1841-1886
HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL POSSESSIONS.
633
257
or privies in the European style, appear also to be confined mainly to the Europeans.
7
101. Instructions were given by the Secretary of State in 1867 to have the dry earth system of conservancy carried out in the gaol and the other Government establishments; the local medical authorities did not, however, approve of the system. Nine years after the instructions from Downing Street had been duly recorded, a Committee appointed by my predecessor called his attention to the vitiated state of the air and the stench in the Hong Kong gaol, and on further inquiry I ascertained that the dry earth system was not in use, that every morning nightsoil was emptied down a drain in the middle of the gaol yard.
102. As the gaol stands on the slope of a hill in the middle of the town, I was not surprised to learn that the residents in some of the streets between the gaol and the harbour had the same complaint to make as the Gaol Committee of 1876.
103. An inquiry ordered in July 1877 also exposed the fact that the majority of the European houses built on the drainage valley of the reservoir that supplied the town with drinking water, had no proper sanitary system, and that the upper sources of the water supply were constantly polluted.
104. No real difficulty was however experienced in getting the instructions of the Secretary of State enforced, and in 1878 a Medical Committee, consisting of the principal Naval Officer on the station and a leading civil practitioner, sent me a report in which they said "the sanitary arrangements of the gaol are good, "the dry earth system recently introduced works well."
105. Whatever the cause may be, the public health of the Colony has undoubtedly improved of late years. Whilst some of the provisions of Ordinance eight of 1856 may not have done much good, other parts of that Ordinance have been enforced with advantage to the public.
106. As an illustration of this, I may mention that an application came before me in January 1879, from a firm of European architects, suggesting that I should allow certain houses which were to be built for a Chinese bank and a goldsmith's shop to be constructed without kitchens or cooking places. As I usually do in such matters, I desired to see the opinions of the leading Chinese on the question before I finally decided it; and I venture to draw your Lordship's attention to the sensible views these gentlemen expressed. The Acting Chinese Secretary's report, dated 1st February 1879, is as follows:-
"I consulted the leading merchants of the Nampakhong Guild on the subject. They are of opinion that in Section VIII. of Ordinance eight of 1856 we have a very good and useful rule, viz., that in all buildings which are used or liable to be used, either partly or entirely, as dwelling-houses, there should be safe cooking places. With reference to the arguments adduced in Messrs. Wilson and Salway's letter, they are of opinion that, although the owner of the premises may wish his tenants or employés to obtain their food from cookshops, there is no
1841-1886
HER MAJESTY S COLONIAL' POSSESSIONS.
r
633
257
or privies in the European style, appear also to be confined mainly to the Europeans.
7
101. Instructions were given by the Secretary of State in 1867 to have the dry earth system of conservancy carried out in the gaol and the other Government establishments; the local medical authorities did not, however, approve of the
system. Nine years after the instructions from Downing Street had been duly recorded, a Committee appointed by my predecessor called his attention to the vitiated state of the air and the stench in the Hong Kong gaol, and on further inquiry I ascertained that the dry earth system was not in use, that every morning nightsoil was emptied down a drain in the middle of the gaol yard.
102. As the gaol stands on the slope of a hill in the middle of the town, I was not surprised to learn that the residents in some of the streets between the gaol and the harbour had the same complaint to make as the Gaol Committee of 1876.
י
103. An inquiry ordered in July 1877 also exposed the fact that the majority of the European houses built on the drainage valley of the reservoir that supplied the town with drinking water, had no proper sanitary system, and that the upper sources of the water supply were constantly polluted.
104. No real difficulty was however experienced in getting the instructions of the Secretary of State enforced, and in 1878 a Medical Committee, consisting of the principal Naval Officer on the station and a leading civil practitioner, sent me a report in which they said "the sanitary arrangements of the gaol are good, "the dry earth system recently introduced works well."
105. Whatever the cause may be, the public health of the Colony has undoubtedly improved of late years. Whilst some of the provisions of Ordinance eight of 1856 may not have done much good, other parts of that Ordinance have been enforced with advantage to the public.
106. As an illustration of this, I may mention that an application came before me in January 1879, from a firm of European architects, suggesting that I should allow certain houses which were to be built for a Chinese bank and a goldsmith's shop to be constructed without kitchens or cooking places. As I usually do in such matters, I desired to see the opinions of the leading Chinese on the question before I finally decided it; and I venture to draw your Lordship's attention to the sensible views these gentlemen expressed. The Acting Chinese Secretary's report, dated 1st February 1879, is as follows:-
"I consulted the leading merchants of the Nampakhong Guild on the subject. They are of opinion that in Section VIII. of Ordinance eight of 1856 we have a very good and useful rule, viz., that in all buildings which are used or liable to be used, either partly or entirely, as dwelling-houses, there should be safe cooking places. With reference to the arguments adduced in Messrs. Wilson and Salway's letter, they are of opinion that, although the owner of the premises may wish his tenants or employés to obtain their food from cookshops, there is no
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