Page
October 17, 1908.] HONGKONG SANITARY BOARD,
were
A meeting of the Sanitary Board was held on Oct. 18th at the Board Boom, Mr. C. McI Messer (President) presided, and there also. present Hon, Mr. W. Chatham, C.M.G, (Vice-President), the Hon. Mr. H. A. W. Blade, Messrs, A. Shelton Hooper, Dr. Pearse (Medical Officer of Health), and the following officials: Dr. Macfarlane (Assistant Medical Officer of Health), and A. Gibson (Secretary).
MB. FOOPER'S QUESTION. On the reading of the minutes, the President submitted information for which Mr. Hooper asked in May last. Mr. Hooper indicated that it would not be necessary now for him to move the resolution he had intended, and asked that the information be circulated.
This course was agreed to. INSPECTION OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS,
A letter from the Government forwarding rules for guidance of sanitary inspectors in mak ing reports on nuisances under Part III of the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance for the information of the Building Authority was read.
Mr. HOOFER-As the Government has ordered all government buildings to be placed under the same rules and regulations as build- ings privately owned, I think it is drawing an invidious distinction on the part of those concerned to exelude from the byelaws any buildings which are not in accordance with the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance. I am quite sure the Government does not wish to exclude Government buildings.
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS—I am not | aware it is stated that Government buildings are to be excluded from the scope of these regulations.
Mr. HOOPER Do you admit they are included P
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS-It is not said they are. There is nothing to indicate to the inspectors. If the inspectors have to make an inspection of Government buildings then their inspection will be subject to these regulations. I don't see anything to discURS,
Mr. HOOPER-I would ask the Director of Public Works whether he admits it is the duty of sanitary inspectors to inspect Government buildings once a month and report to the head of the Eanitary Department any contravention of the byelaws. If you admit that I am Batisfied.
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS-I have nothing to do with Sanitary inspectors. They are subject to the Head of the Sanitary Depart ment.
275
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
The PRESIDENT-The inspectors report_all | service and the Prezident recommended that nuisances in Government buildings. The he be granted leave of absence for twelve months work is carried out departmentally. We do not serve a notice on ourselves.
Mr. HOOPIR-You have got to do it. The PRESIDENT It would be a waste of paper.
Mr. HOOPER-You don't serve a legal notion ?_
The PRESIDENT-No.
Mr. HOOPER-Then you do not carry out what your predecessor stated as to monthly
visits.
The PRESIDENT There is a difference between inspection and serving a written notice. The inspectors make the inspection but they do not serve notices. They report.
Mr. HOOPER-Verbally, do you mean? The PRESIDENT-In writing-On a piece of paper.
Hon. Mr. SLADE-I don't see why we should have all this talking. It is clear that on the presentation of the report the repairs will be carried out. It seems to me that is all that is necessary.
Mr. HOOPAR-He says they do not make a report.
The PRESIDENT-They do not issue a legal notice on a big piece of paper.
Mr. HOOPER-I don't care whether the paper is large or small,
The PRESIDENT-They make a report. Mr. HoopEa-To whom P
The PRESIDENT-To the particular offloor whose department it is.
Mr. HOOPER-To the various departments? The PRESIDENT-It depends on the parti. cular question.
Mr. HOOPER-Not to a particular building? The PRESIDENT-The particular building and the particular nuisance.
Mr. HOOPER-Supposing this downpipe, of which I spoke, was reported to you by an inspector-
The PRESIDENT It would be reported to the Government officer in charge of that de- partment-the Director of Public Works or his assistant,
Mr. HOOPER-It is not very satisfactory. BREEDING OF MOSQUITORS.
A byelaw for the prevention of the breeding of anopheles mosquitoes WAS forwarded. It provided that when the larva of mosquitoes are found on any premises the Board may, on the advice of the Medical Ofoer of Health or the Assistant Medical Officer of Health, give notice to the owner or occupier of such premises to take such steps as the Board may prescribe for the prevention of the breeding of such mos- quitoes.
Mr. SHELTON HOOPER-I do not consider any further byelaws on this subject are necessary. The powers the Board possess under section 26 dealing with nuisances Nos. 4, 6 8 and 13 are quite sufficient.
Mr. HUMPHREYS-I concur with the byelaw. In the matter of malaria we know exactly what to do and how to do it. It would stultify members of the Board if under such circum- stances they took no sotion. What I object to is costly ill-directed experiments based on insufficient data or none at all, such as the greater part of the anti-plague measures adopted in the past.
|
|
!
three months on full pay^and nine months. on half pay, with permission to apply to the Becretary of State for an extension of six months.
Mr. HOOPER minuted –As Dr. Clark will devote the whole of his time to the Sanitary Department the application should be granted.
Mr. HUMPHRNYB—I take it this was sent to us merely as a matter of courtesy and for our information. We are not called upon to approve or disapprove. The granting of leavé and pay leave rests entirely with the Government.
