i
1
164
of
new
pay
such
8.8
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
would involve increased cost and it is inevitable for the decrease of inspectors has the same that there would be friction. I think also that weight. They proposed to abolish senior the Building Authority should be a Govern- inspectors. These men each supervise two ment department which has no bias towards districts with two district inspectors under property owners who are necessarily largely them. The system seems to me to have been represented on the Sanitary Board and whose a good one as affording opportunities for interests it is to serve the community as a promotion and introducing some elasticity. whole and to carry out the wishes of the The Medical Officer of Health advocates it but Government. Intending purchasers of land since the commission urged it and laid great desire to know how they will be dealt with ander stress upon it I have decided to give it a trial. the Ordinance and they would not wish their. It can be effected in two ways, either by increas proposals to be made public as they must be, if ing the number of districts or by relieving laid before the Sanitary Board. Similarly with the district inspectors of some of their duties, regard to the alterations of boundaries, resump since it is clearly impossible that two men tions, etc., it is not desirable that they should can do the duty of three men already fully be prematurely made public. The Building employed. In Kowloon, that new and pro- Authority must know, otherwise plans wouldgressive area, propose to create a new be passed which would interfere with designs district as was recommended by the Com- in Hoogkong the creation with regard to roads, drains, water works, etc. mission, bat Now the Public Works Department deal every
districis would involve inextricable day with the verifying of boundaries, 00.
confusion in land certificates venants and conditions of sale and if the that I do not think it would be advisable
to do so.
Th Medioal Officer of Health engineering department were separated from the Public Works Department a building might gives it as his opinion that the number of be authorised that would interfere with the districts they would have to create would be 12 levels and alignments of these roads. I agree to 18 so that there would be no decrease in the with the Commissioners that it is absolutely number of inspectors required. The alternative necessary that the Building Authority should is to appoint say four inspectors for special be under one department. In order to give duties sod these additional men are also very effect to this I propose to transfer the much required in order to provide for vacancies leave of senior sanitary surveyor and two clerks from by illness or through the absence on the Sanitary Department to the Public district inspectors. Their pay would be from Works department, creating a junior sanitary £140 to £270 per annum, increasing by £15 per surveyor with an assistant engineer who annum, that is if they are fully qualified is should be appointed by the Public Works. Cinese otherwise from £165 to £226. It is Two drainage inspectors will also be trans. not possible to raise this rate of ferred as officers of the Public Works Depart. otherwise subordinates in other departments ment and these officers are intimately associated of similar grade would have a claim also to bare with the Building Authority. The cost of the their salaries raised. It is considered enough engineering staff proposed by the Commission as it is increased by certain allowances. The was £3260 and to that we shall have to pay in Commissioners made no recommendation with addition one senior engineer. The amount reference to plague men and thes remain as involved by the incremental rises under the before. With regard to cattle depots the Com- new scheme will cost £2790. The maximum missioners suggested that there should be two will be £3345, but that maximum can never be inspectors bat the Medical Officer of Health is reached as it is impossible that all officers will of opinion that three are neo-ssa y—one for be similarly drawing maximum rate. There Kowloon and two for Kennedytown, one for day will therefore be considerable saving. and for night duty. The Commissioners pro- In practice the Public Works Depari-pos that there should be two inspectors for ment will serve notices against property cemeteries but since the laying out of the ceme- owners for certain nuisances such as deficient taries these will now pass to the Public Works window area, absence of open space, illegal cock Department as part of the Building Authority. lofte, obstruction in back yards, and that class One will probably be suffi sisut. The Commission of nuisances which fall under the purview of the recommended two inapotors to disinfecting Building Authority. Notices of plans will as but probably one will suffice. Only one has been employed aud no difficulty Las occurred They arged also that prosecuting inspectors should be abolished. The Medical Officer of Health opposed this on the ground that the time of the district inspectors would be greatly wastal by hanging about the courts and that they woult not b able to copa with their duties. I think that by arranging special bours and special | days we will b able to satisfactorily arrange and therefore prosecuting_inspectors will be abolished. The present stiff of inspectors is— for districts 18. Under the new schem、 thera will be 13 for districts and four extra inspectors for scavenging. Five plague inspectors will remain, also the thres fospectors for d pots. There will be one disinfecting inspector as before and only the one inspector for can-teries. The three prosecuting inspectors, the market inspector, and one limewashing inspector will be abolished. Thus we have abolished eight of the inspectors as recommended by the Com- mission. Some of these have already reverted to their duties in the polic, from which service they were temporarily taken. In the malter of limewashing the Commission recommended that half yearly limewashing should be dis continued and we have now arranged that it should be carried out once a your only, since periodic cleansing is enforced and any houses which are found to be dirty may be ordered to he cleansed. The Commission also advised the re- duction of the number of interpreters fro a 17 to 15. We propose that only 4 should be retained. These changes of course, together with those I have indicated with regard to the Building Authority, cannot be brought into operation at once as the engagement of men already employed cannot be arbitrarily cancelled. Our object is primarily reform and not reduction, though the saving which
