proposed that ground floors should be rendered impervious to gas and water; they called special attention to overcrowding and its terrible re- sults. They pointed out that the system of mezzanine floors which made three storeyed houses into six storeyed houses was exceedingly dange rous because it couduced to overcrowding, and they pointed out cases where rooms in addition to having mezzanine floors had cubicles or divi. sions which turned an ordinary sized room into four or five under-sized rooms and produced a state of things under which it was impossible to prevent overorowding. If you had a man here who could inspect these houses and stop this state of matters it would be a different thing. Bat there is no such being in existence, and as long as you give an opportunity of overcrowding by means of these mezzanine flows and cubicles so long will you have overcrowding, because human pature ja strange thing, and if a man can get more money by having twenty-five people in his house instead of twenty he will say be does not know why we should interfere. These are the main things dealt with by this Bill. There were other recommendations which I have no doubt were very good, but you cannot carry every thing out by Act of Parliament. There are different coodleting interests and people take different views of things. In passing legisla tion you have got to legislate in such a way as to get the Act through. You have to give a certain amount of compromise, and if there are some things in the Bill not entirely satisfactory it is more with the idea of hav ing something thoroughly good in its way plased than to have a perfect Bill going from person to person and from Committee fo Committee and never coming into operation. I would like to point out in order that you may see that this is not a now Bill that section 2 is simply section 17 of the old Bill enlarged. Section 3 is section 1 of the old Bill; section 4 is section 2 of the old Bill; section 5 is section 5 of the old Bill; section 8 is section 6 of the old Bill. I will not say there are not slight modifiertions, but substantially they are the same. Section 7 is section 7, section 8 iş section 8, section 9 is section 10 in the old Bill, and septions 10 and 11 are sections Il and 12 of the old Bill. Now, section 12, which deals with the height of buildings, which will not be much dis- puted, is a new section. Section 13 is the old section 13 with some added matter. Yuo will see that I have placed in that section the sub-section 7; that is new, but it is taken from the old powers conferred on the Sanitary Board by the Public Health Act where plaguo exists and a proclama- tion is needed. It will occur to hon. members that there are times when you do not want to proclaim the place infected until absolutely certain that the plagne is here and if you do not proclaim you may not be doing what is right, and it is a matter of evid sace before you whether the urgency is so great that you should issue a proclamaation. Bub section 7 gives to the Sanitary Board mach the same powers as they would have if the proclamation had been issued and it provides for the prevention 89 far posible or mitigation of any epidemic, onde mig, or contagious disease including inter àlia," &c. I do not see why the Sanitary Board should not have power to deal with a caso of emergency when it arises without waiting till a lot of correspondence has taken place and a lot of dely which may result in a considerable spread of the disease. Section 14 is section 14 of the old Bill, section la is section 4, only transposed for convenience, and section 16 is section 15 of the old Bill. Section 17 is now it gives power to deal with polluted wells. "I do not think any. one will object to that. It is a good thing that all wells in an insanitary condition should be alosed; that is a subsequent recommendation of the Sanitary Board. Section 18 is new, It is there stated that it shall not be law. ful to orept any balcony or verandah project. ing over any street, lane, or alloy way where such street is of less width than 20 feet. "Section 19 is the old section 9. Section 20 is new. It says the provisions of this Ordinance shall not apply to buildings or wells belonging to the Colonial Government or to buildings or wells upon any land vested in any person on behalf of the naval or military departments of Her Majesty's service. Those are the main features of the Bill, and although I may have been rather long this explanation may shorten things in the end if I explain one or two slight points in the alterations. In section 3, which is the old section I, there is a slight alteration. You will find if you look at the schedules that some of tho buildings are closed wholly and some only par tially. I noticed that, and I thought it was in-
as
lended
tended where a building was only partially closed you should not require the inhabitants of the other parts to be turned out to render the fors impervious. Then when we come to cellars, section 6. there is no doubt we bare to deal with a very difficult problem, and anyone who tries to word the clause in a satisfactory manner will find he has a very difficult task. After some trouble it has taken its prosent shaps. We thought it would be well to give three months' notice and it is provided that on and after 1st April, 1895, it will not be lawful without the written permis sion of the Sanitary Board, to live in, osoapy or use, or to let or sublet, or to suffer or permit to be agod for habitation or for occupation as a shop, any cellar, vault, underground room, basemout, or room any side of which abuts on or against the earth or soil You will find later on it is provided in the Bill that the Sanitary Board shall have power to make by-laws regulating the conditions under which basements or callars may or may not be inhabitod. I do not know that I need detain you any longer, I thank you for the patience with which you have listened to me, and I shall be happy to ex- plain, with the assistance of the Director of Pablie Works, any points that occur to hon. members on looking at the alterations we have made. (Applause).
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS-I have the honour to second the second reading of this Bill. It is unnecessary for me to go into the various technical details which occar in the pro- visions of the Bill. Many of them have previously been before the Council in connection with the passing of the Public Health Ordinance in 1887 and the Building Ordinance in 1889, Farther, my predecessor Mr. Pries and toyself while deali ing with the project of the Prays Reclamation pointed out the danger which existed to the public health owing to the insanitary conditions which then existed in a largo portion of native parts of this city, but that danger is no longer a subject of speculation, as has only too foreibly heen brought before us all during the pre- sent year. I think you must all be agreed that sanitary reforms are most argent, and that the public health of this colony and its pros- perity in the future to a large large extent depend upon them. This Ordinance coutatus little but what is in fores now in many towns and cities in England and on the Continent and has repeatedly been considered necessary by various sanitary experts of late years in all places where people congregate, and especially amongst the working population. I think, therefore, the time has arrived-I might say arrived long ago when the hon. members of thie Council should no longer hang back, for however unpleasant the duty may be of enforcing what at first may appear stringent measures it is absolutely necessary in the interests of the public health and prosperity of the colony. This Ordinance has been care- fully considered by the members of the Sanitary Board, and those members who were present an animously agreed in urging upon your Excel- lency the patting in force of the provisions of this Bill without delay. With these for rêm marks I beg to second the second reading of this Lill
Hon. Ho KAI-I am not going to oppose the second reading of the Bill, but a few remarks are necessary from me to explain a few things and also to answer one or two of the observa- tions of the hou, and learned Attorney-General, Now, sir, on Thursday last the hon. and learned Attorney-General seemed to imply by his remarks that the nuofficial members had more or loss delayed this Bill. The unofficial mem- bera have not dous so. The Bill no doubt was published on the 15th September last, and than the unofficial members set to work on the Bill and had seroral sittings over it, and if your Excellency will remember they communicated the rosull of their deliberatious to your Excel. lency in the form of a minute. But since then the Bill has gone through quite a number of alterations, and the Sanitary Board has sat ou the Bill, and the nuofficial members only wished to consider the Bill with the remarks of the Sanitary Board before thom, so that they might in one or twe sittings have time to consider the Bill as altered or with the new agendments sent back by the Sanitary Board. Since your Excellency fixed this day for the meeting of Cona- cil we have met. We, the unofficial members, sat yesterday for two or three hours to consider the Bill and oar impression is this, that while all of us are agreed that some sanitary reforms are needed and should be introđaced into this colony we are all dosirous to ask your Exodloney to bear this in mind, that there is such a thing
the
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