CO882-(3-4) — Page 495

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference:→

C.O. 882

4 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

Dry earth best suited for

public latrines.

Dry-earth system not

a Chitiene

custom

Night-soil is applied in liquified con dition. Animal manure

in dried.

Dry-earth

manure of so little value as

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automatically at each time of use. The expense of these is considerable, 57. to 57. 10s. per seat (apparatus only). Or they must be visited daily or oftener, by a public employée who throws on the earth. Neither of these conditions can be fulfilled in the houses as at present constructed. Then, the objection to the use of common latrines by Chinese women must be remembered. Nor does it seem desirable to permit accumulation of excreta in or about tropical dwellings, even when deodorized (not necessarily disinfected) by earth.*

244. No town of any size has been able to introduce the dry-earth system completely. It seems most applicable to public latrines where a person can be constantly employed to apply the earth.

245. I have not been able to find out that the application of dry earth to the deodo- rization of excreta is in any way a Chinese practice, and the assertion that it is a time- honoured Chinese custom appears to be based on an entire misconception.

In Canton, sand, not garden mould, is sprinkled under the seats of the latrines, to facilitate the gathering up of the faces, but the smallest possible quantity of sand is used, so as to avoid contaminating valuable manure with inert matter. Outside farmhouses are latrines, in which wood ashes are kept, and on them the excreta are allowed to fall for the same purpose. The idea of disinfection or deodorization is quite foreign to the Chinese mind.

246. I further learn that human manure is usually applied in a fluid state, diluted with water. Dr. Kerr, of Canton, made some inquiries for me, and learned that it is not dried and used as poudrette." Animal manure appears to be so treated.

247. It has been shown that the manurial value is a most potent agent for ensuring the removal of excreta. If it be diluted with several times its weight of inert earth, it will no longer be worth transporting to Canton. Not only will the value of the manure not to be worth be lost, but great expense will be incurred to secure its proper disposal. The absence

of suitable land renders this difficulty almost insurmountable.

Transporting.

Methods of hand-removal cannot be carried out completely.

Water-carriage system pre- ferable to all other.

248. The more I consider the various methods of hand-emoval, the greater difficulty do find in devising means for carrying them out practically and completely, so as to realise the advantages which their respective advocates claim for them. It has been shown that good drains are a necessity in any case for the removal of slopwater, which forms about four-fifths of the total sewage, and it seems, therefore, obvious that the simple, cleanly, and efficient water-carriage system is vastly preferable to all others, Use of Euro provided that conditions proper for its introduction exist, namely, a supply of water, good house drains and sewers, and a proper outfall. Moreover, all these things are equally necessary whatever be the method of removal adopted for excreta. It must be clearly understood, however, that in advocating the system of water-carriage, I do not advocate the use of the ordinary watercloset (mahogany seat and brass handle). Arrangements suitable for local requirement may be devised.

pean water-

closets not necessary.

facal matter

into present

drains im-

Introduction of 249. Considerable time must elapse before all is ready for the abolition of the hand- removal system, for it would be madness to encourage the introduction of excreta into the present house drains. Some improvement of the present systein must be devised. seems probable, also, that on account of the manurial value of night-soil, it may always to some extent be collected by hand.†

possible.

Hand-removal

must continue Dry-earth system being inapplicable, house-bucket

or pail system

must be re- sorted to.

absence of

It

250. On the whole, it appears that the dry-earth is unsuitable for general application, and therefore the house-bucket system must be resorted to, its existing defects being remedied as far as possible.

251. At first sight it appeared that it would be possible to devise a system whereby the pots could be removed, covered and undisturbed as to their contents, to some depôt Difculty caused by the where they could be emptied, washed, and stored, clean vessels having been left in the twines, and by place of those removed. It was found that the vast number of vessels to be moved certain customs would be an almost insuperable obstacle to this plan. There are often six or more in of the Chinese. one house, say about 30,000, to be handled daily. Again, with reference to a suggestion to limit the number of vessels in use to one per house, on consultation with the Chinese

Objection

to entry of Government employées.

it appeared that they would have the strongest possible objection to use such vessels common with others. In fact, to do so would be a violation of their domestic customs. Further, they object to the house-to-house collection being made by Government employées, for, as they say, not being paid by the occupant of the house, they would be

In the climate of India the latrine contents under the dry-earth system abound in

• Vibriones,' a test of the presence of dizesse putrefaction "-Army Sanitary Commission, page 5.

