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The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES ORDINANCE AMENDMENT,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
HIS EXCELLENCY—The Council stands ad- journed until this day week.
FINANCE COMMITTEE.
The ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the Second reading of the ill entitled An Ordinance to amend The Life Insurance Companies A meeting of the Finance Committee was Ordinance, 1907. In doing so he said: The bill held afterwards-the COLONIAL SECRETARY effected certain amendments in the Life Insur-presiding. The following votes were passed: ance Ordinances recommended by the uctu- aries.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded and the motion was agreed to.
The Council then went into committee to consider the Bill clause by clause, and ou Council resuming the bill was reported as having passed through committee.
AMENDMENT OF CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.
The ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the Second reading of the Bill entitled An Ordinance
It
to amend The Code of Civil Procedure. In doing so he said Its principal purpose is to secure uniformity in the mode of procedure also provides for the payment by a plaintiff of the cost of keeping a defendant in gaol. .t present, a creditor who imprisons a debtor on execution judgment has to pay for the keep of the debtor in prison. but for some similar provision was made that a plaintiff should bear the cost of the keep of the defendant whom he imprisons in order to compel him to answer a complaint against him. This bill makes that necessary provision.
reason no
The COLONIAL Secretary seconded and the motion was agreed to.
The Council went into committee to consider the bill clause by clause, and on resuming it was reported that the bill had passed through committee.
EVIDENCE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT, The ACTING TTORNEY GENERAL moved the Second reading of the Bill entitled An Ordinance to amend The Evidence Ordinance, 1899. Iu doing so he said-This bill has been necessitated by the fact that section 40 of the Evidence Ordinance 1889 contains some errors in descrip-
tion. In that section the word Governor is used where the words His Majesty the King should have appeared. This Ordinance is in- tended to set right this and other modes of description which are not altogether inaccurate.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded and the motion was agreed to.
The Council went into committee to consider the Bill clause by clause. No amendment was made.
On the Council resuming, the bill was read a third time time and passed into law.
AMENDMENT OF WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY ORDINANCE.
The ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the Second reading of the Bill entitled n Ordinance to amend The Wireless Telegraphy Ordinance 1903. He said-The bill is a very short one. Its object is to confer powers on the Governor to make regulations as to the use of wireless tele- graphy by merchant ships, British or foreign.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded and the 'motion was agreed to.
The Bill passed through committee without amendment and was afterwards read a third time.
MERCHANT SHIPPING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT.
The ACTING ATTORNEY-GENERAL mored that the Council go into committee on the bill entitled An Ordinance further to amend the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1899.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded and the motion was agreed to.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL stated that clauses 9 and 13 were reserved at the last meeting for consideration, but as he had amendments to propose to other clauses as well as these two clauses, the bill would need to be reconsidered.
The COLONIAL TREASURER pointed out that the members interested in shipping were absent and it might be as well to postpone consideration of the bill.
The ATTORNEY GENERAL agreed and con- sideration of the Bill was postponed.
THE PEAK TRAMWAY.
The last order of the day that the Council go into Committee on the Bill entitled an or dinance for authorising the construction of a tramway within the Colony of Hongkong, was not proceeded with.
ADDITIONAL OFFICE ACCOMMODATION.
The GOVERNOR recommended the Council to vote a sum of Five thousand four hnudred and fifty Dollars ($5.450) in aid of the vote Public Works, Extraordinary. Extension of Old Stables to provide Additional Office Ac- cominodation required for Public Works Department.
STOCKTAKING.
The GOVERNOR recommended the Council to thirteen Dollars (2.213) in aid of the vote vote a sum of Two thousand two hundred and Public Works Department, Other Charges.
Fees, etc., for stocktaking of stores.
'The HAL-MAN-This is to pay an outside form for auditing and stocktaking the stores of the Public Works Department.
Hox. D. Ho KAI-Is this to be an annual thing?
The CHAI MAN-It ought to be done at least once every two years.
CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE. The GOVERNOR recommended the Council to rote a sum of Ninety Dollars (590) in aid of the vote, Medical Departments, C.-Institutes, Other Charges, Bacteriological Institute and Mortuaries, Conveyance Allowance to Bacter- iological Assistant.
OFFICE CHARGES
The GOVENOR recommended the Council to vote a sum of two hundred and seventy dollars (8270) in aid of the vote, Colonial Secretary's Department and Legislature, Other Charges, Typewriter.
LAUNCH REPAIRS,
The GOVERNOR recommended the Council to vote a sum of three hundred and two dollars A-Staff. Other Charges. Health Officer of (8302) in aid of tho vote, Medical Departments,
Port, Repairs to Launch.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE.
