for
the inspection of premises and the "prevention of overcrowding
21.
there in. Part III has reference solely to private drains. The necessity of
placing them in good order and under Government supervision is fully shown in Mr Chadwick's report; the only section in this part which met with any opposition was Section 49, which enacts that all works connected with house-drains should be carried
out at the cost of the owner by the Board, or under the supervision of the Board by persons approved of by the Board. It is difficult to believe that this was very strongly objected to both in and out of Council, but
such is the case, and the members
of the Chinese Community, who came
to see me on
behalf of the meeting held at the Tung Wah Hospital, represented that if the
works were to be executed by the
Board, the Contractors
would have
a monopoly of these works,
not only they would have to pay the Government price, which they say is 30%
more than the price of private
works, but that they would be subjected
to other exactions and
"squeezes" on the
part of these Contractors.
I endeavoured to assure them
22.
that these fears were totally groundless and imaginary; that
there would be no contractor
having any monopoly; that
the probabilities were that the Board
by contracting in blocks for
what was to be done in a
Street or group of houses, would be
able to have the work executed not
only better, but on cheaper terms than
the owner
of a single
house would be able to obtain.
23.
To further
protect them
against any exorbitant claim, I inserted the word "reasonable" in
Section