470
of buildings..
It is not a fact that the City is in a filthy state, for every street and every private lane is scavenged daily by gangs of coolies numbering 445 in all, and acting under the supervision of ten Portuguese foremen, ten Chinese foremen, ten Chinese Interpreters and fifteen British Inspectors of Nuisances-- all household refuse and garbage is removed daily from the City by a fleet of 24 properly decked boats in charge of 85 boatmen, and all dry excretal matter is similarly removed by another fleet of 9 decked-boats. Every floor of every Chinese house in the City is visited by a District Inspector of Nuisances at least once in every two months while surprise visits are also paid by myself and by the five first-class Inspectors of Nuisances, and every tenement house is cleansed and limewashed by the owner under the supervision of these First Class Inspectors (men of good standing and long service) every six months.
The closing of insanitary houses practically depends at present, solely upon the dictum of the Medical Officer of Health, who must make a personal visit to every house so condemned, subsequent to which a notice must be served by the Sanitary Board calling upon the owner to abate the Nuisance or cause the premises to be vacated within a reasonable time (to be named in the notice); if the notice is not complied with, application must