CO882-(3-4) — Page 489

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

سلسا

Reference :+

C.O. 882

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

Concinsion. Drainage in all cases

necessary.

Removal of subsoil water.

Conclusion,

The defects

of existing bouses. :

Unoernpied lets.

Buggestion us

against the dry-earth system; it only shows that the dry-earth system does not reach It has reduced or abolished nuisance, that "the real disease causes at the stations.

"It may by so doing have removed certain predisposing causes, but it has left the more important as they were.

C

E is all.

"It follows that whether dry-earth or water latrines are to be introduced, thorough drainage of stations, camps, and their subsoils is absolutely necessary for health, and "that the cost of drainage must be the same whichever system be adopted."

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143. I will not follow the Sanitary Commissioners through their comparison of the relative cost of water-carriage and dry-earth conservancy, for it is hardly applicable to Hong Kong. I do not propose the immediate and complete introduction of water- carriage, but I wish, however, to show clearly what the dry-earth system effects, namely, that whilst it effectually abates the excrement nuisance, it solves only one part of the Το problem of sanitation, and by no means does away with the necessity for drainage. remove slopwater, well-constructed drains are as necessary as to convey excreta, and the effects of stagnation deposit and leakage into the subsoil are nearly, if not quite, as pernicious as if they conveyed excreta. If properly made to introduce water-carriage the addition of certain appliances is required, only not alteration or re-construction.

144. The employment of sewers to remove subsoil water involves certain risks. It Hence the means must be remembered that where water can enter it can also escape. provided for the entry of water into the sewers from the ground may, under certain circumstances, also serve as exits for sewage, and therefore the sewers may pollute rather than drain the subsoil.

145. The local applications of these principles will be considered in detail when treating of house construction, drainage, and scavenging.

PART II.

SECTION 2.

HOUSE CONSTruction and Drainage.

146. A moment's consideration of the examples of Chinese dwellings which I have given -examples not selected for badness but fairly representative-will show that over- crowding exists to a very serious extent, both as to the number of inhabitants within a given cubic space, and as to the provision of proper proportion of open space for light and ventilation, and for giving free access to the building. Other sanitary defects also are equally apparent. The type of house in Hong Kong is quite different to that in use on the neighbouring mainland, and I am certain that the lower-class population is more densely packed together in Hong Kong, and worse provided with appliances for cleanliness, than they are in Canton. In Hong Kong the average number of inhabitants per house is 16, whilst in Canton it does not exceed 9 or 10. In Canton, over the whole city, there is not, on an average, a complete upper storey. Second and third storeys are there unknown, whilst they may be said to be the rule in Hong Kong. In China also there is in the middle of each house a square space open to the sky (Tien-Tsing, Heavenly well "), with a sunken floor, which serves for ventilation and many other purposes. In some cases this court is covered in, but I have generally observed that there is abundant provision for ventilation, on the north side of the house especially. In short, the demand for house-room in Hong Kong vastly exceeds the supply. Every available space is at once filled and the overwhelining population overflows the dwelling into the street. The cook cannot find room or light in the cookhouse to chop wood, so be comes out into the street to do so, much to the detriment of the side channel. Washing and other domestic operations are conducted on the sidewalk, which, but for the vigilance of the police would very soon be occupied by artizans and small dealers. Indeed in many cases the sidewalks are already occupied by huxters stalls.

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147. With all this overcrowding, and consequent dirt and discomfort, it is strange to find that, on the east of the town particularly, there are several large lots upbuilt on, and it is surprising to learn that time has elapsed during which the lessees were bound to build on them according to their leases, and yet the penalty of forfeiture provided by law has not been enforced. It would be unreasonable to demand in Hong Kong, as much house and open space per inhabitant, as would be thought desirable in cities built on more favourable ground. Building sites are only obtained at great expense, by excavating and embanking. Still I think it reasonable that some limit should be set to overcrowding.

