CO129-189 - Governor Hennessy - 1880 [7-9] — Page 451

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Such being the case, it is not at all wonderful to find cases of typhoid fever continually brought to hospital. I am bound to say these cases do not only come from brothels, and therefore do not fit the name of brothel fever given to them; for in many private houses of the poorer class that I have inspected the state of things is a hundred times worse than in the brothels; and if some remedy is not found for this state of things, sooner or later the fever that originates in the hovels of the poor will be found a formidable invader of the houses of the rich, and bring back to Hongkong, with good reason, its not enviable notoriety as a grave of Europeans. For it must be remembered that it is to these houses and to the Chinese brothels the servants go, and from them may bring the infection into the houses of their masters.

I have written out instructions, some of them applying to all the brothels, some to individual houses only, for the use of the Inspectors, and allowed a certain time for them to be acted upon; if not fully carried out in that time, the houses to be closed until the orders are obeyed. Some houses, about eight in number, I have ordered to be closed. But without continual and efficient superintendence and instruction as to what is required, the Inspectors cannot be of much use as regards sanitary arrangements, the impracticability of the blind leading the blind having been demonstrated by reliable authority.

Honourable J. G. AUSTIN,
Colonial Secretary.

I have the honour to be.

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The former duty was contemplated when Section XV of Ordinance No. 10 of 1867 was drafted, and the latter can now be enforced by a Departmental Order or by a Regulation by the Governor in Council, if such a course would not conflict with the powers of Section VII.

In my opinion it is not necessary for the Surveyor General to inspect or report upon the houses to be licensed,

21st January, 1874.

MINUTE BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR.

C. C. SMITH,
Registrar General.

This is a horrible revelation, and I feel under obligation to the Colonial Surgeon for the pains he has taken in bringing the subject to notice.

Measures must be adopted to remedy the evils pointed out. Send for the perusal of members and bring before next Executive Council.

Sir,
Your obedient servant,
PH. B. C. AYRES,
Colonial Surgeon,
22nd January, 1874.

A. E. KENNEDY,

MINUTE BY THE COLONIAL SECRETARY.

If without exaggeration, this report reflects seriously upon the Government in respect to the past, and throws much responsibility upon it as regards the future.

There is no object to which I would devote time and attention more willingly than the amelioration of those parts of the town which are inhabited by the Chinese, but to do anything effectually in the matter would occupy much preparation and much time, and involve very considerable outlay. We cannot therefore move in the matter on the spur of the moment. As regards the brothels, however, we can take immediate action, and I therefore suggest that the houses which are irremediably bad should be closed at once, and that the others should be left open only on condition that they shall be made satisfactory in all respects within a specified time.

I quite approve of the suggestion made by Dr. AYRES, that no brothel should hereafter be licensed without a certificate from a Medical Officer, but I think that the Surveyor General should also have some voice in the matter.

The Honourable the Registrar General will be good enough to give his opinion in the matter.

J. G. AUSTIN,
Colonial Secretary.

20th January, 1874.

MINUTE BY THE REGISTRAR GENERAL.

I am already in communication with the Colonial Surgeon on this matter, and have arranged to cancel or suspend the licences of those brothels which are not fit for occupation at all or in which the alterations required by Dr. AYRES are not effected within a reasonable time.

I entirely concur with him as to the obvious necessity of a Medical inspection of houses already licensed, which should be periodical, and of houses before they are licensed.

MINUTE BY THE GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING THE TROOPS.

In the first place I should cancel all licences to keep brothels. I cannot think these establishments more necessary here than in any of the other British Colonies. I have never known them to exist except at Hongkong and Singapore.

When sailors and others arrive at Hongkong, I know there are such places of resort; they immediately fly to them on landing, for a spree, when they get drunk and become riotous, and finish with a visit to the police office.

As to improving these houses in any way, it is impossible; they are so saturated with filth that they cannot be properly cleansed. The streets are so narrow and the houses so badly constructed and ventilated, that it would be impossible to make the present buildings healthy, or habitable except for Chinese.

I would therefore recommend that they are all knocked down and proper healthy houses built, after the streets have been levelled and widened; the longer they are allowed to remain in their present state the worse they will be.

I think that a certain number of comfortable, clean, well-ventilated houses might be built and let to the most respectable women of this class, and not rented by old women, who make a living by keeping girls for prostitution. The girls would then be induced to keep a clean, tidy place, or men would not care to visit them.

26th January, 1874.

H. W. WHITFEILD,
Major General.

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