May 9, 1903,1
raffi on their premises. O receiving such, applications the rat-catchers would be sent to
houses. This,
was not generally It did not involve any expense to the Applying for the rat-catobers, as they be sent and the rals examined 'at the
of the Banitary Board.
GAZ KITOREN FLOORS.
£
minhts was submitted from the Activg M.O.H. stating that he should like to have some definite understanding as to what materials were *pproved by the Building Authority as suitable for building floors Canton (red) tiles wäre not non-absorbent. Ses Sec. 140 of 1 of 19.9.
The D.P.W. stated in reply :-" Cement con- oréte; cement rendering | asphalte; the tiles or paving bricks made by the Deep Water Bay Works. These are all the materials tha are likely to arise in practice at present. If there is any other brought forward I shall be prepared to consider it.”
The PRESIDENT said that Dr. Pearse asked for a ru'ing. It spreared that ordinary Cauton tiles were not impervions. He believed he was right in saying that at present most of the kitchens were paved with these tiles. It would be something of an inconvenience to have to concrete them over or obtain impervious tiles. This, he thought was not an urgent nec. ssity.
Mr. FUNG WA CHUN--All kitchens have been concreted.
Dr. PEAESE No.
Mr. FunG WA CHON- I think so-unless the officers have not been doing their duty,
The PRESIDENT Of course there are kit chens on the upper floors as well.
Mr. LAU CHU PAR YOU cancot concrete the kitchers on the upper floors.
Mr. RUMJAHN -1 think it is possible to lay course of encaustic tiles on the top of Chinese red tiles. I have done so.
The PRESIDENT—There is no doubt it is possible. The question is whether it is feasible. Mr. FUNG WA CHUN I do not think it is feasible.
Dr. PEARSE made a statement with reference to thị 1 rge extent to which these tiles were used for kitchen floors. These tiles had been found to be pervious to water, which was not satisfactory. He had weighed one once wet and dry and found that it absorbed about two and a half pints of water. There were however many kitchens in which these tiles had been laid down and which were in good condition, and be thought it would be a large order to compel the taking up of these floors at once. He had in the meanwhile, however, instructed the inspectors to insist on impervious floors in all kitchens which they found from time to time in need of repairs.
The PRESIDENT thought this matter might be left to the discretion of the Medical (fficer of Health to effect improvements gradually.
Mr. HAWETT anggoted that in new houses or where floors were being repaired non- absorbent material should be used.
The President's proposal was agreed to.
WATER ANALYSIS.
~The report of Mr. Frank Browne on the analysis of the public water supplies showed that the water was of excellent quality during April.
FLUSHING||OF. DRAI: 8.
A further letter was laid on the table from Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co, suggesting that the drains in Caroline Street, Keswick Street, Irving Street Yes Wo Street and Jardine's Bazaar should le flushed with sea water once daily as in 1902; the tank sp.cially built by them last year for this purpose was still available and they were inclined to think that the sanitary condition of the Eastpoint District, which is low-lying, would be improved by the adoption of some means whereby the drains could be subjected, during dry weather, to periodical flushings.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
DUMPING BUBBISH.-IN THE PEAK DISTRICT.
The SECRETARY read a letter received from Mr. E. A. Howelt, complaining of the manner in which the Government contractor's coolies carried out the work of removing ashes from Lis bouse at the Peak. It was to the effect that during the last two or three weeks the boxes had not teen cleared for several days at a time. The con- trac or, he believed, was required to have the boxes cleared every day. On the Sunday before last when inspecting his garden he found ou the billside a large heap of ashes which had been removed from his yard and thrown down beside some bashes whore, it was presumably supposed, they would not be seed. Another day he found a heap of fresh rubbish evidently thrown down that morning; This was in the nullal draining into Pokfulum. He had on more than one occasion reported similar cases to Dr. Clark.
The PRESIDENT said that in 19.2 Messrs. Jørdine, Matheson & Co, erected three tanks of 1,000 gallons capacity each and placed them in position, These tanks were filled by coolies employed by the CS.P. and paid by the Sanitary Board. He moved that the Board grant this request and communicate with the C.B.P., to commence operations.
Mr. POLLOCK seconded and the motion was
agreed to.
The PRESIDENT explained that he had in- structed the Secretary to write to the contractor to ascer'ain what steps he was willing to take to remedy this.
