18-
19
718
The report of the Commission was referred to the Sanitary Board who in a report dated the 9th of June, 1898, urged more drastic measures on all points touched on by the Commission, and in addition that the height of buildings provided for by section 12 of Ordinance 15 of 1894 should be further restricted by enacting that no domestic building to be erected in future should exceed in height one and a half times the width of the street upon which the building fronts.
A Bill embodying the most of the recommendations of the Sanitary Board was read a first time in November, 1898. In October, 1899, a new Bill was substituted for it and read a first time and on the 26th October in the same year the Bill was read a second time.
Its principal provisions were:--
(a.) The restriction of cubicles to top floors in houses fronting streets of less than 15 feet in width. (Clause 4 sub-section (a.).)
(b.) Prohibition of cubicles on ground floors whatever the width of the street. (Same clause sub-section (b.).)
(c.) Restriction of height of cubicles to 7 feet when there are two in one floor and to 6 feet when there are more than two.
(d.) Prohibition of mezzanine floors except under regulations to be framed by the Sanitary Board. (Clause 5.)
(e) Restriction of height of buildings to 1 times the width of the street in cases of land acquired from the Crown after the passing of the Ordinance. (Clause 6.) The Sanitary Board had recommended that this latter restriction should apply to all houses erected in the future, but owing to the strong opposition on the part of those interested in house property the Board agreed to limiting the application to land acquired from the Crown in the future.
(f) The provision of open spaces in rear of (1.) existing dwellings by opening out on each floor one half of the space between the principal room and the main wall at the back unless the building is already provided with an open back-yard of 50 square feet (Clause 7); (2.) dwellings erected after the passing of the Ordinance according to the following scale :-
Houses not exceeding 40 feet in depth for each foot of width,........8 square feet.
Exceeding 40 but not over 50 in depth, .............10
Over 50 and under 60, ..........................12
Over 60, .......................................14
with a proviso that when the owners of a block of buildings make a lane opening at either end on a public street the open spaces might be reduced as follows:--
For houses not exceeding 40 feet in depth a lane 6 feet wide.
Over 40 feet but under 50 feet ..........................
In Committee His Excellency the Governor suggested that with a view to diminishing over-crowding the area of the cubicles should be increased, and the further discussion of the Bill was postponed.
On the 31st of October the Council resumed the consideration of the Bill in Committee and the Captain Superintendent of Police suggested on behalf of the Sanitary Board that clause 4 sub-section (a.) should be amended so as to provide that a space of 6 feet (as originally recommended by the Board) instead of 4 feet be left between a cubicle and any window the area of which is included in calculating the required window area of one tenth of the floor area,
The Director of Public Works, Honourable E. R. Belilios and the Honourable Dr. Ho Kai were in favour of not increasing the four feet of space and the Council decided to leave the clause as it stood.
The Honourable T. H. Whitehead suggested that clause 6 be amended by deleting words so as to make it apply to all buildings erected after the passing of the Ordinance unless the building had a lane of a width at least one fourth of the height of the building along one of its lateral sides and throughout its whole depth.
The Colonial Treasurer and the Director of Public Works pointed out that such a provision would probably involve compensation on the part of the Government to the owners of property acquired before the passing of the Ordinance and the amendment was not pressed.
Clauses 7 and 8 relating to open spaces in rear of buildings were left over for further discussion, and on the 20th November the clauses were adopted with some verbal alterations.
On the 23rd November the Bill was read a third time and passed.
Enclosure D.
Year. Gross Revenue. Gross Expenditure. Expenditure on P. W. Ex. Expenditure for Loan Account. 1883, $ 1,289,448.29 $ 1,342,299.24 $ 77,337,298.98 1884, 1,173,071.48 1,595,398.39 180,052.10 1885, 1,251,889.70 1,621,250.39 475,147.24 1886. 1,867,977.74 2,020,861.65 825,624.84 1887. 1,427,485.79 744,820.38 1888, 1,557,300.03 1,992,329.67 530,870.03 1889, 1,823,549.13 1,833,718.79 374,551.63 1890, 1,995,220.47 1,915,360.47 397,507.42 1891, 2,025,302.51 2,449,096.26 581,013.00 1892, 2,236,938.37 2,342,837.26 450,362.77 223,083.32 1893, 1894, 1895, 2,278,528.25 2,299,096.00 236,810.02 1896, 2,486,228.89 2,972,873.01 1,024,812.92 1897, 2,609,878.94 2,474,910.37 183,186.27 1898, 2,686,914.70 2,641,409.71 300,180.30 1899, 2,918,359.24 2,841,805.20 230,619.82 449,429.27 1900, 3,610,143.25 3,162,792.36 321,705.89 321,705.89 4,202,587.40 3,628,447.13 370,226.90 135,845.85 Grand Totals, $ 39,018,754.44 $ 41,077,491.52 $ 8,382,852.74 $ 1,792,153.62* It is not possible to give particulars of the First Loan amounting to £201,479.1.9 which was raised to meet Expenditure on account of Fortifications, Water-works and other Public Works as the amount expended on Public Works Extraordinary was given as a total sum and not divided into works chargeable and works not chargeable against the loan,
C. Mel. MESSER, Acting Colonial Treasurer.
13.7.1901.
F. H. MAY.
(g.) The concreting, channelling and lighting of private streets. The Director of Public Works in seconding the Bill remarked that the Bill as it now stands is somewhat of a compromise. Some of those connected with its drafting have wished to go much further in the provisions for admitting light and air to the crowded houses in the city, in providing for larger open spaces and consequent less overcrowding; others have been inclined to make less change in the existing order of things which proves the aphorism that there is no relation between Hygiene and money getting."
He went on to say that "one of the most eminent of modern writers on sanitary subjects states 'all sanitarians are agreed that mortality and density of population are directly proportional' and he quoted Dr. Vivian Poore who wrote 'we have been long accustomed to hear that one chief sanitary necessity in this world is pure water. This would be quite true if we were fish, but it is obvious that the purity of the air we breathe is of far greater importance than the purity of the water we drink, seeing that we must take a draught of air about twenty times a minute while many of us don't take a draught of pure water from week's end to week's end."