October 21, 1^05.]
HONGKONG JOTTINGS.
16th October.
As the removal of the Clock Tower has been advocated occasionally in this column, I feel called upon to offer a few remarks on the contri- buted articles and letters which have appeared in the Daily Press in the past week pleading for its retention as a memorial of Old Hongkong. I have not advocated that the structure should be thrown into the sea, bat more than twelve months ago, as you have already mentioned, Mr. | Editor, the suggestion was made in this column that an appropriate place for the clock would be on the new Post Office building. His Excellency the Governor, I observe, now bas that sugges- tion under consideration. It is interesting to recall the fact that when the scheme for a Clock Tower was in the consideration stage in the early' Sixties the entire cost of the Tower and the Clock (about $6,000, I beheve) was offered to Sir Hercules Robinson, the Governor of the day, to combine the scheme with a new Post Office which was at that time being discussed. offer was for some unpublished reason declined, and from the day the structure was erected it has had the charge of being an obstruction to traffic levelled at it.
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Several contributors to the discussion have strenuously denied that it constitutes obstruction to traffic; but how a structure erected in the centre of this important thoroughfare at its junction with Queen's Road, leaving only, I suppose, about twelve feet of space on either side of it for the traffic, can be described otherwise thin as an obstruction I cannot conceive. Watch the traffic there especially at dusk in the summer time when numbers of people are returning from bathing pionics, landing at Blake Pier rnd coming up Pedder Street in obairs or rick shas on their way home. No rule of the road" is observed by the ricksha or chair men, and richshas making their way from Queen's road west, say to Blake Pier, turn sharply round the nearest corner and the chances of collision are obvious. It has been said that the amount of traffic passing up and down Pedder Street has diminished since the trams commenced to run along Des Voeux Road. Possibly that is the case, but I think the discussion has been raised at & most opportune moment, for when the new Post Office and the new Law Courts are opened the volume of traffic passing up and down Pedder Street will certainly be greatly increased and the Tower will consequently be more of an obstruction than it has ever been before. To remove the clock to the Post Office building will, as I bave indicated, be in accordance with the views of the subseribers to the Tower.
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Highly elated perhaps over the success of his compatriot in the boxing contests at the City Hall on Saturday night, a massive, coloured American sailor proceeded to demonstrate his satisfaction in the square outside the hall. Au Indian constable on duty there, concluding that the sailor was disturbing the peace and tran- quility of the neighbourhood, forthwith took him in charge and was marching him up to the Central Station before Jonothan was aware of what was happening. As soon as he realised into whose clutches he had fallen he proceeded to display his knowledge of the manly art, and after pummelling the constable, pulled off his turban and began to play football with it. Another sailor prevented the obstreperous one from doing further damage; the constible regained his turban, but refrained from rearresting his man. He was not conversant, apparently with boxing tactics, and having no knowledge of "guarding," preferred to keep a safe distance from so dangerous an opponent.
Mr.
The remark casually dropped by our Puisne Judge recently that he worked on Sundays bas served in Japan as a text for a little homily to the judges of the land of "the Risen Sun 85 Biroa Suvematsu has re-christened i. Justice Wise in saying without a blush that he took up his "criminal cases for Sunday reading recently must have shocked the Divinity student who noticed the fact duly ohronicled in the newspapers. But this statement and the impatience shown by the judge towards a solicitor's plea that he hadn't had time to go
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
through certain accounts has been commended by the Japan Herald to the notice of "the Japanese 'judges who are so food of adjourn. ments Yokohama journal remarks that if only they on the slightest pretext," and the would copy the methods in vogue here, less would be heard of the scandalous, delays of the law in Japan.
coals is being put up now that the summer is A correspondent asks me why the price of drawing to a close. The increase this year ha been no less than three dollars a ton. I suppose, to put it all down to the war, but as We have the Japanese have secured some exceedingly valuable coal mines in Manchuria, the price of coal ought not to stand at the present figure long.
BANYAN.
HONGKONG SANITARY
BOARD.
A meeting of the Sanitary Board was held on the 17th October at the Board Room. Hon, Dr. F. Clark (president) presided, and there were als› present: Dr. W. W. Pe rse, M.O.H. Major Josling, Macfarlane, Mr. II. W. Slade, Mr. A. W. Mr. A. Ramjahn, Dr. Mr. W. Hon. Brewin, Chatham, Mr. H. E. Pollock, K.C.. Mr. Lau Chu Pak and Mr. G. A.Woodcock (secretary).
CLEAN BILLS OF HEALTH.
Mr. POLLOCK had given notice of his inten. tion to move the following the resolution That, io view of the small number and the intermittent occurrence of cases of plague at the close of the plague season, it is desirable that the present practice to as granting cle in bills of health in "connection with plague cases should be modified." Mr. Pollock now asked permission to postpone the motion until the next meeting of the Board, as be had not got together all the data and figures which he would like to place before the me ting when moving such resolution.
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There being no objection, a postponement was granted.
