December 24, 1909.]
: new
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. qualities to those I have described in Dr. having a Plague Hospital built in the heart and·ditions of this city such, that it will never find s Chung, to the delicate task he undertook, and midst of the City of Victoria to replace the one real hold again. You have responded, as I he has confirmed and strengthened the work at Kennedy Town; that suggestion received the knew that so intelligent a community would Dr. Chung did so well. He is still with us, and united support and assistance of the Hou, Mr. respond, under the guidance of the Registrar has now as colleagues Dr. Leung Chin Fan, a Brewin, Dr. Clark, and the then Directors of General in whom you rightly have confidence. licentiate of our bwu Hongkong College of the Tung Wa Hospital, with the result that and whose thoughts are continually for Medicine. I have watched Dr. Leung's career this present site was selected and purchased in your good and your welfare; you have as a student and a doctor with the liveliest | 1908 for the price of $53,500, paid out of monies | erected
this
this wing to satisfaction. He is a credit to his college, bolonging to the Tung Wa Hospital, with the pital, which cost, as we have just heard, and the Tung Wa Hospital is to be con exception of the sum of $5,500, which was bor- $65,000. You have done what I consider to be gratulated on having secured his services. It rowed from the Hongkong Typhoon Fund, but more important in order to go to the root of the would take too long to recall the long line of has since been repaid, and also the sum of evil. You have engaged lecturers to instruct the directors with whom I have worked for the $5.000 contributed by the Committee of the common people upon the measures they should welfare of this institution, and from whom Fhave Chinese Recreation Ground, under conditions take, and you have taken counsel with the received an unfailing kindly courtesy, but I which we afterwards found it impossible to comply Government as to measures throughout the city cannot sit down without expressing my thanks with, and the sum has also been refunded. The which would diminish the incidence of plague to you, sir, personally for the happy relations buildings cost $9,700; extra work $1,350 and in the future. You have invited me this after- that through your influence have marked my architects' charges $562.00, so that the ground noon to open these plague wards, and though I dealings with the board of directors during and buildings will from this time forward form am glad to have the privilege of doing this last year of my tenure of the post of an integral part of the Tung Wa Hospital, and so, I express the hope that you may find inspecting medical officer. It has been a year henceforth all plague cases will be treated here; very little use for them. It is unusual of rapid progress, and you have advanced and by the blessing of God, and with a continua- when a man has spent a great deal of money for the work of this hospital, as well as the tion of the public confidence and assistance a great object to express the hope that he will arrangements and the accommodation for and with all the facilities at our command, there find no use for it, but I hope the precautions the work, to a markedly higher lever: You should be no difficulty in successfully combatting we are taking against plague will result in few have not been content to act on my sugges
the disease. I have just relinquished the cases, if any, being found in these tions, you have taken them up, and improved management of the Tung Wa Hospital as These precautions are carried out with untiring on them, and I have time and again had to con- President, but by the courtesy of Mr. Lau Chu zeal by the Sanitary Board and the Head of the fess that what you proposed to do was in every Pak, the present President, the honour of ad- Sanitary Department, and I hope you will second way better than I had ventured to recommend dressing your Excellency to-day has been their efforts. We live, gentlemen, in an era I esteem it an honour to have been associated accorded to me, and I therefore have much in which the body politic is disturbed and with you and the board of directors whose opera-pleasure in asking you to open these wards with agitated by many causes, We hear talk of tions you
have presided over with such energy this key, to declare them open, and to keep reform and new methods. Such epochs occur in and wisdom, and I am greatly pleased that the the key as a souvenir of the event.
the life of every nation. They result usually in improvements in the Tung Wa Hospital effected HIS EXCELLE ›CY—Mr Sin Tak Fan, good, but also in a great deal of suffering owing in these last few months have come before and gentlemen: It is my privilege as governor to the wild talk and acts of ignorant men. my own departure from this Colony. I am of Hongkong to be called upon to přeside at Here in Hongkong we proceed, have proceeded in glad that you have been succeeded as president many public functions-to open buildings and to the past, and shall proceed in the future slowly, of the Tung Wa Hospital by one whose pre- unveil memorials-but of all the ceremonies at surely, and steadily along the path of progress. vious public career is EL promise that which I have presided since I have been in the Every day sees more new advances. To-day your enlightened policy in the manage, Colony there is, I think, none which has given we are opening this extension, next year ment of this institution will be continued, me so much pleasure as this. The Chinese I hope we shall be opening the extension and I am sure Mr. Lau Chau Pak will, during community in Hongkong has long, I know, of the Tung Wa on the other side of the water, the coming year, add to his already great desired to be able to treat plague patients and the year afterwards we may be opening the reputation as an earnest worker for the best in this hospital, but medical science until university. Whatever the salient features of interests of the Chinese community of Hong- quite recently considered that bubonic plague each year may be, every year has seen advance- kong. Again I thank you, sir, for all the was disease highly, infectious, and it was nient and expansion of schools and an increase kindness that I have experienced from yourself therefore absolutely necessary that those of scholars, and in charitable institutions. These, and your colleagues. I count it a high honour who were suffering from it, and the bodies of gentlemen, are outward and visible signs of the that you have placed my portrait in the hospital those who had died from it, should be isolated thoughts and needs and wishes which have laboratory; and permanently associated my name. from the living in order that the spread of the gradually made themselves felt. They with the work being done there. This address disease might be arrested. My predecessors are
milestones - on the road of from the Chinese community I shall prize as were well aware of the grief and suffering progress. These advances which I have long as I live, and both the address and this which it caused to relatives, as well as of the alluded to have, here in Hongkong, been munificent silver service will remain in my pain of the patients themselves in being eved achi without agitation and without com- family, a lasting token of the good-will that removed from their dwellings. But they motion. The reason is that they are the out- prevailed in my relations with the Tung Wa considered, although they felt the deepest come of co-operation with the Government. Hospital. (Applause.)