the changes I have indicated will amount to between £975 and £14240, that is to say the latter sum is what will be sired when full effect has
now
(ne
be deposited with the Public Works Department showing how it is proposed to deal with the nuisances and other notices referring to sanitary questions will be issued by the Sanitary Board, as beretofore. Similarly the Public Works Department will deal with house drainage which is part construction. In future owners will have no trouble or expense with regard to plans 88 to drainage, and it will not be necessary to have duplicate plans and there will only be need for certificate of completion. Since al structural work will be under one depart ment there will I hope be no further delays. The Commission also advocated an increase in the number of medioal officers of health and a decrease in the number of inspectors. Of the three assistant medical officers of health whos salaries are provided in the current estimates one post has been vacant now for a very long time and during the past year oue other has been on leave. The Medical Officer of Health has also for some time past been acting as oivil veterinary surgeon, yet there has been no complaints of neglect of work or overstrain. That I daresay may be due largely to the great personal energy and experience of the present Medical Officer of Health. In future by the appointment of a head of the department the Medical Officer of Health will be relieved of a great deal of correspondence. I see therefore no necessity for filling up the vacancy which exists and still l. 88 for increasing the staff of medical officers of health. It is not possible to substitute medical officers for inspectors. That class of man would not consent to personally supervise cleansing operations, inspeol nuisances or control gangs of coolies nor do I think in many cases he would be physically fit to do so nor has he the training for such work. ince however I do not propose to increase the staff of medical officers of health I do not think the recommendation of the Commission
|
will
accrue
from
|
B.S Was
collaborated
[March 7, 1908.
On
been given to the whole of the changes. There are many other matters of detail on which the Commission made recommendations and which involve executive action and not any alteration of law. They have already been carried out as you will have seen from different sessional papers laid on the table of this Council, such for instance as the matter of open spaces In the matter of cubicles the recommenda. tions of the Commission which reported on this matter last August have been praotiosily adopted in to'o with the exception of paragraph nine which referred to pulling down every third house and which was not intended to be carried into operation forthwith but to be kept in view as a theory and as an ideal to be aimed at. Both for structural and financial reasons no action in that direction can be taken at the present time but the recommendations with which I agree in At the time principle will be kept in mind. when the Committee presented their report the Sanitary Board had not I think realised their powers under the proviso 154 on the subject of cabioles,
pointed out by the hon. member at the end of the table on my 14ft (Mr. May). In the years 19 3 to 1906 the average number of cas's presented to Government for exemption or modification under the Ordinance was 2.75
per annum. Since the date on which the Government pointed out the powers at the Sanitary Board the number of modifications and exemptions which have been recommended involved 4179 il nors contained in 2247 houses. Hop, members will I think agree that the Government have recognised the principle that cubicles are a necessity among the Chinese and have taken such steps as are la ia their
house power by a
to bouse inspection which is now nearly completed to harmonise as far as possible the interest of the people with the dictates of sanitation. In
would conclusion, gentlemen, I
say the civil servants behalf of myself and who
Bill in preparing the now before you that no effort has been spared to sift to the bottom either the recommendations made ty the Commissioners or those coming}from any outside source and to give effect in the fullest possible way to every point which ap- peared to us to be for the public interest and the public wish. I recognise with admiration the public spirit of the unofficial members of the Sanitary Board who devote so much time to the discussion of public affairs. Nothing in this Bill will diminish the large powers given them under the Act with the exception of the transfer of the building authority to the Public Works Department and that has been done in order to carry out the recommendation of the Commission and prom..ta economy and rapidity. Sanitary Board will still maintain its power of criticism and making known its wishes. The bill, as I have said, only refers to mitters which necessitated an alteration in the law, With regard to those matters which involved executive action the bill does not deal as already the Government has given effect to them. There are some other points that are relevant to the discussion and I think I would be best filling the wishes of the community outside these walls if I travelled somewhat beyond the clauses of the bill and explained, as fully as I am able to do, not only the legal action, bat the executive action which the Government his taken, and is at present taking, or is to take, to give affict to the recommendations of the Commission. Generally speaking the main desire of the executive and the Goverumect has been to introduce suob reform into the law and the procedure as the investigations of the Commission have shown to be necessary; secondly to introduce such other amendments as have been shown to be necessary since 1903, to relax wherever possible with advantage to the e›mmunity too stringent clauses that were unduly heavy on the Chinese com- munity, and to encourage them by inviting their co-operation in our campaign against dismaan. I think the appointment of a working head, whose office will be a bureau of information to Chinese inquirers who will work in close cooperation with the Registrar General, will be a new fɛctor, and help to smooth our workings with the poorer class of Chinese, while the street informa- committees, the distribution tion oa simple hygiene, will tend in the same direction. I trust that the unofficial members of the Sanitary Board will not
of
The
*