INSUFFICIENT LATRINE AND URINAL ACCOMMODATION.
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'The MO.H. minuted—“There is already a public latrine close to the junction of Queen's oad West with the Praya at Kennedy Town. necessity for another further west.” I do not think thero is at present any urgent
The President in a minute wrote that he considered it was the duty of the Tramway Co. to provide accommodation for its employees in this part, and it was not clear from the Government to erect the latrine or proposed manager's letter whether he wished the that the company should erect it." establishment," section 163 would require them the Tramway Company was an **industrial to erect the latrine to the satisfaction of the Board.
If
Mr. POLLOCK did not think it desirable that this question of law should be discussed at the meeting, and moved that the matter be referred to the Crown Solicitor for his opinion.
The motion was secunded by Mr. RUMJAHN and carried.
A NUISANCE AT ALEXANDRA "BUILDING. Messrs Lane, Crawiord and Co., wrote to the Board comp aining of a nuisance caused by the state of the lane between their building and Al xandra Building, through refuse being dumped into the lane by the different floors of Alexandra Building.
Sanitary Inspector, reported that he found The M. O. H., who visited the lane with s
& Co's complint, the nuisance being caused every justification for Mesurs. Lane, Crawford in the following ways:-The servants sweep all the dirt and rubbish from the verandahs of their quarters into the lan below. Several absolutely inadequate sinks had been placed in the verandahs with small connecting pipes leading into a down pipe with hopper heads blow rach vera dah level and when the sinks are used the water splashes over hopper beads are not adequately connected wi.h the verandahs into the lane below, and the the verandahs. several of the rooms are used as kitchens by to servants and the food refuse is washed over the floors into the lane. He therefore recom nended the following steps to abate
the nuisance: The present open. work railings should be replaced by solid stractares so that no refuse could be washed through to the lane; the sinks on the verandahs should be removed to within the kitchens; the hopper heads should connected to the verandahs, so that washings from the kitchens would be carried into the instead of being washed into the lana; at the corners of the varandahs four inch pipes should be fixed to take all washings to the hopper heads, so that it could not splash below; & small surface channel should be formel along one side of the kitchen and the floor sloped to it. These requirements were all that should be necessary to stop the nuisance, but, of course it was impossible to prevent servants from wilfully throwing filth into the lane, and this practice could only be dealt with by prosecution of the offender, should he luckily be caught.
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With regard to the report as to insufficient accommodation of this sort at Tsimchatsoi Point the M.O.H. an A.M.O.H. reported as follows:-"It is impossible to suggest a site for a latrice which will not cause some person or persons to complain, but we think that the site which would be least objectionable and, at the same time, convenient is a piece of ground near I. L. 909. We have also interviewe i the Secretary of the Hongkong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown Co. on the question of latrine accom modation in the company's ground. It appears that shortly the portion of Chater Road on the Harbour side of Macdonnell Road is to be enclosed by the company and the secretary suggests that he will then close the entrance to his coolie latrine from Macdonnell Roid, and also the windows of the latrine opening into the road, making an entrance only from the company's private land. Should this not be found sufficient to remove cause of complaint be is prepared to do away with the latrine and replace it by erecting one on the roof of the coolie quarters on M. L. 11. In this position it is not likely to give cause of com. plaint as a similar structure has for a long time existed on the roof of the company's quarters on M.L. 10 without causing annoyance to any one. In addition to this, to pr vent the latrines becoming a nuisance through being inadequate
The PRESIDENT in a minute, said the trouble to meet the requirements of the coolies employed was to catch the offender. When he was caught during the day by the company, the secretary in flagrante delicto he could be prosecuted. is willing to erect here and there, close the The Sanitary Surveyors required the owners to front of the company's property, several small provide a trap connecting to the drains, and this latrines.
was being done.
The PRESIDENT moved that a copy of this report be forwarded to the Colonial Secretary for the information of His Excellency th Governor.
Mr. RUMJAHN seconded the motion, which was carried.
A QUESTION OF LAW.
Mr. RUMJAHN minuted-"The practice of emptying urinals into down pipes has become general among servants in large blocks of buildings causing a great annoyance and nuisance to the stores below. This should be rigidly stopped."
Mr. H. E. POLLOCK, K.C., agreed with Mr. Rumjahn.
Mr. LAU CHU PAK was also of the same opinion. But where was the urine to be taken to P The people living in the houses were not allowed to carry pots downstairs -nd emp'y them into the drains. A place should be provided for its reception in every house.
The PRESIDENT `said there had been a lot of complaint about the refuse from those offices recently built on the Pray font, and
ffi«rs of the Sa itary Department had gone to 8 considerable amount of trouble in endeavouring to ob'ain an abatement of the ⚫uisance. He thought under the air.
The general manager of the Electric Tram-um tances, and as the matter had been way Co., Ld., wrote bringing under the notice of the Board the want of latrine accommodation at Kennedy Town.
discussed more or less publicly, that some of the correspondence should be laid before the Board. The Sanitary officers were doing their best to
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