ff nor
brought
do I know whether the
Board will in
revort
ut to the protection
revost
this section.
7
any
cave require to
afforded by
ツ
deals with
Section
insanitary wells, Section 18 with so-
randalis. Section 19 deals with pe-
Section 20 exempto
nalties and Section 20
exempts besildings
and wells belonging to the Colonial Government or Naval
or Military
Departments from the operation of
the Ordinance.
(8.) W. Meigh Goodman,
Attorney General .
A
Enclosure 3.
REC
C. O.
2509
32
"The Hong Hong Daily Press" of 24th Best 1894-
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
A meeting of the Legislative Council was held on Saturday. There were present:-
His Excellency the Governor, Sir WILLIAM ROBINSON, K.C.M.G.
Hon. J. H. STEWART LOCKHART, Acting Colonial Secretary.
Hon. W. M. GooDMAN, Attorney-General. Hoa. N. G. MITCHELL-INNES, Colonial Treasurer.
Hon. F.A. COOPER, Director of Public Works. Hon. R. M. RUMSEY, Harbour Master.
Hou, C. P. CHATER,
Hon. Ho KAL.
Hon. J. J. KESNIOR.
Hon. E. R. BELILLOS, C.M.G.
Hon. A. McCONACHIE.
Mr. J. G. T. BUCKLE, Acting Clerk of Councils.
THE PUBLIC HEALTH BILL.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL-I have the honour to wore the second reading of the Bill entitled an Ordinance to make provision with regard to certain houses closed during the prevalence of the bubonic plague and to make further and better provision for the health of the colony, Gentlemen, this Bill was read a first time and published in the Gazette on the 15th September; that is to say, three months ago. Since then it has boon fully discussed and criticised. It has been discussed by the senior unofficial momber in conjunction with the Director of Public Works, and it has been discussed fully by the Sanitary Board. These criticisms bave been very carefully considered by the Government and the outcome of all these deliberations la that I shall have in Committee to-day to move certain amendments, some alterations and some additious, to the original Bill as it stood at the first meeting. I shall also have to suggest that some of the clauses may be transposed so as to conduce to greater clearness. For the convenience of hon. members the Bill has been reprinted in the form in which I hope it will pass the Legislative Council after all these amendments have been inserted. But I want specially to point out that it is not a new Bill. It is the same Bill is principle and the main olauses are the same, with some modifications, as the clanses of the Bill as road a first time, Now I trust that this Bill will be passed before the close of the year 1894. Gentlemen, this bas been a very trying year. We have had amongst us the plague. which I think may be described as the grim offspring of filth and overcrowding. and, gentlemon, before the your goos to its ac count surely we shall be able to say that the Legislative Council has done something to wards preventing if possible & recurrence of this plague, towards avoiding another such outbreak and has done its best, according to its lights, in a very dimoult emergency, to provide for the safety of the colony. There are two schedules to this Bill. The first com prises those houses which were elased partially or wholly by the Sanitary Board or, what is the same thing, the Parmanent Committee of the Sanitary Board, and these honses are houses that haya not baan reoccupied or givin back to the owners. The second soudale comprises houses which ware gloss wholly or in part by the Sanitary Board, but which bave siada beau retarasd to the owners, the owaars or occupiers having undertaken to do that which the Sani- tary Board considered was au inatial preli minary to the houses being occupied without dauger to the hoalth of those who occupied them. Now, these houses were closed by the Sanitary Board because they were satisfied that thasa honses as they then stood wera unfit for human habitation. They were closed by the Bard, acting in pursuanes of the powers conferred by certain by-laws, which by-laws were passed and after. warda had stabatary force given to them by this Council by Ordinance 5 of 1894, which was passed on the 13th June, and the first section of
which
which declares that these by-laws as ratified and confirmed should be deemed to be as valid and offsetual as if they had boon embodied in an Or- dinance passed by the Legislative Connoil Therefore, as long ago as the 13th June last we have this Council conferring these vory powers upon the Sanitary Board which enabled them to take the at ps they have taken. It was also enacted in the second section that these by-laws should continue and be deemed to be as valid and effectual as if they had been embodied in an Ordinance pissed by this Council, Therefore this Council as long ago as last Juno confirmed and gave these by-laws statu- tery force. No doubt that power was a very great power, but the occasion was urgent. And I take it no one will gainsay that this Conasil has a perfect right in its legislative capacity to say to any man in the colony, “You have no right to use your property in such manner as to endanger the lives and safety of your fellow-colonists. You have no right so to uso your house as to make it a hot-bed in which the germs of disease and plagus which may be brought in from another place may thrive until they become a very dangerous thing to the co- Jony, and antil we have the plague rampant in our midst. And this Council has a right, in its legislative capacity, to say, "We will take that property away from you temporarily until it has been restored to a proper condition and that it shall be handed back to you in such a state that it will not be a public danger." For any man to say, "Compensato me for having done so is absurd. There is an old maxio- maxim iu Roman law, in fact-which is still recognised in law to the present day-sic utero tur ut alienam um lætas; and when a min uses bis property improperly the state has a right to say, We will stop you from being a danger to the community." That is the power you conferred apoa the Sanitary Board. It is possible that in some instances the Sanitary Board may have gous-I do not know that it has done so little beyond what they would have done if they had had more time. But without emolument, in a time of great danger, the Sanitary Board, after being lethargic for I do not know how long, suddenly awoke and rose to a sense of its duty and did some admirable work, and closed all the houses which are in the schedules; and I shall ask you when the Bill comes before the Committee fo say that having done their best for the benefit of the community in a time of great emergency they should be prevented from being attacked by the lawyers on every legal or technical poiut it is posible for lawyers to take in regard to their conduct, and I shall have to point out to you the clauses which will protect the Saui- tary Board later on. It will probably be said by some of the opponents of this Bill. You are driving away the Chinese from the colony." It is our policy to encourage them to come here, but if any particular Chinaman comes to ns and says "I have very dirty habits; I like to be in insanitary plaous; I like to live in a house where if the plagne comes it will be pretty sara to stay, and it gives me less trouble to leave it as it is than to put it in order "--if I met such a man I would say, "Wa part with you with sorrow, bat go to another land where you may live in a house that suits your uotions, bat I trast in course of time you will learn to repent your folly and I trust you will repent before the plague overtakes you." That is my answer to those who say we are frightening away the Chinose by insisting upon proper sanitary arrangements in this colony. I will now call attention to the report of the Permanent Committee of the Sanitary Board, which is the original basis upon which this Bill was framed that coupled with the report of the Housing Committee, which also did good work. Now, that Permanent Committee makes some recommendations and their mer morandum was dated 29th June; and they specially called attention to the necessity for special legislation in regard to basements; they
proposa