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plague stricken rats are largely instrumental in spreading plague among human beings
admits of little doubt.
122. Under all the foregoing circumstances, therefore, if the question at issue is whether compulsory lime washing as an anti-plague measure should be continued or abolished, the Commission have no hesitation in recommending the abolition of the regulations in toto, but if the question at issue is one of cleanliness, as several of the experts have claimed that lime washing is conducive to that end, it is possible that the continued enforcement of the regulations in a modified form and freed from the hardship and corruption they now entail may be advisable unless Bome more speedy, efficacious and economical method of cleansing can be found to take the place of limewash.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
123. Considerable evidence has been given before the Commission by architects, contractors and property owners, with regard to the great inconvenience and pecuniary loss occasioned through the delay which arise in the passing of plans and of work,
124. Even when plans have been drawn up in accordance with the laws, it appears that a month or six weeks often elapses before the plans are passed. In the meantime, the owner being unable to proceed with the work, suffers loss.
125. Evidence has been given as to the method of passing plans adopted iù large towns both in England and in self governing Colonies, from which it appears that, provided plans are in accordance with the law, a few days or at the most a week is all that passes from the time the plan is submitted to the Borough Engineer to its being returned as passed.
126. The delay here is no doubt in a measure due to the fact that the plans have to be sent to and fro between the Sanitary Department and the Building Authority, whose offices are not in the same building.
127. If, as we suggest, the whole of the Sanitary work be concentrated in the one De. partment, there does not appear to be any reason why a week at the most should not suffice in which to pass correct plans. Should they not be correct, these plans should be returned at the end of that period with a detailed lit of the alterations or corrections required.
128. As it is, many months sometimes elapse before plans are returned with the remark that they are not in accordance with the law. Instan. ces have been cited wherein some cases over six months have been lost during which time no reply or acknowledgment has been received from the Department concerning the application for plans to be passed.
129. In the same way, much valuable time is often wasted, and consequently pecuniary loss sustained, through the delay in passing work which has been correctly carried out. In some instances a certificate of occupation has not been granted until a month or more after the work has been reported as completed. This is no doubt also due to a division of authority, but also in part to want of system.
130. We would here point out that in Eng. land no certificate of occupation is required.
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31. The Commissioners are forced to the conclusion that this delay is in certain instances due to the fact that the Inspecting Officer has not been personally approached", or that the work has been carried out by some contractor who is unknown to the Inspector and not being one of the regular clique has not given the usual bribe expected.
132. To quote an instance, an outside con- tractor having been employed the Inspector repeatedly refused to pass his work. The cou- tractor then appealed to another Inspector to whom he was personally known. The second Inspector took him to the first with the signi. ficant introduction "This man is a friend of mine," and the work was passed at once.
133. Special evidence has been given with regard to the passing of drains, but this is a question which will be dealt with under that heading.
134. The suggestions as to how the delay re- ferred to can be obviated have been dealt with in our recommendation as to the division of the work of the Department.
135. In continuation of the preceeding para- graph, we would point out that similar com- plaints have been made with regard to the passing of drains.
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136. The position of a Sanitary Surveyor in charge of such work is, we consider, most unsatisfactory; this post should be abolished and the work carried out under the supervision of the Executive Engineer as suggested in the later part of our Report, when dealing with the question of the re-organisation of the staff.
137. At the moment, a Sanitary Surveyor holds the responsible position for passing this most necessary work, over whom there is practi- cally no control, as neither the Principal Civil Medical Officer, nor the Medical Officer of Health are in a position to check or supervise his work, and must be guided entirely by his advice. He is practically uncontrolled in the conduct of his duties, as the Building Authority has no autho- rity over this Official.
138. We consider such wide powers, partien larly in reference to such an important part of building work as house drains, should not bo left entirely to au officer of the rank and traiu- ing of the present Sanitary Surveyor.
139. Witnesses have appeared before us who state that money has to be paid before drainage work is passed, and that unless the work is carried out by Sam Iu or one or two other favoured contractors, the drains and traps are deliberately broken by the Inspectors and the work has to be done again.
140. One witness stated he was thus forced to employ Sam In who charged him four times the amount it would have cost, could he have employed his own contractor.
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41. Another witness who had been named one who gave money to the Sanitary Surreyor and his assistants has denied this but admits giving presents at interval through out the year, as well as at a hristmas time.
142. The Commissioners have not been able either to verify or disprove these statements, but are inclined to the opinion that irregulari ties have existed in connection with the passing of drains, but are unable to apportion the blame.
143. While ou the subject of the passing of work, it would be as well to point out that the strict enforcement of the Ordinance by which an authorised architect must be employed in all cases of repair is a source, of great hardships, throwing an unnecessary expense upon the house owner.
144. A case has been cited where a pane of glass in a covered veranda having been broker, the owner was asked to send a plan slewing the proposed repair; this would have cost a fee of about $20, for a repair which could have been effected for 60 cents.
