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Coctect from Saily Press of the 20th brouter 22
towards solving the question of the supply of fresh", meat to Hongkong. Near the town of Un-long I found on my first visit a settlement of about 25 lepers, who were compelled to live in the middle of an extensive swarop, on a slight elevation approached by a rough causeway, and Here almost under water in rainy weather these afflicted people had built, of pieces of board, miserable shanties that afforded no pro- tection from rain or the chill winter winds. Here they huddled together night, while by day they approached the villages where though not permitted to enter the houses they were charit- ably supplied with food. Hard by was an unoccupied hill with a well at its base.
Here
a sufficient area was walled off, enclosing the well, and small houses have been erected by the Public Works department, that afford shelter from cold and rain. The lepers still obtain their food from the neighbours, or from their families, and the segregation is practically as effective as in more pretentious and expensive establishments, while the victims of this terrible disease have not perpetual impri sonment added to the miseries of their most miserable lives. At Tai po, the headquarters of the New Territory establishment, a Chinese qualifier medical practitioner has been stationed, whoso serv ces have been freely availed of by the inhabitants, and who is the public vaccinator of the district. The question of Education has been carefully considered. A school is abent to be established at Un-long where English will be taught, and the provisions of the Education Code are being extended to the Vernacular Schools of the various districts. I have re- capitulated the genoral lines of policy in the New Territory, as on their soundness will depend the success or failure of this assimilation with the Colony of a large agricultural population with a reputation for turbulence; suspicious of foreigners, and with a rooted objection to any interference with their settled habits Dr customs. It is yet too soon to judge of the results, but so far they are promising. The number of orimes reported in the year 1900 was 589, and this year 257, which is equal for the entire your to 342. Within the same period we have been able to reduce the police force from 171 to 104. Thanks to the firmness, fairness and tact of the public officers im- mediately dealing with the people, confidence has been established, and the inhabitants have learnt to appreciate the benefits of the bonest performance of official duties, and freedom from that official rapacity so prevalent under the Chinese system. Of this there was gratifying evidence in 1901 during the serious disturbance in the district adjoining the New Territory when the people who, two years before, had faced our troops with arus iu their hands seat a deputation. of elders to requent that I would send eut tr the frontier a small military forca to prevent the entrance of disturbers of the peace, with whom they were no longer in sympathy, desiring to pursue their avocations with the quiet and security to which, us British subjects, they had become accustomed. Bus in laying the foundations for the devolopment of the New Territory, the great possibilities of which have yet to be fully realized, we must not forget the rapid growth of Hongkong and its shipping trade. In 1898 the Colony of Hongkong contained 254,400 inhabitants, its assessed ralue was 54.511,947, and the total shipping entered and cleared was 17,265,780 | In 1903 the population, including, the New Territory, as estimated by the Registrar General, is 433,660, the assessed value $8,749.643, and the shipping 23,027,455 tons. The Revenne, which in 1898 was 82, 84,840, is estimated for the current year at $4,583,295, and, in the Estimates accepted by you for 1804, thanks to the largely increased tender for the Opium farm, it is stated at $6,208,808. In whatever direction we turn we find a Colony instinct with boundless activity. The reclamation of *Western Praga is completed. Hs Eastern Praya reclamation is ouly delayed by demands by the Admiralty and War Office at heme that this Government considers unreasonable and hopes to have modified. All around the Kowloon Peninsula great schemes of reclamation are in progress. At Quarry Bay a graving dock is being constructed by Mesars. "Butterfield and Swire, that will be capable of docking the
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rgest ships afloat; while another dock is being constructed by the Naval Anthorities in the very heart of the City. I wish that I couli congratulate you upon the latter, but, however W ray deplore the injury to the city by the severance of its continuity by the Naval
must Dockyard, we
not forget tkat no protest was
made by the Clony until after the work of constinction had ad- vanced considerably and a large amount of
Erea been spent.
the inoney had Admiralty are prepared to hand over the
the Colony, but dockyard to ditions so onerous that even by this wealthy community they could not be accepted. Stil the expenditure of some thirty millions of dollars in the execution of the works on the Naval Extension and Quarry Bay docks cannot fail to increase the prosperity of the Colear. Nor has the Government been remiss iu Public Works. During the term of my administration $2,741,5 9 have been expanded on Public Works Extraordinary. The reservoir at Wong-nei- chong, of a capacity 33,000,000 gallons. has been completed, and the reservoir and gravita- tion scheme for Kowloon is being carried out ut an estimated expense of $8:5,0:0. The initial works are in progress for the new Reservoir at Tytam Tuk, to hold 1,200,000,000 gallons.
Blake Pier has been built, and
LEW the foundations of the Law Courts
for ready
the superstructure of which the foundation stone was laid!
30
Now
by me on the 12th instant. The founda- tions of the large new
market
western
have been completed and the superstructure of the latter building has been begun, while a contract for that the former has been lot and for the new harbour offic. A site has been acquired for the new post office, and plans for it have been prepared and approved, and a con- tract for the foundations has been let. These importent buildings will be pushed forward without delay, But the absorbing question that has exorcised the minds of the community to a greater extent than all others is that of sanita- tion. This question bas been debated year by year as in each recurring year plane claimed its victims by hundreds, and malaria scourged the community. In May, 1902, the visit to the Colony of Professor Simpson and Mr. Osbert Chadwick, C.M.G., resulted in valuable
the reports on defective construction of Chinese houses, and in pursuance of their recommendations a consolidated Public Health Ordinance has been passed, under the provi- sions of which the houses of the future will be of a more sanitary type, and surface over- crowding that is found in the Chinese part of the City of Victoria, will be no longer An able bacteriologist has been possible. added to the permanent staff. for whom a suitable laboratory is being built, and from his original researches raluable results have already been obtained, and still more important discoveries may be expected in the future. So far it cannot be said that we have been more successful here than in other countries in discovering the causes or checking the ravages of plague, but investigation and ex- periments made during the epidemic of this year afford a hope that next year may see a step in advance in prevention, and treatment, should, anhappily, the plagus again develop in epidemie "form. In the treatment of Malaria we have profited by the light thrown upon its causation by the experiments ef Celli. Ross and other investi. gators, and systematic arrangements have been made to control the nullabs and pools in which the anopheles mosquito has hitherto brod along the face of the hills that dominate the city. Over $93,000 have been expended already in this work, with the result that while in 1902 8,795 cases were admitted to various civil and military hospitals, the number of cases reported It is this year to the present date is 2.408. to be hoped that with perseverance and thoroughness in the destruction of the anophelos mosquito this danger to the community will ulti mately be removed. To more effectually carry out the recommendations of the two experts to whose reports I have alluded it has been decided to recommend the formatieu of a bod of Trustees at whose disposal funds will be placed for the necessary operation of remodelling this over- crowded city. That any system of sanitation with eren scrupulous cleanliness could render
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