Mr. HoɔP-desired to call attention to what he felt sure was a slip on the part of the President in not consulting the Board before recommending the granting of leave to Dr. Macfarlane, as was laid down in his instructions. The PRESIDENT explained that he had to arrange about Dr. Clark.
Mr. HOOPER-I don't know what you had to do. I think you recognise it was your duty to consult the Board before recommending the Government to grant leave in this instance ?
The PRESIDENT—It was a slip. I wanted to know if Dr. Clark's time would be available before I did so,
Mr. Hoop added that he was a party to sacepting the instructions ́KE he naturally thought they would be carried out.
The PRESIDENT asked if he had any objection to the recommendation.
Mr. Hoop B-You admit it was a slip. You knew you were disregarding these instructions,
The PRESIDENT smiled."
Mr. HOOPER-I don't look on it lightly.
MORTALITY STATISTICS,
The mortality statistics for the week ending 23th September showed that the death rate for the British and foreign community was 158 an compared with 20-5 for the corresponding week of last year and for the Chinese community it was 315 as compared with 20-6 in the oor- responding week of last year or 38 for the whole Colony as against 20-3 last year.
BAT DESTRUCTION.
A letter from the Government forwarding a minute by His Excellency relative to rat destruction was placed before members. In the covering letter from the Colonial Secretary Mr. May said that His Excellency would be glad to learn whether it was considered that the poisoning of rats on a large scale was advisable or desirable,
The Governor's minute addressed to the Colonial Becretary was as follows: As I have hinted in many previous minutes I am heartily in accord with the policy of exterminating rats and I considered that this was the orux of the problem long before the researches of the recent Indian Plague Commission demonstrated so conclusively that P. Cheopsis was practically the sole agent in plague infection. We have enquired from India what they considered to be the best poison and what preosutious they have found to be useful to adopt to prevent children std domestic animals from being injured by the poison, and when we receive their report the Sanitary Department will bare bigh an- thority to guide them in their methods of son- ducting the campaign. It will be for them to decide the class of poison to be used and the method in which it should be used so as to avoid danger. It will also te for them to decide at what time it would be best to laste the poison and begin the campaign. The two beat periods are undoubtedly (s) just before the plague season, and (b) just before and duffing, the breeding season. The Bacteriologist could inform the Board from his examination what the breeding season, La, when most pregnant females are caught and whether that sssson sokk- cides with the period of the outbreak of the annnál epizootic. But the Board must not lose sight of using every effort to prevent the ingrom rats to domestic buildings (ag. by fling rat holes, placing grating over pipes, etc.) The Principal Civil Medical Officer obse │(1) that outs here have not the
domestic habits as they have in our present model, however, id- Ind England, and osta dre at least na ilonses Mr. HOOPER-It does not say so.
in India; (b) that good ratting esta avóló DR. MACFARLANT': LÉAVI,
rets-that is probably true, but the Correspondence was submitted relative to the is that the presensor of a oát foares leave of absence to be granted to Dr. Maofar- | syon-If the eat does not osteli nišny : lane. The Doctor has almost completed xix years' · sdured out of domentio dwellings into
Mr. HOOPER-That answer is not satisfao- Mr. SLIDE minuted-I agree with the tory. His Excellency has ordered that Govern-byelaw as the Crown Solicitor states that the ment buildings are to he subject to the same Board has at present no power to deal with this regulations as privately owned property. The matter. President of this Board stated at the beginning of this year that Government buildings were inspected by sanitary inspectors once a month excepting those buildings under the supervision of the Medical Offloor of Health, such as the hospital, gaol, etc. I believe there have been breaches of these regulations, as it is patent to anyone in the Colony that Go vernment buildings are not kept in the same sanitary state that private property is required to be. I have called attention to individual cases, as I mentioned in April last If some of the defects which I enumerated as existing on Government buildings were found on private property, the owner would be run up by the heels to the Police Court in four-and-twenty hours. One case to which I alluded was the downpipe at the Supreme Court and I was able to afford His Excellency ocular demon- stration. That downpipe remained broken until 23rd August, thereby proving the laxity of the sanitary inspectors whose duty it was, we were informed. by the President, to inspect such buildings once a month. No distinction should be drawn between Go- vernment and private property, and 1 would like to have an assurance from you as Head of the Banitary Department that it is the duty of Sanitary Inspectors to report any con- | traventions of the Ordinance found in Govern- ment buildings in the same way as private property. If I get such an assurance from you
am satisfied. If I do not, then you are not carrying out the instructions of His Excellency,
Mr. LAU CHU PAK-I think the Board has sufficient power to deal with endemic and epidemic diseases without making any more byelaws.
The proposed byelaw was adopted, Mr. Hooper dissenting.
PLAGUE PROCEDURE,
The procedure to be adopted in cases of plague, together with directions for cleansing plague-infected houses, were submitted.
Mr. HOOPIE minuted-Who is to carry out these instructions? They are not addressed to
any one.
The PRESIDENT —They are addressed to the plague inspectora,
: