition which the other community are taking steps to draw up, but he preferred to leave this matter to the bands of the meeting:
Mr LIAO Taz SHAN, manager of the Chins Merchants Steam Ship Co., said-The views of the foreign community about this Bill might not be fully endorsed by ours, who are more affected than anybody else. It would better to have a separate petition, the expenses of which to be defrayed by the community.
ment and beg him to appoints Commission to have the Bill fully reported upon before sending it to the Council.
Mr. TAM Tsz Koné, manager of the Hip On Insurance Co., said this would expedite matters very much, as it would take a long time to go through every section of the Bill before s peli- tion would be properly worded.
Besides these, there are bye-laws and regula- tions, too numerous to describe. The principal sections of the Bill were then touched upon, such as overcrowding, verandahs and bal- conies over Crown land, windows, enhicles, height of. buildings, open spaces and areas, resumption of insanitary properties, the allow ance of buildings in narrow lanes and streets until their re-erection, and designs of new build-
Mr AHMET RUMJAHN, land and commission ings, &o. Since the plague year, the following Ordinances have been passed: No. 15 of 1894 agent, suggested that as the Bill is only a recommendation of the sanitary experts, un The Closed Houses and Insanitary Dwellings deputation composed of the representatives of Ordinance; No. 7 of 1895 The Buildings the leading Chinese, with the Hon. Dritto Kal (Amendment) Ordinance 1895; No. 5 of 1896 and the Hon. Wei A Yuk at their head should An Ordinance to Amend the Buildings Ordin-call on the Officer Administering the Govern ance 1889; No. 21 of 1897-An Ordinanes to amond Closed Houses and Insanitary Dwel- lings Ordinance 1894; No. 11 of 893-The Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 1898; No. 34 of 1899 The Insanitary Properties Ordinance 1899; No. 32 of 1900-The Crown Lands Re- sumption Ordinance; No. 30 of 1901-The Public Health Ordinance, 1901; No. 30 of 1901-An Ordinance to further amend the Law Relating to Buildings; and No-1 of 1902-The Rats Ordinance 1902 All the these Ordinances introduced within these few years affect more or less private vested interests. The present foolscap, which would take days to explain word by word to that large assembly. We thought this Bill would put an end to constant legislation on private properties, but on careful study this was found to be not so. Some insanitary properties are dealt with, and others are not. There seems to be no finality about dealing with insanitary dwellings. Frequent legislation had, in the past, retarded progress of prosperity to some extent, and our community treat repeated introductions of new laws with abhorrence and fear. I shall be glad to hear the views of the representatives of the various branches of commerce.
turned out fifty-seven times during the year. Bill occupies eighty closely printed pages of be at once formed to go through the Bill, section
The estimated damages caused by the fires was $630,381 and by the incipient fires $212,50.
"The water in the mains was turned off from 11th November last, since which date the steam engines and sea water were used, and the work of extinguishing fires was rendered less prompt and considerably more arduous.
One large fire occured in a warehouse after that date, fortunately quite close to the sea-wall. One fire occurred in the Harbour during
the year
A new telescopic fire-escape, capable of reaching a height of 60 feet, was received from England on the 5th November. The men were drilled in handling it, but it was never called into sotual use at a fire.
It was ultimately resolved that a Committee, consisting of representatives of bankers, Nam Pak Hongs and all the principal branches of trade, and Mr. Ahmet Rumjahn as s. member, by section, with their solicitors, Messrs. Ewens and Harston, and that a petition be drawn up and presented to the Government without delay. A note of thanks was heartily scoorded to the Chairman by the meeting, which did not rise until very late in the afternoon, when the sub- jest of the Water Bill was then discussed.
The conduct of the Brigade has been good. Sanitary Commissioner too much arbitrary | was one innovation at this last audience; Mrs. -
A Fracted a ne Superintendent of the Brigade and Mr. Mackie as Assistant Superintendent from the 6th September, when Mr. May left the Colony on leave of absence:
a
Mr. LAU CHU PAK, member of the Sanitary Board, said-The New Bill will give the power. The present habitable floor space in house allowed for an adult will be raised from 30 square feet, to 50 square feet, and the air space will be raised from 400 cub'e feet to 600 each is provided with a window, is impracticable in view of the fact that Chinese houses hare been so built, so total remodelling will have to way intend to open be undergone before they could comply with tween Okhotsk and | the recommendations of the experts. If the section referring to cubicles becomes law, it
At Peking on the 10th inst the ladies of the Diplomatic circle were again entertained at the Palace by the Empress Dowager. The spondent of the P. & T. Times says :---One might have thought that the Spring Festival would have been too full of unpleasant memories to be chosen by the Dowager as the day on which to receive her guests, but apparently not. There Conger asked a lady who not only wea
Chi nese, but who is also well versed in. Chines customs and etiquette to accompan interpreter. This would on the enables all to conform to strict Palace On previous occasions the gen preters have always had to hav ments served in another interpreters have had to be the luncheon.
additional Assistant Superintendent was cubic feet. The abolition of cubicles, unless-seen a goodly fashion to follow i
to the Brigade from the 15th July, the being filled by Inspector Kemp.