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exhausted supplies in the reservoirs, and I am exerting every effort to alleviate distress. The experience of this year has made it evident to me that permanent provision should be made without delay for supplying wholesome water in reasonable quantities to all parts of the City and at all seasons of the year; and that it is neither safe nor expedient to trust to the mere chances of an abundant year's rainfall in a climate so capricious as that of Hongkong.
3. In connection with this important question I transmit copies of a further Memorandum which has just reached me from Mr. Chadwick, and which may be regarded as supplementary to the first part of the Preliminary Report which forms the first enclosure to this Despatch. The Memorandum deals chiefly with his proposals for the improvement of the Taitam Reservoir and its gathering grounds, and I propose to call upon the Director of Public Works forthwith to furnish me with an estimate of the cost of carrying them out.
4. The remainder of Mr. Chadwick's Preliminary Report is occupied with a discussion of the Sewerage, Drainage and Scavenging of the City, and it concludes with a section relating to House Construction and Overcrowding. On none of these topics do I propose to enter at present, though I venture to invite your attention to the statement made on page 34, that nothing short of the general resumption of insanitary tenements, and their entire re-construction, will bring about any thorough improvement in the sanitary condition of Hongkong". In conclusion, I have to inform you that in deference to the opinions of the members of the Executive Council and the Medical and Sanitary experts who are now in Hongkong, I