148. As to the arrangement of the buildings on the ground. The construction of of building buildings on sites, partly excavated in the side of a hill, is most objectionable, for the

fonte

basement or lower storey is rendered damp, by the percolation of water from the hill above, Underground and the production of malaria is the consequence. It is well known that buildings on such sites are exceedingly unhealthy, unless the most efficient means be adopted In Victoria, not effectively to cut off the subsoil moisture from the floor of the house.

only are these precautions neglected, but the condition is aggravated by the use of the retaining wall of the ground above, as the back wall of the house, no space whatsoever being left. (See Figs. 9, 10, Sheet II., 17, Sheet III., 22, Sheet IV., 25, Sheet V., 29, Sheet VII., and paragraph 31.) The construction of buildings without a proper space between their rear wall and the ground behind should be absolutely prohibited."

to bonses

sanitation.

149. The absence of any lane or alley giving access to the backs of the houses, a The want of defect but too common in Victoria, is a great impediment to improvement in sanitation. back entrance It is a principle, almost universally admitted, that drains should not pass under the impedes proper houses, but where there are no back alleys this is impossible. The want of a backway to the house is an almost insuperable obstacle to the introduction of the dry-earth, or any other improved system of conservancy. For the effective application of such systems, the work of cleansing and removal must be done by persons employed and directed by some public authority. If left to private persons, neither regularity nor thoroughness can be ensured. In the absence of a back entrance, the Government employées must traverse the whole dwelling, an arrangement to which the Chinese not unnaturally object, for reasons that will be stated under the head of scavenging.

where they are

space may be

150. In framing regulations as to open spaces, continuous back alleys should be Continuous back alleys insisted on wherever practicable, and in case of existing buildings, every effort should should be in-

The Chinese like to sisted on ; be made to introduce means of access to the back parts of them. retain such alleys as private property, and to close them with gates at night. There provided the will be no objection to this, especially if, following the general tenour of their. own amount of open customs, the neighbours appoint some person to be responsible for order and cleanliness diminished. in the common alley. The obstruction of the alley by partitions of any sort should be absolutely prohibited in new houses. Further, to encourage the construction of alleys, a smaller proportion of space might be permitted, when in the form of a continuous lane communicating with the public street, than when it takes the form of an enclosed

court.

amount of

151. The following are the amounts of open space prescribed by authorities in English pre- England. The Metropolitan Buildings Act (18 and 19 Vict. c. 122, sect. 29), specifies cedente to that: Every building used or intended to be used as a dwelling-house, unless all the

open space.

Building Act. rooms can be lighted and ventilated from a street or alley adjoining, shall have in the Metropolitan rear or on the side thereof, an open space exclusively belonging thereto, of the extent at least of one hundred square feet.'

"

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Government

152. The Model Byelaws issued by the Local Government Board for the use of sanitary Model bye- authorities are more precise, and more exacting, in their demands. Local sanitary laws of Local authorities frame their own regulations, subject always to the approval and sanction of Board. the Local Government Board. The Model Byelaws are promulgated by that body for the guidance of sanitary authorities, and set forth the minimum provisions which will, under ordinary circumstances, be sanctioned. The Model Byelaws for a great number of municipal purposes have been prepared, and I would strongly recommend that the I am well aware that Colonial Government should be supplied with a complete set.

they are not by any means literally applicable to Colonial requirements, but they cannot fail to afford many valuable suggestions.

scribed in

of house.

153. In Part IV., New Streets and Buildings, pp. 29-32, with regard to the Space pre- sufficiency of space about buildings to secure a free circulation of air, paragraph 53 model byelaws. provides that in front of the house, along its whole frontage, there shall be an open space, Space lu front free from walls or other obstructions more than 7 feet high, not less than 24 feet wide. In other words, from the front of the house to the boundary of the property on the opposite side of the road there must be a clear space of not less than 24 feet.

154. Paragraph 54, with regard to the space in rear of dwellings, I quote literally

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CE

Model byniawa.

open spans

Every person who shall erect a new domestic building shall provide in rear of such Provising of building an open space inclusively belonging to such building, and of an aggregate in rear of "extent of not less than one hundred and fifty square feet, and free from any erection buildings. "thereon above the level of the ground, except a watercloset, earth-closet, or privy, and

an ashpit.

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"He shall cause such open space to extend literally throughout the entire width of “such building, and he shall cause the distance across such open space from each part of "such building to the boundary of any lands or premises immediately opposite or

adjoining the site of such buildings, to be not less iù any case than ten feet.

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