There was an Official Dinner at Government House on May 11, to which the following guests were invited Governor-General Smith, of the Philippines. Sir Francis Piggott, Hon. Mr. and Mrs. May, Hou. Mr. and Mrs. Pollock, Mr. and Mrs. Dunn, Mr. Law, Hon. r. Hewett, ir Henry Berkeley, Mr. Gedge, Col. Darling, Capt. Greenway, Lt. Col. and Mrs. Bayard, Rev. and Mrs. Dallas Ennis, Commander Grenfell, Mrs, Volpicelli, Mr. Stuart J. Fuller, Mr. Watanabe, Mr. and Mrs. Butcher, Mr. Craddock, Captain and Mrs. Murray, Lt. Col.. Mrs. and Miss Chapman, Mr. Enright, Lieut. Greenwell.
A CHINESE LOVE STORY.
The story regarding the dumping of a large quantity of rice at a certain house in Bridges Street, and the subsequent forcible removal of two women from the house, has taken on a new dressing.
It appears that both women were brought to Hongkong from Canton by lovers. One was married, while the other was betrothed. Both were dissatisfied with their lot, yielded to the persuasion of the tempters, and left home and
friends to come and live with their lovers in Hongkong.
When the flight was discovered, however, the husband of the married woman and the fiance of the maiden collected five male friends and
followed the elopers here. After removing them from the house in which they lived in Bridges Street, they took them to one of the Canton river steamers, and there as previously reported, both women jumped overboard, one being drowned. Her body was recovered on Sunday.
The police subsequently arrested four of the men who came from Canton in pursuit, and the two lovers. They were charged before Mr. J. H. Kemp at the Magistracy on May 10th and remanded for a week.
[May 15, 1909.
SANITARY BOARD.
WBS
A meeting of the Sanitary Board held on Tuesday at the Board Room. Mr. R. O. Hutchison presided, and there were present Colonel Bedford, Hon. Mr. E. A. Hewett, Hon. Mr. A. W. Erewin (Registrar-General), Mr. A, Shelton Hooper, Dr. G. H. L. Fitzwilliams. Mr.Ho Kom Tong, Dr. F. Clark (Medical Officer of Health), Dr. Pearse (Assistant Medical Office of Health), and Mr. W. Bowen Rowlands
(Secretary).
RAT CATCHERS.
The HEAD OF THE SANITARY DEPARTMENT submitted the following minute-The Street Committees of Yaumati, Hunghom, Tsimchatsoi, etc., have undertaken to engage and look after a number of rat catchers if the Sanitary Board provided in the estimates for the destruction of will defray the expense A large vote is rats, and as at present the return of rats in
Kowloon is not satisfactory, I think the Board are justified in trying this experiment. As the rat catchers are to be under the control of the Street Committees the abuses which obtained under the old system of rat catchers should be avoided. It is proposed to engage in all ten rat catchers at a salary of $10 each.
Mr. Ho Koм TONG minuted-The proposed arrangement seems to be a good one, and we should give it a fair trial.
Mr. SHELTON HOOPER-The cost of the bait will have to be added. Do I understand the rat entchers will not be subject to the orders and directions of the Sanitary Department or Sanitary Board?
Hon. Mr. HEWETT Are sufficient measures. taken to ensure that these men may not specially breed rats which they may subsequently produce as the result of their labours?
Mr LAU CHU PAK-The orders and dir-
oard ections of the Sanitary
or Sanitary Department. I understand, will be carried out through the Street Committees who have under- taken to supervise catchers with a view to system. The arrangement is a good one, and preventing such abuses as existed under the old
should be given effect to at an early date.
The REGISTRAR-GENERAL-I think the object of the regulations was simply to insure that the supervision of the Sanitary Depart- ment should be exercised through the Street Committees. I do not think it would be worth while for these men to breed rats.
informed once a month how the system worked Mr. HOOPER thought the Board might be
so that they might know whether to continue or discontinue it.
would be taken to the Disinfectant Station, so The PRESIDENT stated that all rats caught
that the Board would get the exact figures and
the cost.
found that a large amount of the bait pre- viously used went into the coolies' stomachs instead of into the traps.
Mr. HOOPER remarked that the Commission
It was agreed that the system should be given a trial, and a monthly report submitted to the Board as to the progress made.
MALARIA AT LYEMUN,
Colonel BEDFORD. (Principal Medical Officer of the South China Command) pursuant to notice, moved that "In view of the prevalence of malarial disease amongst His Majesty's troops quartered at Lyemun, and to
the fact that this disease is due to conditions
obtaining outside War Department property, that a Committee be appointed to enquire into, and report upon, the steps necessary to remove or minimise the conditions favouring malaria in the adjacent village of Shaukiwan and its environs." In doing so he said that this motion of which he had given notice was the first formal pro- posal that he had made since he had had the honour of sitting at the Board. And as to the reasons which impelled him to take this step, members. He would not occupy the Board's he now asked the very earnest attention of
time with any review of the early history of the military occupation of the clony. He thought that the mouldering grave stones at Stanley remained a silent witness to that most disas- trous period. He asked the Board to recognise the fact that at the present time the admission rate for malarial diseases amongst the troops serving in Hongkong was greater than that in India or in any other Colony in which soldiers had to serve, with that one exception of the west coast