145. On another occasion, an instance was given of a poor Chinaman in an outlying district who having purchased a house of which the kitchen had fallen down, was summoned and fined for not having a properly constructed kitchen, the damaged one liaving been built up with timber and fallen débris.
As he was too poor to engage an architect and re-build the kitober, be was forced to abandon the house, which is now empty, thus losing the $200 he had paid for the property.
145. Previous to the modification of the Plague Procedure, brought about in the middle of 1903, at the instance of some of the un-
official members of the Sanitary Board, who had subjected the original procedure to con stant criticism, large sums of money had been spent by the Government unquestioningly and angrudgingly on disinfection in the belief that it was a preventive of plague.
147. Until 1901 the Sanitary Board relied solely on the Medical Officer of Health for Sanitary advice, and he was alone responsible for the policy pursued, and yet it appears that the present Medical Officer of Health admits he is not fully acquainted with the com- position and effect of disinfectants.
148. One disinfectant was used and then another until in the autumn of 19:1 a general disinfection of the City of Victoria was carried out on his recommendation by fumigating with chlorine and washing with a solution of oar- bolacene. Jeyes' fluid had been the last disinfectant in use, and the substitution of carbolacene was made at the suggestion of Inspector Reidie, who until 1st Ja uary, 1895, had been a Police Constable and had therefore not had the special training which would qualify him in passing an opinion on the value of a disinfectant. No steps were taken by the Medical Officer of Health to test this new
[May 27, 1907. disinfectant. Inspector Reidie's recommenda- tion appears to have been considered sufficient, and on this experiment a sum of something like $25,000 was spent in the years 1901 and
1902.
149. The discovery that this expenditure had been wasted falls to the credit of the Secretary who was struck with its cost compared with Jeyes' fluid and caused a sample to be sent to the Government Analyst. This officer expressed the opinion that it would be useless to submit any disinfectant to chemical analysis if it would not mix with water. He reported that carbo lacone did not mix well with water and there- fore stood condemned as a disinfectant.
150. Fumigation with chlorine was another costly experiment The necessary materials alone cost a large sum yearly and to this must be added the wages of the staff of inspectors, foremen, carpenters and coolies employed in this work.
151. Apart from the material cost we must reckon the hardship to which the Chinese inha- bi ants of the Colony were subjected, turn d out of their houses by the street full at 8'o'clock in the morning and kept there in the rain and cold the whole day.
152. The Colony is indebted to Dr. Pearse for the exposure of the inutility of fumigation with chlorine. Shortly after his arrival, he pointed out that Chinese houses could not be rendered sufficiently airtight, but at the time this advice was disregarded.
153. It does not appear in this case any more of carbolacene that the than in the cas Medical Officer of Health made any experiment to determine the value of chlorine as a disin." fectant. No tests as far as we are aware were made of the off-ot of chlorine in a Chinese house, in order to ascertain whether the neces- sary proportion of gas could be maintained long euongh to render it effective.
14. As late as 1903, fumigation and lime washing of infected houses formed a part of plague procedure, and it was not abandoned until Dr. Pearse pointed out its uselessness as a germicide. The lime washing was carried out at the expouse of the Government, at contract prices nearly 100 per cent, higher than those paid by private individuals. The waste of money thus entailed oan be well imagined.
155. The plague procedure had latterly been very sensibly modified. Cleansing with soft soap and diluted Jeyes' flaid has been sub. stituted for fumigation and Government lime washing, and a general cleansing of Chinese houses has been carried out regularly every year, at a cost of only a few thousand dollars. The big gangs of coolies and the large labour bills have disappeared, and the work is done by the Chinese themselves. But it must not be thought that we see no reason for still farther changes.
156. In the general cleansing as in the disin. fection of infected houses, too much power is left The inspector makes a few to the foremen. notes and gives a few orders, the Medical Officer of Health gives far too little supervision, the foremen and coolies have too much their own way and pay no regard to the wishes or feelings of the people whose houses they invade. Furni- ture must be removed into the stret, that might have been left where it was. Artioles washed must be washed again, resulting in muchheed- less friction. These men have been known to march into peoples' houses and extort money by threats of the trouble they would put the inma- tes to, if their demands were refused. In the disinfection of houses, their behaviour is cha racterised by insolence, rudeness, and frequently violence, which of course adds to and to a great extent accounts for the hostile feeling of the Chinese towards the Board,
157. Supervision by the superior officers of the Department, and sympathy from the inferior officers, are what are urgently called for to re- move the pre-ent feelings of fear and hostility.
158. La combating the plague, too little attention has been given to the importance of enlisting the co-operation of the Chinese. Taken on the whole, it must be admitted that the Chi- nese are ignorant of the most elementary prin- ciples of sauitation, and are antagonistic to all measures which interfere with their home life, but it was amply proved by Sir Henry Blake in the epidemic at West Point in 1903, that if they ware approached in a friendly and sympathetic.