452
The PRESIDENT said he might take it that the Board should reply heartily endursing the scheme and stating that they would do all they bould to further its objects.
This was agreed to.
CLEANSING WORK.
Dr. Pearse reported that from 10th November till 12th December 12,391 floors had been cleansed under the supervision of the plague inspectors. No complaint had been made hy any inspector of any serious opposition to the cleansing, and no complaint had been received from the people of any loss sustained or undue hardship inflicted in consequence of this work.
The PRESIDENT Raid he might take it that the work was proceeding satisfactorily. Practi- cally more than half the houses had now been dealt with.
Mr. FUNGWA CHUN was glad to hear that the work was being carried out sɔ satisfactorily by the Chinese.
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Mr. LAU CHU PAK remarked that it was very gratifying to bear that report. It gave great satisfaction, he was sure, to the members that the result had justified the concession given to the Chinese. There was no doubt that a little sympathy, such as was being shown apparently by the M.O.H. and his subordinates, went a long way in pacifying the minds of the Chinese and inducing them to come forward and co- operate with the Board. He congratulated the Board's officer ou the successful and satisfactory manner in which the work had been carried out, FIREPLACES IN CHINESE HOUSES. Mr. RUMJAHN pursuant to notice asked the following questions :-
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1. How many notices requesting owners of houses to comply with the provisions of Sections 140 and 142 of the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance, No. 1 of 1903, in respect of fire- places, chimneys or smoke-flues, have been served by the officers of the Board since the 1st day of November, 1903 ?
2. Under whose complaints the notices above referred to were issued; and before the issue of such notices, whether any verification had beon made as to the correctness or otherwise of such complaints ?
3. By whom the notices above referred to were made out, and by whom they were signed ?
4. Under what authority or by whose instruc tions should the officers of the Board be concerned in the question of the proper construction or otherwise of fire-places, chimneys, or smoke. flues; such matters being distinctly laid down in Sections 140 and 142 of the Public Health and
Buildings Ordinance, No. 1 of 1903, as wholly and solely concerning the Building Authority
The PRESIDENT replied as follows:- (1) There have been 117 notices issued under Seotion 140 and 207 notices issued under Section 142.
(2) The notices have been issued at the com. plaint of the district inspectors, and it is the duty of the senior inspectors to verify the com- plaints of the district inspectors,
(3) The notices are made out in this depart ment and signed by the Building Authority.
(4) The Building Authority,
There was submitted a letter from Mr. Fung Wa Chun stating that several notices signed by Mr. Tooker on behalf of the Building Authority had been served on owners of property requir- ing them to provide fireplaces in every kitchen under Section 140 of the Public Health and Building Ordinance, 190, and also requiring them to provide every such fireplace with a proper chimney or smoke-flus under Section 142. As almost every kitchen of Chinese tenement houses is provided with a platform on which are placed chatties for cooking purposes and over this platform a hood is erceted for the conser- vation of smoke, which escapes through an opening in the smoke-flue or chimney, it had been customary to treat this platform as a fireplace. The platform was to all intents
If the and purposes a fireplace.
notices served had been issued at the iustigation of the Board he would venture to suggest that action should be taken until this matter had been fully threshed out.
no
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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hearth ought to be sufficient to cause them to enquire."
Captain Lyons:-"Notice and summonses should be served through the Secretary."
Mr.
be
Lau Chu Pak" It has already been
decided by the Board that under Section 143 no hood of sheet metal need provided where the fireplace is not adapted for the use of charcoal. The fireplace in Chinese houses, as correctly explained by Mr. Fung Wa Chun is a platform on which chatties are placed. In both cases the notices have been wrongfully served. No subordinat officers of the Board should be allowed to uterpret the law in their own way independently of the M.O.H. Complaints have been too often re- ceived that one inspector insists on certain things being carried and another something entirely different nuder the same Ordinance. In fact people do not know what is actually wanted. I think a great deal of annoyance and frouble would be saved in future if no uotices or
Hou. Mr. Pollock:
༣༥
summonses were issued without the knowledge or consent of the President or the Medical | Officer of Health.
Instructions should to given to the inspectors in accordance with the recent decision arrived at by the Boarı.”
Mr. Rumjahu
I received on the 26th ult. four notices in respect of uine houses, three of which were unoccupied and locked.
It is strange how the inspector went into the locked houses, as the caretaker informs me that no one had been inside these honges. A writing to the Secretary about the notices served on me.”
Mr. Howell :—“ It is very evident that the inspectors are not fit persons to interpret the meaning of the Ordinauce, and they should not be permitted to issue notices such mentioned by Mr. Fuug Wa Chun without reference to one of the senior officials of the Sanit..ry Board."
as are
The PRESIDENT said that the senior inspec- tors had been instructed that these notices concerning fireplaces were to be withdrawn. it was on the 30th November that the matter was brought to their knowledge that these notices were being issued by one of the senior inspectors, Inspector Conolly. It was unfor- tunate that this mistake should have occurred. It showed the difficulty that might arise in dealing with a new Ordinance of this nature. Part 3 dealt more especially with building details and did not exactly come within the purview of the Public Health inspectors or ut any rate some of them. The inspectors had been obtained from home practically to deal with nuisances that arose in the Colony and they did not know what these Chinese plat forms were at least Inspector Conolly did not know-and in his opinion these platforms in many cases were not properly constructed. As soon as it came to the knowledge of the M. O. H. he explained that these platforms were used as fireplaces generally by the Chinese and that these notices should be withdrawn. This had been done.