The SECRETARY read the reply, in tho course of which the contractor stated that the nuisances complained of by Mr. Hewett were no doubt his coolies' fault. Since he had taken over the contract be had always done his best to carry out its conditions and he daresay that with the exception of the Peak District he had done the work to the atifaction of the Board. One reason for the complaints was that at present there was no accommodation for the coolips at the Peak, and as they had to walk up in the morning they could not do the work so properly as if they were living at the Peak. Another reason was that the Peak District unlike the others was so large and there were so many places such as gardens, valleys and hillsides where rubbish might be dumped that it was very difficult to supervise the coolies, who were the lowest class of workmen and could not be relied иров. The police while on duty night and day had not been able to catch any one dumping rubbish. He requested the Loard to recommend the Government to grant a piece of land to erect a coolies' matshed upon and to provide dustbins for the deposit of the rubbish; he also suggested a system of checking the quantity of rabbi h carried by the coolies before they emptied it.
|
Mr. HEWETT, referring to the letter as a whole [we have given only a part summarised] charecterised it as a most impertinent one. Last Sunday he again made a very careful examina tion of the hill in the vicinity of his house, and he should say, from the amount of rubbish be fonud there that the whole of the house rubbish had been chsistently dumped within a few yards from his backyard. After he complained about it. the contractor sent up four men to clear away this rubbish from the hillside The amount they collected was a very small percentage of the whole and what they did collect they simply carried about 20 yards away and then threw it down the face of the hill facing Pokfu'um. Other complaints had been made about ashes being thrown down the bill. What he had described was a fair sample of how this man had been carrying out his con- tr.ot. The probability was that by far the greater portion of the ashes and rubbish removed from houses was simply carried a few yards away from the houses and thrown among the bushes where nobody would notice it. If they could only arrive at the truth be thought they would find that none of the rubbish from the Peak was being carried down to the place where it was supposed to be tipped, somewhere about halfway to Aberdeen. He understood this was not the first complaint against the contractor, and he would propose that a letter should be written to him warning him that in the event of any other complaints being made they would recommend that he lose his contract and his security be estreated. This would involve the contractor, he understood, in a loss of some $6,00 and it would serve him right, He had been receiving large sums of public money for work that he had not done. The manner in which the dirt and ashes had been thrown down the hill would he thought, explain the hitherto unexplained cases of typhoid fever which had occurred at the Peak,
Helcould not but think that sosing the condition of the hill, the inspectors were either not doing their duty or were not able to do it. In any future contract a clause shoull be put in saying that if coolies were caught depositing rubbish where it should not be placed they would be imprisoned and the contractor fined.
The PAKFIDENT said that ne present the Board had not the power to fine the contractor's coolies. There had been many complaints about this contractor from the Hill District, but he did his work on the lower levels in a satisfactory v The Hill District was somewhat inconvenient to scavenge and it appeared to him that the con- tractor had too few coelies. Under the con- tract he was compelled to have at least 4. It would be a good plan, be thought, if they gave him one more chance and that in accordance with the request of Mr. Hewett a letter be written and that he should be asked to employ say seventy coolies. Unless the contractor did that the work o uld not be satisfactorily carried He seconded Mr. Herett's proposal Tue motion was agreed to.
|
on.
AN IMPURE WELL.
is
also
The PRESIDENT moved that a well at 112 and 114, Wellington Street, shown on analysis to be impure, be closed
Mr. POLLOCK seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
Th's was all the public business.
HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
At a monthly meeting of the General Com- mittee of the Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce held in the Chamber Room, City Hall, on Wednesday, 15th April, 1903, at 880 p.m. Present:-Mr. E. A. Hewett (Vice- Chairman) Hon. C. W. Dickson, Messrs. D. I. Law, C. Michelan, N. A. Sisbs, J. K. M. Smith, H. E. Tomkins, R. C. Wilcox, A., G. Wood, Hon. R. Shewan (ex officio) and A. R. Lowe, Secretary.
MINUTES.
The minutes of the last Meeting held on 24th March were read and confirmed.
NEW MEMBERS OF COMMITTRE. - The VICE-CHAIRMAN said he felt sure that in welcoming Messrs. D. R. Law and A. EI Wood who had accepted seats on the Committed since the last meeting, he was volcing the wishes of the rest of the Committee,
NEW MEMBERS.
The SECRETARY reported that since the last meeting Mr. Ferd Bornemann had been elected to membership, subject to the usual confirmation at the next annual general meeting.
Mr. H. E POLLOCK, K.C., was also elected to membership on the same terms. COLL SIONS BETWEEN JUNKS AND STEAMERS.
The following letter was read :-
Colonial Secretary's Office de March 23rd, 1903 Sir,-Ad.erting to Mr. Wilcox's letter of the 25th April, 1902, and the Acting Colonial Secretary's reply No. 995 of 7th May last, I am directed to refer you to Ordinance No. 39 of © 1992, the provisions of which it is hoped will tend to prevent collisions between Junks and Steamers, and to state that as at present advised this Government is not prepared to act on the suggestion contained in the last paragraph of your letter under reference. I have, etc.,
The SECRETARY,
F. H. May, Colonial Secretary,
and
Hongkong General Chamber of Commercs. The VICE-CHAIRMAN said that the new Ordinance brought in to meet representations from this Chamber practically placed jauks and ships on the Ligh seas on an equality before the court as regards lights in collision / as far as that went it was a gr It was pointed out in the followed that the Governo protect owners of steame able time limit after th accident, subsequent to wl possible to commence any nor had they met the request of the O
1