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no ventilation at all and overcrowded, rooms being subdivided the floor of other rooms. Many were built more in torms auch not only by building one room but on above the subdivisions making one floor into two and so destroying the ventilation there was emall amount of originally.
Such being the case it is not at all wonderful to find cases of Typhoid Fever continually brought to "Hafental". I am bound to say that the cases do not only come from Brothels and therefore do not warrant the name of Brothel fever given to them for many private houses of the poor class that I have inspected the state of things is a hundred times worse than in the Brothels and if some remedy is not found Typhus & Typhoid fever will become formidable invaders of the houses of the rich, and bring bad notoriety as a grave of Europeans to Hongkong.
For it must be remembered that it is to these houses and to the Chinese Brothels the servants go and from them, may bring the infection into the houses of their Masters.
I have written out instructions, some of them applying to all the Brothels, some to individual houses only, for the awe of the Inspector and allows a certain time for them to be acted upon, if not fully carried out in that time, the houses are closed until the orders are obeyed.
Cour houses about eight in number, I have ordered to be closed, but without continual and efficient superintendence, and instruction as to what sanitary arrangements are required, the Inspector cannot be of much use. The impracticability of the blinds leading the blind having been demonstrated by reliable authority.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
PLB b. Agren
Colonial Surgeon.
To
I.G. Austin, C.M.G.
Colonial Secretary.
82h. Cl