AnnualReport-1879 — Page 131

of first, second and third floors. I visited many houses in which over a hundred pigs were kept; every bed in these houses had from five to seven large pigs in a sty constructed underneath it, and either from the connivance or ignorance of a late Inspector of Markets, whose duty it was to see that the pigs were kept in proper places, many of the people had Government Licences so to keep their pigs. Imagine houses whose upper floors are con- structed of thin boards, with wide interstices between them, and whose lower floors are mud, and the state they would be in under these circumstances, with pigs' urine, &c. dropping through from floor to floor! It is needless to observe that the minute this state of things was brought to the notice of Government, it was at once put a stop to, and that now all pigs found in houses are confiscated, and, on repetition of the offence, the owner is fined as well.

The late inspections were still more thoroughly done, and nearly every street, lane and gully in the lower quarter of the town were visited, and notes of the condition of the houses, draius, &c. were taken carefully, with the following results :—-

Into

There are three different styles of construction of houses in the lower quarters of the town. First, houses which are constructed in blocks, back to back, with no ventilation. except from the front. Secondly, houses with narrow gullies from 1 foot to 6 feet wide at the back, down which a filthy open drain runs, or a very dilapidated closed one. these drains the downspouts of the different floors of the houses on each side of the gully empty themselves. Thirdly, houses with lanes at the back, for the convenience of the inhabitants of the cellar floors, the back of these floors being formed of the ground of the street above, owing to the hilly nature of the ground on which the house is built.

Otherwise, the construction of these houses is the same throughout the town. Each floor consists of a large main room and a small kitchen; generally the kitchen is at the back, but in cases where the back of the floor is against the hill-side, the kitchen is in the front, and whatever ventilation there is, the air has to come through the kitchen before it reaches the inhabitants in the main room.

The average size of the main rooms is 26 feet by 14 feet by 10 feet high, containing eight partitions, averaging 7 feet by 6 feet by 7 feet high, over which a sort of loft is often built to increase the accommodation, and in a room of this description, from 16 to 25 people live. It is extremely rare to find that walls or ceiling (which is composed of the bare rafters and boards of the floor above, or of the roof) have ever been whitewashed; if they have, it was only when the house was first built; the walls are generally bare bricks. The ground floor is, in nine cases out of ten, composed of mud; in the other case, it is composed of tiles or stone flags, and is generally very damp. The upper floors are com- posed of rough quarter-inch planks, with wide interstices between them. In no case, from the time the house had been built, had the floors ever been washed, their construction, as a rule, rendering it impossible. The first-floor tenants cannot wash their floors, because they are mud; the upper floor tenants cannot wash theirs, because they would, if they attempted it, half drown the inhabitants of the floors beneath them.

In each partition of the main room, a family, or several members of a family, sleep. The men go to the public privies; the women and children use covered pots, which are kept in the partitions under the beds; the night-soil is removed, on an average, every third day; it varies in some cases from two to five days.

Women of the lowest class rarely wash themselves; men, only the exposed parts of their persons. I have seen many women who have candidly confessed that they have not even wiped themselves down with a damp cloth (which is the Chinese mode of washing) for years, and I saw no reason to doubt their words. If any washing is done, either of bodies or clothes, it is generally done in the kitchen. Clothes-washing varies from once or twice a month to once in several months, or not at all, and a cotton suit will last, I am told, from five to six years, and more; if they were washed often they would not last so long. Many articles of clothing are never washed at all, on any account; those that are quilted, for instance. Bedding is composed of quilted cotton, or a stuff resembling soft felt, covered by a light net to prevent it from tearing, and in no case is ever washed; sheets are never used. I never saw any entirely new bedding; the newest I saw was three years in possession of the owner, and he had bought it second-hand. I have seen bedding twenty years old, and that was bought second-hand. It is taken out and aired occasionally, and a few of the vermin picked out, if they are found to be too numerous.

The average quantity of water used daily by each individual is about two quarts, and this is considered sufficient, as a rule, for cooking, drinking and washing purposes. Often it has to be brouglat from a considerable distance, and this is troublesome and expensive, so they do with as little as possible.

