Amendments are also made by which a Sanitary Department
is created and the Principal Civil Medical Officer is constituted
its administrative head.
To give effect to the recommendation of the Building Authority and the Sanitary Board the expression "external air" has been given a more exact definition.
The Board having reported that section 48 of the Princi- -pal Ordinance as it stands is unworkable, that section is repealed and has been recast to accord with the Board's recommendation. The -
object is to expedite and facilitate legal action in case of over-
-crowding.
A similar course is taken with respect to sections 153
and 154; and on the recommendation of the Board sub-sections (3)
and (4) of section 175 are transposed.
The last clause (the proviso) of section 46 has been
deleted. This has been done because as the section stands it is
found to prevent any finality in determining the number of persons who may inhabit a floor. The proviso was a concession made at the
time when it was believed that every third house would be taken
down and lateral windows in cubicles thereby provided.
The words "room" and "cubicle" heretofore having in
many instances the same meaning will for the future have a distinct meaning and be dealt with under separate sections of the Ordinance, and by the amendments made a "cubicle” (i.e. a sub-division of a - room) as soon as it has a window one-tenth of the floor area becomes a "room". The amendments therefore do not prevent "cubicles" in future houses but only prevent the existence of windowless cubicles except where such cubicles exist in rooms which are themselves saf-
-ficiently lighted.
The arbitration section 251 is amended by providing that whenever a claim to compensation is intended to be made, the clain shall be submitted to the Colonial Secretary on the same date as the plans relating to the works in respect of which such compen- -sation is claimed are deposited with the Building Authority; and also by providing that where the claim to compensation is in res-
244
-pect of a matter with regard to which Powers of exemption or modi- -fication are vested in the Board or the Governor in Council the claim-
-ant shall await the decision of the Board or the Governor in Council
before proceeding with the works.
These amendments are necessary because it has occurred
in practice that a clain has been sent in several months after plans were deposited though there was no specific indication on the plan
that such a claim would be made, and subsequently, when it was found
to be expedient to exercise powers of exemption under the Ordinance,
it was too late to do so as the building was already in course of
erection.
Alunzt. Bakeley
Attorney General.