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17. The conformation of the site with its rapid rise of land near the sea-shore led in the early days to the erection of houses on the narrow strip of land near the harbour and extending a little way up the lower slopes of the mountain, the houses being separated by narrow lanes and alleyways. When the population was small and the houses only one and two stories in height, the situation was not unsatisfactory. As the population increased, the houses were heightened to four and five stories, without any corresponding widening of the spaces separating them.
18. Year by year the population continued to increase, immigration being accelerated by unrest in China. Victoria was the centre of trade and therefore the centre of attraction. There was little room to build further accommodation, and the newcomers had to squeeze into the already overcrowded premises. Rooms were divided into cubicles, which to a certain extent provided privacy but which interfered both with lighting and ventilation.
19. In some houses there are tiers of bunks placed against the walls; in others, the rooms are divided into cubicles or cabins, each measuring perhaps eight feet by eight feet and having partitions 6 feet in height. These cabins are not the temporary abodes of persons on a voyage but the more or less permanent homes of the people. There is little or no room for kitchens, and latrine accommodation is often limited to pail closets on the roofs of the buildings.
20. Year by year, the Sanitary Department and the Building Authority have made efforts to improve the situation, and with a considerable amount of success, both as regards palliative and radical treatment. The task, almost Sisyphean in itself, was rendered more difficult by paucity of water and by opposition put forward both by property owners and the occupiers.
21. It goes without saying that the maintenance of a satisfactory standard of sanitation under such conditions is a most difficult problem, and one which cannot be solved without the willing co-operation of the people. One thing is certain: so long as buildings are overcrowded and insanitary, no amount of external sanitation will give immunity from disease.
22. Within the last few years, some 70 acres have been added to the eastern section of the town by reclamation from the sea. This locality, which is known as the Praya East Reclamation, has
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17. The conformation of the site with its rapid rise of land near the sea-shore led in the early days to the erection of houses on the narrow strip of land near the harbour and extending a little way up the lower slopes of the mountain the houses being separated by narrow lanes and alleyways. When the population was small and the houses only one and two stories in height, the situation was not unsatisfactory. As the population in- creased the houses were heightened to four and five stories. without any corresponding widening of the spaces separating them.
18. Year by year the population continued to increase, im- migration being accelerated by unrest in China. Victoria was the centre of trade and therefore the centre of attraction. There was little room to build further accommodation and the new- comers had to squeeze into the already overcrowded premises. Rooms were divided into cubicles which to a certain extent provided privacy but which interfered both with lighting and ventilation.
19. In some houses there are tiers of bunks placed against the walls, in others the rooms are divided into cubicles or cabins each measuring perhaps eight feet by eight feet and having par- titions 6 feet in height. There cabins are not the temporary abodes of persons on a voyage but the more or less permanent homes of the people. There is little or no room for kitchens, and latrine accommodation is often limited to pail closets on the roofs of the buildings.
20. Year by year the Sanitary Department and the Building Authority have made efforts to improve the situation and with a considerable amount of success both as regards palliative and radical treatment. The task almost sisyphean in itself was rendered more difficult by paucity of water and by opposition put forward both by property owners and the occupiers.
21. It goes without saying that the maintenance of a satis- factory standard of sanitation under such conditions is a most difficult problem and one which cannot be solved without the willing co-operation of the people. One thing is certain, so long as buildings are overcrowded and insanitary, no amount of external sanitation will give immunity from disease.
22. Within the last few years some 70 acres have been added to the eastern section of the town by reclamation from the sea. This locality which is known as the Praya East Reclamation has
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