In the case of public institutions, especially hospitals, no pains or expense should be spared, to introduce water-carriage, thoroughly and completely, as soon as possible. For hospitals, the immediate removals, which can alone be effected by the water-carriage system, is of the highest importance.

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practically independent of him, and he would therefore have no easy means of punishing insolence or neglect, an importart consideration, considering that these persons have to This is another instance of the penetrate into the most intimate parts of the house. inconvenience of having no latrines, and no separate means of access to the back parts of the house. After due consideration of the suggestions and objections of the Chinese, which they have expressed from time to time, I venture to believe that the following plan would effect an improvement.

Monopoly of

252. The value of the manure obtained is the most potent agency to secure its Manurial value. complete collection. Though the contractor has no legal contract or monopoly (see contractor. paragraph 94), yet it seems probable that he and his associates have a practica! monopoly. He knows and probably fees the coolies who collect. If one does not turn up at the proper hour, he or the foreman make a disturbance.

night soil col-

253. The night-soil from house-to-house collection is now given to the contractor, as The work of payment of the work of street sweeping and general scavenging. There is therefore no lection should means of ascertaining the value of the manure or the cost of the work done. I would be separated suggest that these two functions should for the future be dissociated and each tendered from street for separately, especially as the scavenging also requires improvement.

weeping, to

ascertain true value and cost.

town into

tender for re-

254. To promote competition and encourage careful control, I propose that the town Division of should be divided into districts. The monopoly and property of all night-soil in each districts. district should be allotted periodically to a contractor. These contractors being relieved Competitive of the expense of scavenging, it is to be anticipated that a handsome sum would be jointly the paid by them for their monopoly, which would go far towards the cost of improved district. sweeping and scavenging.

255. The night-soil of any given district would be the sole and entire property of the night-soil of contractor. The night-soil coolies would be bound to bring all they collect to his boats. each district He would also have the product of the public latrines which I propose should be acquired monopoly of by Government. The collecting coolie would still be paid, or part paid, by the contractor for inhabitants, so that they would retain some control over them.

The whole

to be the

that district. Collectors still paid by occu- pants of houseS.

provide boats.

256. The night-soil contractors must provide boats of approved construction at proper Contractors to places and times. I would recommend that at first the Government should themselves Government make proper barges for this purpose, and also for rubbish and sweepings, for the common should provide cargo boats now employed leave much to desire.

suitable boata in the first instance.

steam-tug

257. I would also recommend the Government to provide the use of a steam-launch to Use of a tow these barges to and from their stations to the depôt or rendezvous at Lap-sap-wan. recommended. This would prevent much delay, especially during strong northerly winds, and there would be no reason for these barges to be hanging about among the shipping with their unsavoury cargoes. Lastly, the use of a steam-tug would allow the place of rendezvous with the receiving junks to be removed to some more distant spot.

cleanselatrine

nuisance from

258. The duty of cleansing the public latrines and those of the public buildings would District con- rest with the contractor for the district in which they are situated. He would also, for tractor to his own interest, know and control the working of the night-soil collectors, and would see He would that they did not make away with his property and also that they collected it daily, and supervise o

leoting coolier. thus improvement may be hoped for in the first two points of defect.

259. The third question, that of washing the house pots, remains to be considered. It Removal of is an evil inherent to hand-collection for which it is not easy to find a remedy. If the washing pots: police insist that the pots be no longer washed in the streets, then they will be washed dimoulty of in the cookhouse, and the washings, and probably more also, will be thrown down the depot for this. drain. Moreover, the nuisance will merely be removed from the deserted street to the densely packed house, where it will be more objectionable than ever.

Want of space prevents the construction of depôts where the washing could be carried on. public latrines were considerably increased in number, it might be possible to arrange for the performance of this operation in them.

If the

providing

260. The most complete alleviation of this evil will be that caused by an increased Improved water

supply best water supply, whereby the washings will be highly diluted, and by improved house solution of drains and sewers, whereby they will instantly be removed. In paragraphs 101 and 102 this difficulty. it is shown that night-soil has no direct value to the inhabitants. The creation of a complete monopoly involves no injustice.

desirable.

261. The public latrine is a thoroughly Chinese institution, and the majority of men Public latrines use them. In Canton they are very numerous, and though no charge is made, they are most valuable property. In Hong Kong, the payment of a cash, small though the amount appears, undoubtedly occasions the commission of many nuisances. In Victoria

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