1962

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a matter so wrapped up with the public health of the community as to give constant concern to us who are charged with the duty of ensuring and safe-guarding the public health.

The Council's responsibility for the maintenance of public health in the Colony involves a tremendous amount of work which is often beset with difficulties and problems caused by the abnormally large population in the post-war years. The very fact that there has been no serious outbreak of any epidemic reflects creditably the efforts of the Urban Council and Urban Services Department staff in the performance of their duties, and the public must have been favourably impressed by the prompt and effective measures taken by the Council, working in close co-operation with the Medical Department, in suppressing the spread of cholera in the Colony last year. It is gratifying to note from the Statement of Progress and Policy that the Council made overall satisfactory progress in the past year, having regard to existing conditions in the Colony which have so often thwarted the Council's plans to improve standards of public health and hygiene in the Colony. In this particular field, I am particularly interested to note that the Council introduced, towards the end of last year, a new system for the control of licensed premises. Instead of regular inspections by District Inspectors during the day, alternate inspections are made before and after 5 p.m. to see that the premises are maintained in a hygienic condition during busy business hours in the evening, and surprise inspections are also made by Health Officers, Senior Health Inspectors and other Senior Officers to ensure that such conditions are being properly maintained. It is good to know that the system has worked well and resulted in considerable improvement in the hygienic condition of licensed premises.

However, I wish to mention that quite a large number of premises on which food is sold in the Colony are being operated under conditions which are far from satisfactory. In small restaurants and eating houses there is over-crowding resulting from inadequate seating accommodation. Kitchens are too small and consequently there is not enough space for the proper and hygienic preparation of the food. And, in this connexion, one must mention the inadequate and even dirty equipment used for cooking the food and the most unsatisfactory arrangements made for the disposal of the waste products. In the result, the sanitary and hygienic condition of the premises is seriously affected. The greatest offenders in this respect are some old restaurants which were licensed years ago when plans of the premises were approved under the old by-laws of the Urban Council, and steps should be taken to remedy this. It would seem that as long as these premises remain under existing licensees, the Council is unable to order them to carry out any structural alterations to their premises so as to comply with the new requirement under the Fourth Schedule of the Food Business By-laws, 1960, for the apportionment of space for seating accommodation, kitchen, food preparation room and scullery, and so the Council cannot achieve sufficient improvement on the premises to attain that high standard of hygiene that is required by the Urban Council's policy.

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A chance to remedy the situation will arise when the Council can enforce compliance with the new requirements after an existing licence is cancelled and in the event of a fresh licence being applied for in respect of the same premises. Licensees of old restaurants are well aware of the position and will take precautions to avoid any action being taken against them for offences which may lead to the cancellation of their licences—thus depriving them of their livelihood. If my information is correct, some have even stooped to the practice of offering bribes to Urban Services Department officers. It is to be regretted that evidence of corruption is difficult to obtain, for the parties concerned act with the utmost secrecy, well knowing that a person offering a bribe or accepting a bribe is equally guilty of committing a criminal offence.

I have mentioned that the new system recently adopted by the Urban Council for the control of licensed premises has had successful results, and I would suggest for the Council's consideration that in the operation of the system, there should also be included an arrangement whereby a District Health Inspector should be subjected to frequent transfers and not allowed to stay too long in the same district so as to establish roots. In this way his roots will be nipped.

I now wish to consider the position with respect to unlicensed food premises. From a public health point of view the existence of these premises is most undesirable, and food prepared on these premises constitutes a potential source of danger, particularly during periods when the Colony is under the threat of cholera. These unlicensed premises exist not only in outlying districts, but also in urban areas of the Colony. The Urban Council has tried to eliminate these food premises through the imposition of closure orders, but this procedure has not met with satisfactory results. According to figures available for the past six months, up to the middle of March 1962, 83 closure orders were issued by Courts, and of these 40 were complied with. As a result of the failure to comply with the orders, there were in the remaining cases prosecutions before magistrates terminating in convictions and the imposition of fines. In a number of cases the fines imposed on the offenders were very small and, regrettably, did not serve to discourage and deter these offenders from perpetrating the same offence again.

I am fully aware that this is a very delicate subject and one should be most cautious in discussing it, lest it might seem that I am presuming to encroach upon a province which I realize is exclusively the magistrate's. I appreciate to the full that the question of punishment is entirely and solely within the discretion of the convicting magistrate. Nevertheless, I would suggest, with great respect and

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