714
10
.....
Enclosure A.
LIST OF MR. CHADWICK'S RECOMMENDATIONS IN REPORT OF 1882.
1. Increased Water Supply.
2. Drainage, including Flushing, &c.
3. Re-drainage of Houses.
4. Increased Market Accommodation.
5. Public Latrines.
6. Acquisition by Government of all Public Latrines (privately-owned).
7. Construction of Roads and Drains prior to Sale of Building Lots.
8. Continuous Back Alleys and removal of obstructions from alleys and lanes.
9. Public Bath Houses.
10. Formation of a Fund to carry out large Sanitary Schemes.
11. Provision of 400 Cubic Feet per head, when room is open, and 600 Cubic Feet when divided into cubicles.
12. Window Space for Habitable Rooms to be at least one-tenth of floor area.
13. Earthen Floors to be prohibited.
14. Building of some Model Dwellings.
Enclosure B.
MEASURES TO GIVE EFFECT TO MR. CHADWICK'S RECOMMENDATIONS OF 1882.
WORKS.
Water Supply.
Mr. Chadwick in his Report of the 19th July, 1882, stated that the most serious sanitary defect of all was the miserably inadequate supply of water and alluded to the proposal to construct new works for largely increasing it. This allusion referred to the Tytam Reservoir, aqueduct, filter beds and service reservoir, which were begun in 1883 and brought to a successful conclusion in 1889, at a cost of $1,257,474.
Very soon after the completion of these works, the distribution-system was taken in hand and practically reconstructed at a cost of $201,454, filter beds and a service reservoir for dealing with the supply derived from Pokfulam being carried out at the same time.
Since then 4 large service reservoirs have been constructed in various parts of the City, additional filter beds have been provided for dealing with the water from Tytam and numerous mains and motors have been laid down for the supply of the higher levels and growing outlying districts.
The dam at Tytam has been raised by 10 feet, a new impounding reservoir has been built at Wong-nei-chong Gap, and 4 miles of catchwaters have been constructed.
A water supply has been made available over the whole of the Peak and Hill Districts, ranging from about 1,800 to 900 feet above sea level, with the necessary pumping machinery and service reservoirs.
Waterworks have been established at a cost of $125,678, which supply nearly the whole of the Kowloon Peninsula and a large new scheme, estimated to cost about $400,000, is on the eve of being undertaken.
Complete works have also been established for the important villages of Aberdeen and Shaukiwan.
These numerous works have been carried out consistently with the funds at the disposal of the Government having regard to the demands for other necessary works.
In addition to the large scheme for Kowloon, already mentioned, another reservoir at Tytam is about to be constructed.
11
The total expenditure from 1883 to the end of 1900, on the item of Water Supply alone amounts to $2,130,983.
Another of Mr. Chadwick's recommendations under this head was the necessity of a Waterworks Ordinance giving power to check waste, &c. This was passed in 1890 and has since been steadily enforced.
Drainage.
His next recommendation in order of importance was the necessity for a proper drainage system.
This also has been carried out, a completely new sewerage system having been constructed for the whole of the City at a cost of $234,742. Not only so, but extensive works have been carried out at the Peak, in the Kowloon Peninsula, embracing all the principal villages there, and in Aberdeen, Shau-ki-wan and Wong-nei-chong.
With this part of Mr. Chadwick's recommendations, the Chamber of Commerce appears to disagree, though its letter of the 7th June last opens by charging the Government with not having carried out his proposals. It refrains however from giving any reasons whatever for the condemnation of the separate system and confines itself merely to the general statement that it is eminently unsuited to the circumstances of the Colony. What opportunities or qualifications the Members of the Chamber possess for forming such a conclusion are not stated in the letter.
It may however be pointed out that, in the course of his report, Mr. Chadwick stated "loud complaints are made of the stenches which proceed from the ventilating grating.” From this it will be seen that loud complaints were common even in 1882, long before the separate system existed.
With regard to the flushing of the sewers and the allegations made that Mr. Chadwick's recommendations on this subject have not been carried out, a reference to C.O.D. 193 of 1889 will show that in that year Mr. Chadwick returned to the Colony to initiate, on his own responsibility, the drainage and water distribution works then proposed.
In his Report on the Sewerage of the High-Level District of the City, after stating that "as far as sewerage is concerned, matters are now very much in the same condition as they were in 1882," he went on to say "Having thus described the principles, which should be observed in the design of a system of sewerage, not only for the High-Level District but generally, I will now proceed to the examination of the plans, prepared by Mr. Cooper, for the sewerage of this district. I find that the design is in strict accordance with the principles laid down in the previous paragraphs of this report, which were fixed before the examination of the plans was undertaken.”
It is therefore obvious that Mr. Chadwick's proposals were fully provided for and, in the Annual Report for 1891 on Water and Drainage Works, Mr. Cooper stated that the sewerage works in the High Level District had been completed, with manholes, ventilators and flushing arrangements. It is well also to note that, in the report just quoted, Mr. Chadwick stated how he had proposed, in his original report on the Sanitary Condition of Hongkong, to divert the sewage proper and dry-weather flow from the combined sewer and storm-water channel at the point where it entered the flat region and to conduct it by a separate pipe of small diameter to the sea and then went on to state that he now proposed to effect the separation at an earlier period, adding that "all recent experience shows that a channel, suitable for the conveyance of a tropical rainfall, is not a suitable conduit for sewage in dry weather" and that "the practice of converting storm-water channels into sewers has, not only here, but everywhere, been weighed in the balance and found wanting."
This shows clearly that it was Mr. Chadwick who originated the idea of the separate system and that Mr. Cooper merely carried out that idea.
Mr. Chadwick also laid stress on the necessity for preventing the moisture in the subsoil from rising to within a certain depth below the surface of the ground. Numerous trained channels and nullahs have been constructed in various parts of the City to aid in effecting this.
Re-drainage of Houses.
Next in order of importance Mr. Chadwick placed the re-drainage of the houses. This recommendation has also been carried into effect and the work completed.
Page 720
Page 721