HONGKONG, 19TH MARCH
Received 25th March, 1870.
POSTMASTER GENERAL,
(F. W. MITCHELL, Esq.,)
TO
COLONIAL SECRETARY, (Honorable J. GARDINER AUSTIN,)
Annual Report of the Hongkong General Post Office, for 1809.
?
C Low
No. 63.
Joles 7247
GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.
350
The following Report of the Colonial Surgeon, with Returns annexed for the Year 1869, is published for general information.
ness,
That
By Command,
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 12th May, 1870.
J. GARDINER AUSTIN, Colonial Secretary.
VICTORIA, HONGKONG, 18th April, 1870. My Eleventh Annual Report, on the sanitary condition of Hongkong, has reference to the year 1869. The impression left on my own mind, and on that of other practitioners, is, that last season vas-remarkable, beyond previous years, for unusual heat, and for great inmunity from serious sick- The following tables do not confirm either of those views; for it will be seen that the mortality amongst the Foreign Residents has exceeded that of the previous two years. Too much weight how- Sever must not be attached to this, as the sources from which the data for constructing the table of mortality are derived, are somewhat unreliable; and the present discrepancy between the general im- pression, and the statistical returns, only serves to point out the necessity which exists for having all deaths properly registered,-a subject to which I have on several previous occasions adverted. In regard to the temperature also, I believe that although the thermometer never attained (according to the tables,) the spe altitude as it did in previous years, it remained for a longer period than usual, at a point sufficiently elevated to be oppressive to most Europeans. But, taking the case is made out by the tables even, the trencased mortality is triffing in comparison to what it was in former years,
and the climate of Hongkong may be said to be now eminently salubrious for the tropics.
The many sanitary improvements undertaken within the last few years, have doubtless contributed greatly to this satisfactory result, and perhaps none more so, than the planting of trees, which has cen carried out with great vigor. I believe that much good will follow the extension of this system, and that wherever a tree can find root, it should be put in; and that so long as all undergrowth is removed, there cannot be too many trees. Fortunately, a branch cut off front a tree, and stuck into the ground, is all that is required to produce a new plant, and, where not exposed too much to the ufluence of the strong wind, it flourishes in an astonishing manner. On the margin of the sea, per- haps, this result is less satisfactory, owing to the spray, and it has been suggested that the cocoa-unt ahu might thrive there, and he remunerative as well. The preservation of small birds from wanton destruction, will also, prove to be a useful sanitary measure, as their increase must tend to diminish the number of mosquitoes and other troublesome and irritating insects.
The use of carbolic acid, which has been freely employed from time to time, in cleansing the drains, has been of great benefit, although periodical flushing can alone effectually keep them free from emitting unpleasant and unhealthy gases. On some parts of the sea-board, as on the foreshore at Wanchai, no amount of carbolic acid which could be employed, appeared to produce the slightest beneficial effect, and I believe that nothing short of carrying out the Praya into deep water, and running the drains beyond this, will prove sufficient to remedy this nuisance.
During the month of March, three vessels came into Port from Yokohama laving Typhus Fever n board. It was thought advisable to remove the infected men to Stone-cutter's Island, and place the ships in quarantine for a short time. Whether the occurrence of this fever on ship-board is in any way connected will the tidal mud ballast nsed, is a point to which the Health Officer's attention has been directed, and an answer to which may be expected at the end of the present season.
A case, which came before the Coroner in April, attracted the notice of the Government to an Institution known as the "I-tsz." Land had been originally granted for the purpose of erecting a tem- porary resting-place for coffined bodies previous to their removal to their native districts, in conformity with Chinese custom. It was found that persous dangerously ill, and likely to die, were sent there to take their chance, wholly unprovided with the common necessaries of life. It is not easy to explain the inhumanity practised, except on the supposition that the cost and trouble generally attendant on purifying houses in which death has occurred, acted on the natural cupidity of the people. As soon as the condition of matters was recognized, it was at once put a stop to, and rooms were erected for the temporary reception of Chinese patients, to be treated by native practitioners. These rooms are regularly inspected by the Registrar General, Coroner and myself, and will suffice until the Chinese Hospital can be built, to which, besides a large grant from the Government, the wealthy Chinese have liberally subscribed. The death rate is still very great however; for, out of 211 admissions since the 19th of June to the 31st December, 89 died, and 19 remained in the establishment.
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