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done plague would again appear. All disease must be aggravated by dirt, but the experience of Hong Kong does not definitely settle my mind that Plague is a dirt disease. It is not improbable that the conditions that render a portion of the population liable to it are brought about by surface overcrowding which in parts of Hong Kong exists to a greater extent than in any other part of the world.
7. This opens up a very grave question in dealing with the disease, as to reduce the numbers of inhabitants of houses to what is considered a safe sanitary limit will necessitate the removal of between fifteen and twenty thousand of the labouring population from their present houses while there is no accommodation for them elsewhere.
8. The Sanitary Board as at present constituted is in my opinion doing its work well. It spends a large amount of Colonial funds, and if any change be made in its constitution there would be a strong agitation for an increase in the number of representatives of the tax payers rather than the addition of Naval and Military officers who have no special training in sanitary matters and who would in my opinion be more useful as critics of its work than as members of the Board.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your Most Obedient Humble Servant,
Henry Blake
GOVERNOR &c.