sympathy and pity in this matter, that it was You know that the Government is at all times absolutely necessary, and that it was their ready and anxious to do everything which it is duty to enforce isolation in order to save the possible within our revenue to do for the welfare lives of those who were living, and to prevent the of the community, and which will increase its sparead of the disease. But the more severe and happiness. I myself am always ready and anxions the more harsh the measures for this 'end ap- to hear any suggestion which may tend to the OPENING OF NEW PLAGUE WARDS. peared to the ignorant, the more in truth it good and the welfare of the Chinese com- proved that they were concerned for the welfare munity Your representatives on the Legisla- of the community. Since I have been here we tive Council have shown themselves to be men have been able to change this. We have been who are actuated by the desire for the public able to relax the rules and procedure in welfare, and they, I think, will also tell you that sanitary law regarding disinfection iu
any project that they have put forward has so far as it violated the privacy received the sympathetic consideration of the of Chinese households, and we have been Government. I have invited them always to able to permit this extension of plague wards speak to me fully and frankly on these subjects in a general hospital in the heart of the city to and if this unity of purpose and co-operation be erected. This change is not due to the fact between the Chinese community and the that my predecessors had no less sympathy Government continues, we may hope for the than I have with Chinese feeling it is solely continued progress and prosperity of this due to the fact that scientific men have recently | Colony. I now have pleasure in declaring discovered that plague germs are not propagated; the new extension to be opeu. (pplause.) I as was previously supposed, and that bubonic hope that it will alleviate suffering and that it plague is not an easily communicable disease except by the agency of rats, and the fleas which infest them. This discovery, gentlemen, is of immense importance to us, for it shows us the way
in which plague must be combatted and fought. We know now there are only two things necessary, cleanliness with light and fresh air, and the removal of the rats and th fleas which infest them. We are able therefore now to dispense with some of those measures which were formerly considered absolutely ne- cessary.
y, and to concentrate our attention on these two points. I have constantly since I have been here appealed to the Chinese commanity to co-operate with the Government in these measures in order that we may stamp out_pital." entirely, if possible, this dreadful diseases: or even if we cannot stump it out entirely we should reduce it to isolated cases, and make the con-
TUNG WA HOSPITAL.
New plague wards in connection with the Tung Wa Hospital were opened yesterday afternoon by His Excellency the Governor., There was a large attendance, Mr. Sin Tak Fan, the retired chairman, and Mr. Lau Chu Pak, the present chairman, with the directors, meeting His Excellency on arrival. The ce emony took place in the picturesque assembly hall. Mr. Sin Tak Fan preside and among those present were Hon. Dr. J. M. Atkinson, Hon. Mr. A. W. Brewin, Rev. C. H. Hickling and Dr F. Clark.
Mr. SIN TAK FAN said:-May it please your Excellency, on behalf of the Directors of the Tung Wa Hospital I beg to thank your Ex- cellency for your kindness in coming here to-day for the purpose of declaring open the new Plague. Wards of this Hospital. Ever since plague made its appearance in Hongkong, some 12 years ago, all cases have been treated in the Infectious Hospital at Kennedy Town, necessitat ing the carrying of sick patients some con- siderable distance, and you may easily picture in your mind the agonies and hardships they have suffered while being conveyed there in the ambulances, notwithstanding all the precautions and care taken for their comfort. The sole object of these present buildings is to remedy the evil and to alleviate the sufferings I have just referred to. It is but fitting that I should here mention that the Honourable Dr. Ho Kai, was one of those who initiated the idea of
:
the
will tend to promote confidence among the people. It will stand as a monument of the generosity of the wealthy Chinese and of the way in which they obey the precepts of those great sages and teachers who in different coun tries and at different times have told us isis the duty of the more prosperous to care for the needs of the poor and of the sick. (Applause.)
The company then repaired to the new plague wards, and at the entrance His Excellency received from Mr. Sin Tak Fan a silver key with which to open the gate. The key was inscribed: "To His Excellency Sir Frederick Lugard, K.C.M.G., Governor of Hongkong. Presented by the Directors of Tung Wa tlos-
On the reverse side were the words New Wards.”
His Excellency then inspected the Wa
Vards. and tea was afterwards dispersed.