May 27, 1907.]
way, the Chinese could be induced to co-operate with the Sanitary Board in taking measures against the spread of plague.
159. The formation of street committees to supervise disinfection and the establishment of free dispensaries also point the same way.
It has frequently been asserted that the opposition to Sanitary measures was not genuine, but was a movement promoted by the upper classes. The lamentable frequency with which the bodies of Chinese are thrown out into the street proves beyond a doubt that the feeling of repugnance to the present methods of combating plague is deep seated and wide spread.
160. This antipathy cannot be removed, ex- cept by re-establishing confidence in the reason- ableness and s mpathy of the Panitary Depart ment. This will be a matter of years, so deep seated are the fears and hostility left, by the harsh and at times ill considered administration of the Ordinances, as a legacy to the commn. nity. To secure the end so much desired (the co-operation of the Chinese) we commend to the favourable consideration of Your Excellency the following suggestions:
161. The bye-laws for the prevention and mitigation of infections and contagious disease require remodelling to meet our present knowledge of plague and the actual conditions of Hongkong. Since they were enacted, no radical changes have been made, beyond the provision of compensation for property destroyed. Plague has been shown to be much less infectious than was thought twelve years ago; infection has been proved to be carried in ways other than those suspected in 1894; seasonal variations, recrudescence of plague in infected houses, all point to the necessity for Bome adjustment of our ideas as to the best method of restricting the spread of babonic plague.
162. Permission should be given in certain cases for the patient to be treated in his own house. In moribund cases, the privilege granted, when Dr. Pearse was Medical Officer of Health, should be permanently sanctioned and the patient left to die in his own house, and the corpse coffined there with all the ritual demanded by the Chinese.
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163. The disinfection of the premises might well be entrusted to the Chinese themselves. This was done at West Point in 1903 under Sir Henry Blake's directions, and the work was carried out effectively. A set of rules should be drawn up for the guidance of the Kai Fong (local Committee) and the actual work could be done under the immediate direction of the Sanitary Board and a member of the Kai Fong. 164. The institution of free dispensaries in 1905 and of district plague hospitals, a work carried on at present by the Registrar General and the two Chinese members of the Board, deserves substantial encouragement at the hands of the Government. The free dispensaries offer the Chinese the benefits of European medicine, and the Chinese are the more stimulated to avail themselves of these advantages, as certificate of, the cause of death by one of the dispensing doctors, licentiates of the Chinese College of Medicine, does away with the necessity for a post mortem examination, which is abhorrent to the Chinese. The clerks at these dispensaries are most us ful in explaining the Sanitary laws to the Chinese community.
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
complaints concerning the conduct of rat catchers, we do not propose to go into further details. Suffice it to say that there is evidence to shew that men have been dismissed for ill treating and intimidating Chinese.
169. We cannot but attribute the failure of the soheme to the conduct of these rat catchers. Instructions should be drawn up for their guidance and a close check kept on their work as well as their conduct in entering peoples' houses,
170. Once the co-operation of the Chinese community has been secured, we have every reason to believe that a better result would be attained, as their domestic peace and their business not being interfered with, they will readily help in the extermination of rats. Besides the refuse meat obtained gratis from the Slaughter House, we find large quantities of beef, sometimes amounting to about $6 a month, were bought from the Man Hing shop for bait, This should also be discontinued in future, as it was a waste of money; further, there were grave doubts whether the beef had been used for the purpose for which it was intended.
171. The contracts for the supply of labour and stores and for the performance of work such as the scavenging of the Colony, the removal of nightsoil, &c, have, year after year, been obtained by one or other of a small ring of men who have acted in collusion with the inspectors, clerks and foremen of the Sanitary Department, and outsiders, if they have ever succeeded in obtaining a contract, have found themselves compelled either to pay regular bribes to tha inspectors, who supervised the work, or to sub- let part of the contract at a higher figure to a member of the ring.
172. One, Sam Ia, is the moving spirit of the ring. This man began his connection with the Board as a scavenging coolie.
173. Either directly or indirectly, at one time or another, he has held the conservancy contract, the scavenging contract, the contracts for watering the streets, for lime washing houses, for work at plague cemetery, and for supplying labour. This year he has an interest in nearly all the contracts either dir. ct or indirect in his own name or under an assumed name.
174. He is the contractor for labour and the watering of the streets, the manager and principal partner in the firm which holds the conservancy and scavenging contracts for Kowloon, the contractor for cemetery work has sub-let his contract to Sam In, so has the scavenging contractor for Victoria, and whilst he is a shareholder in the firm which does the conservancy of the city and has taken over part of the work from the firm on a lease, he supplies dus bias and undertakes the lime washing of houses and the covering of ground surfaces with concrete.
175. Sam Iu holds a practical monopoly of most of the work connected with the Sanitary Department; no one else seenis able to com- pletely satisfy the Sauitary Inspectors. Others have attempted to get a share of the work and have dons it just as well and as cheaply as Sam In, bat constant complaints on the part of th inspectors, prosecutions and heavy floss, have effectively crushed competition.