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[December 19, 1903,
The Board land owners and property owners. should do what they could to see that no undue friction arose and clearly if they got a lot of uneducated or semi-educated people out from home to go and interpret the law he maintained they were going to work on altogether wrong lines.
The VICE-PRESIDENT--It is scarcely reason- able to make these remarks about the in-pectors.
Mr. HEW&TT (warmly)-It is perfectly reason- able, Mr Vice-President, and I hope you will allow me to make my remarks. We have had notices served on certain property owners which have been repudiated by the President, and I main- tain I am absolutely right and that my remark was perfectly right when I said that the inter- pretation of the details of this Bill should not semi-o lucated people who are be left to incompetent. I maintain I am perfectly right in saying that in the interests of the Colony at large no summous of this nature should be served unless it has been put before one of the seuior officers of the Board, and a semi-educated inspector ou a small salary is not a properly qualified man to interpret the law.
Te PRESIDENT-I am afraid I must call you to order,
Mr. HEWETT-I maintain they are not qualified to interpret an Act of Parliament.
The VICE-PRESIDENT That is matter. You are qualifying it now.
another
We
Mr. HEWETT-I beg your pardon. do uot get highly educated men as inspe tors, and they should not be entrusted with the interpretation of a Bill which puzzles our best authorities, including the Attorney-General. The way in which this Board is working by putting these powers in the bands of the inspectors will land us in difficulties. Here we have the President repudiating the action of one of his servants,
The VICE-PRESIDENT Contended that it
was not a question of education bat of form of construction, and it seemed to him quite reason able that one, however highly educated, might easily go astray in dealing with this matter,
Mr. HEWETT explained that when he used the term “semi-educated" he did not cast any reflection upon the education of the sanitary inspectors. What he did say was that from their own training they were not qualified to put a legal construction upon the Act.
EXTERNAL AIR.
A
Mr. A. Rumjahu, writing as a member of the sub-committee appointed to consider what amendments appeared desirable in the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance, 1903, and as 8 member of the Board, protested against Government utilising the following the reason for introducing the new definition of "external air," as embodied in the Bill- In order to give effect to the Board's recommendation a new definition of the expres- sion external air" is submitted to Council, According to his reading of the recommendation of the sub-committee and, subsequently, of the external Board in respect of the defluition of air," the Board never recommended such a defini. tion as proposed by the amending bill, and such a The VICE PRESIDENT said it was quite definition if it became law and was enforced would cause the habitation of many valuable reasonable that such notices should be served if premises were lacking in that respect. The
buildings to be illegal without a reasonable the owners explanation of the President referred to houses compensation being paid to where they were fitted up in non-compliance with thereof; and against the arbitrary and drastio what had been hitherto allowed to be used. measure he had already submitted many reasous. There was some excuse for an inspector going Mr. Ramjahn minuted : — Although a wrong in the matter of serving such notices, proviso is introduced at the end of section 153 He presumed that the notices referred to by Mr. by the amending bill giving the Governor-in- Rumjahn were for incomplete or defective Council power to modify the requirements construction of the fireplaces. There were a
upon such conditions, if any, as may be deemed good inany old houses here iu which no flue-expelient, applications for about 90 per cent, of pipes were provided at all
Mr. RUMJAHN stated that on the previous day he had seen notices dated the 10th inst.,
Mr. RUNJAN replied that the houses he referred to were built 10 years ago and belonged to the West Point Building Co.; they were all provided with chimneys or smoke-flues.
He had had notices served upon him in respect of new houses which were not yet occupied.
Mr. HEWETT said it was satisfactory to know that these notices had been withdrawn. The reply given by the Vice-President was like The DP.W." It is unfortunate that in the drawing a red herring across the path. The case of such a matter as this the inspectors do
Board should consider that their inspectors, not take the trouble to enquire of the M.O.H. by their own showing, were not qualified to what is intended by the use of the word fire-interpret the Act. The Board had a very difficult place before proceeding to notices task in helping the Government to carry out a broadcast. The fact that practically all houses most extreme and rigorous sanitary measure. are provided with the same shape of cooking Every possible consideration should be paid to
serve
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the existing buildings have to be made for exemption. The condition to be imposed upon owners of property would be dependent upon the taste of the expert for the time
in
and there is no power, being telling how often a building has to be altered to comply with the wishes of those who might be called upon from time to time for their opinion. This would be obviated by the introduction of a consistent and comprehensive definition as
Do our hat proposed by the Board. egislators contend that, in the case of an existing four-storeyed building, say 55 feet in height, a room having the required window, opening into a 15ft. open space in the rear or in front, can be maintained, but in the саве of existing two-storeyed buildings, say
?