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As regards cavitation in this colony the Surveyor General and myself appealed to the Secretary of State, Deputy Surgeon General Mackinnon appealing to the Secretary of State for War and Mr. Oscar Chadwick was sent out on special commission to report to the Secretary of State. Although many of the things I reported on had been remedied he more than confirmed all I had said in my reports and his report was sent out in a Blue Book in 1889.
By his advice a Sanitary Board was appointed with the Surveyor General as President and myself as Vice-President, with four other members, a Superintendent and Secretary, a staff of five Inspectors and a Chinese clerk. This relieved me of a very heavy responsibility which I had been under for ten years, with the rapid increase in the size and population of the city and my other duties, it was impossible I could perform properly with a staff of two Inspectors. My reports were often pigeon-holed or ignored.
The Sanitary Board met every fortnight, with public reporters and the discussions were being reported so that nothing could be hidden or ignored. The Board has since been increased in the number of its members and staff, although it is only seven years since it was first appointed, and Mr. Oscar Chadwick has again been sent out to institute drainage reforms.
No Colonial Surgeon of Hong Kong before my time had done such work as I have described; everything had been left to Inspectors, utterly uninstructed and ignorant of their duties, and they had to do the duty without supervision or assistance. For this I have never received any recognition, although I nearly lost my life in the performance of my duty. I am still a working member of the Board.