176 The firm Man Hing, which since 1991 has held the contract for sindry stores, was not entirely owned by Au Sui Shang, by whom it was managed, but by a syndicate in which Lo Man Kai, the first Chinese clerk in the anitary Board, had a large interest.
165. The district hospitals also lessen the terrors of plague. In them, a patient may be treated by a Chinese doctor in his own neigh. 177. The letting of contracts by sealed tender, bourhood, and may be visited by his relatives, theoretically the most satisfactory method, has It seems to us that in these institutions lies the
not in practice proved satisfactory. All the germ of co-operation between the Chinese ad evidence we have received points to this, that in the Board, without which an effective admini-spite of all precautions, information which is stration of the Sanitary laws would be well-nigh impossible.
166. The system of rat catching at present in vogue is far from being satisfactory, scarcely any supervision being exercised over the men, who are left to work almost entirely at their own free will. There is practically no check on their work, nor have there apparently been any written regulations drawn up for the guidance. 167. Each Plague Inspector is allowed to engage his own rat catchers and to give his own instructions. The Inspector "pparently bases his report upon information furnished by the rst catchers.
168. Reference having been made in section No. 241 of this Report as regards the constant
regarded as confidential, leaks out. Tenders are still confined to the old ring, the members of which, to provide a semblance of competition, send in tenders under various names at figures somewhat higher than of their bona fide tenders. 178. In the case of contracts, but especially in those of the scavenging and conservancy, the heads of the Sanitary Department have relied too much on the inspectors and foremen, and have placed the contractors entirely in their
power.
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the Department, and together with them have a bargain with the inspectors and clerks of
succeeded in hoodwinking the executive officers.
179. We recomend that:-
(a.) All tenders should be numbered, initialled and stamped by the Colonial Secretary's Office and sent to the Sanitary Board in a sealed envelope marked "confidential," to be opened in the presenc of the Board. (b.) Before the Sanitary Board recommends a tender for acceptance, the tender should be referred to a select Com. mittee to enquire into the identity and occupation of the tenderers and their proposed security.
(c.) Tenders should be called for in good time and all contracts let at least three months before the existing contracts expire, so as to give the new con. tractors ample time to make the necessary preparations. (l.) Where the contract amounts to only a small sum annually, the tenderer should not be required to furnish security greater than 25 per cent. of that amount, so as to enable the small capitalista to come forward and compete.
2. The system of recognising authorised drainage coutractors be abolished, as we cannot assortain that any good has resulted, while We believe it has assisted in the creation of an improper monopoly.
18. It remains to deal with Sam In, the
principal member of the contractors ring. When his partner Tai fi was Lanished for illicit dealings, Sim Iu thought it best to ensure against a like fate, and consequently took ont a British born subject's certificate. It is questionable whether this man was born in Hongkong, and if this can be proved, we recom- mend his banishment, together with that of his
brothers.
181. We consider far more supervision should be given to the daily carrying out of the various contracts.
182. At present the contractors are only controlled by the inspectors, by whose reports they are practically judged, thus, if a contractor declines to make payments to certain subordinate officials, he can be reported and punished. By this method he may be driven to pay black- mail, or, disgusted with his treatment, throw up the contract which can then be secured by someone who will prove more complacent in the matter of paying bribes.
183. Had any enquiry been made with regard to An Sui Shang before granting the small stores contract, it would have been ascertained that his firm really carried on the business of a small Ginese provision shop. This would have resulted in further investigation which should have r-realed the fact that the contract was really with L Mau Kai, the Senior Clerk in well known for some years past to the senior the Sanitary Office. This appears to bave been
members among the inspectors, many of whom appear to have been personal customers of the None however made any report on the
firm.
subject.
18. The Secretary himself has admitted that he knew the Kwong Man Hing shop and wondered how it was possible that such an establishment could carry out this particular contract, but it apparently did not occur to him to look into the matter, or that there might ba something requiring investigation, and even if he bad, he would probably have been told it was not his business.
185. Further evidence for the necessity of such Enquiry has recently come to our know. ledge Some three months ago, tenders were received by the Government for renewals of the small stores contract for the Sanitary Depart ment for the current year. The lowest tender sent in, in the name of a firm called Cheung Kee Ki, was accepted, this contract to take effect on the 1st January, 1907.
186. No enquiry appears to have been made as to who the owners or managers of the Cheung Kee Ki firm were, and on the 4th January a contract was signed by Au Ying Shang and Au Sai Shang as the partuers. A few days later, the Principal Civil Medical Oficer forwarded this contract to the Chairman of the Commis-
The natural result has been that contractors have recognised it was to their interest to stand well with the insp-otors, because they found that in matters of dispate, the inspector's word was invariably taken, with out further enquiry, They consequently struck'sion for enquiry,