Kitchens' average size is 13 feet by 6 feet by 10 feet high, with stone or tile floors, always very wet and dirty. It is rare to find a chimney; there is generally a square opening in each of the floors above, forming a sort of shaft, without walls to it, and the smoke gets up through these if it can, or escapes by a small window; that is to say, part of it; the

Vide Ordinance No. 9 of 1867,

§ XIV.

of first, second and third floors. I visited many houses in which over a hundred pigs were kept; every bed in these houses had from five to seven large pigs in a sty constructed underneath it, and either from the connivance or ignorance of a late Inspector of Markets, whose duty it was to see that the pigs were kept in proper places, many of the people had Government Licences so to keep their pigs. Imagine houses whose upper floors are con- structed of thin boards, with wide interstices between them, and whose lower floors are mud, and the state they would be in under these circumstances, with pigs' urine, &c. dropping through from floor to floor! It is needless to observe that the minute this state of things was brought to the notice of Government, it was at once put a stop to, and that now all pigs found in houses are confiscated, and, on repetition of the offence, the owner is fined as well.

The late inspections were still more thoroughly done, and nearly every street, lane and gully in the lower quarter of the town were visited, and notes of the condition of the houses, draius, &c. were taken carefully, with the following results :—-

Into

There are three different styles of construction of houses in the lower quarters of the town. First, houses which are constructed in blocks, back to back, with no ventilation. except from the front. Secondly, houses with narrow gullies from 1 foot to 6 feet wide at the back, down which a filthy open drain runs, or a very dilapidated closed one. these drains the downspouts of the different floors of the houses on each side of the gully empty themselves. Thirdly, houses with lanes at the back, for the convenience of the inhabitants of the cellar floors, the back of these floors being formed of the ground of the street above, owing to the hilly nature of the ground on which the house is built.

Otherwise, the construction of these houses is the same throughout the town. Each floor consists of a large main room and a small kitchen; generally the kitchen is at the back, but in cases where the back of the floor is against the hill-side, the kitchen is in the front, and whatever ventilation there is, the air has to come through the kitchen before it reaches the inhabitants in the main room.

The average size of the main rooms is 26 feet by 14 feet by 10 feet high, containing eight partitions, averaging 7 feet by 6 feet by 7 feet high, over which a sort of loft is often built to increase the accommodation, and in a room of this description, from 16 to 25 people live. It is extremely rare to find that walls or ceiling (which is composed of the bare rafters and boards of the floor above, or of the roof) have ever been whitewashed; if they have, it was only when the house was first built; the walls are generally bare bricks. The ground floor is, in nine cases out of ten, composed of mud; in the other case, it is composed of tiles or stone flags, and is generally very damp. The upper floors are com- posed of rough quarter-inch planks, with wide interstices between them. In no case, from the time the house had been built, had the floors ever been washed, their construction, as a rule, rendering it impossible. The first-floor tenants cannot wash their floors, because they are mud; the upper floor tenants cannot wash theirs, because they would, if they attempted it, half drown the inhabitants of the floors beneath them.

In each partition of the main room, a family, or several members of a family, sleep. The men go to the public privies; the women and children use covered pots, which are kept in the partitions under the beds; the night-soil is removed, on an average, every third day; it varies in some cases from two to five days.

Women of the lowest class rarely wash themselves; men, only the exposed parts of their persons. I have seen many women who have candidly confessed that they have not even wiped themselves down with a damp cloth (which is the Chinese mode of washing) for years, and I saw no reason to doubt their words. If any washing is done, either of bodies or clothes, it is generally done in the kitchen. Clothes-washing varies from once or twice a month to once in several months, or not at all, and a cotton suit will last, I am told, from five to six years, and more; if they were washed often they would not last so long. Many articles of clothing are never washed at all, on any account; those that are quilted, for instance. Bedding is composed of quilted cotton, or a stuff resembling soft felt, covered by a light net to prevent it from tearing, and in no case is ever washed; sheets are never used. I never saw any entirely new bedding; the newest I saw was three years in possession of the owner, and he had bought it second-hand. I have seen bedding twenty years old, and that was bought second-hand. It is taken out and aired occasionally, and a few of the vermin picked out, if they are found to be too numerous.

The average quantity of water used daily by each individual is about two quarts, and this is considered sufficient, as a rule, for cooking, drinking and washing purposes. Often it has to be brouglat from a considerable distance, and this is troublesome and expensive, so they do with as little as possible.

Kitchens' average size is 13 feet by 6 feet by 10 feet high, with stone or tile floors, always very wet and dirty. It is rare to find a chimney; there is generally a square opening in each of the floors above, forming a sort of shaft, without walls to it, and the smoke gets up through these if it can, or escapes by a small window; that is to say, part of it; the

Vide Ordinance No. 9 of 1867,

§ XIV.