CO129-237 - Governor Des Voeus Acting Governor Stewart - 1888 [1-6] — Page 26

Section 53. For the difficulty in complying with this section, please refer to the remarks under section 17 above. The inspection of drains, however, is not a matter of frequent occurrence, and therefore the inspection will not disturb the people too often. But it would be more convenient, if a notice were served on the landlord five or six days previous to the inspection, so that he might be present when the inspecting officer came.

Sections 67 and 68.-The objection to these sections is that they would injure poor people. As the earnings of these people are small, and the rents they pay are exorbitant, several persons often join together to take up one small room, or several families have to occupy together a small house. And even should relatives or friends happen to come to stay with them, they are obliged to live in this same room or house. The men, however, go out to work and come back at night. The women do the needle work by the door, and retire towards evening. Even late in the night, most of the men would sleep on the sides of the streets. They do not, therefore, feel that the house is overcrowded, and

your Petitioners have never heard of their health being thereby injured, or of their suffer- ing from pestilence. If each person is compelled to have 300 cubic feet, then the rent he has to pay, will be two times more than what he used to pay. As their earnings are almost insufficient for their food, how could they pay the increased rent ? Although the rents of the houses at East and West Points are slightly lower, these houses are too far from the place where they do their business, and it is very hard and inconvenient for them to have to walk to and fro in the mornings and evenings. Once these sections are enforced, every poor man must either reduce his food to make the house rent, or leave this Colony with his family. The natural

up consequence of this will be that one will see starvation and misery increase daily, and the industrious and economical people will be dispersed.

Section 74.-The objection to this section is that the Government ask too much. Since a plan of the house to be built has, first of all, to be submitted to, and approved of by the Surveyor General, and in the course of erection there is an officer to inspect the work, this ought to be quite sufficient. If there is any departure from the plan, the officer ought to point it out at once, so that it may be remedied. Why should he wait till the building is finished, and then try to find fault with it? If this section is enforced, can any one warrant that there will be no extortion or bribery, or no delay and obstruction ?

Signatures of your

to about Forty

Petitioners umounting

seven housand in mumber.

inclusive of all thi

all the principal blinese

tuerchants and residents in this bolony and almost the whole of the working population

hento anneyed_

Encloure 9

Memorandum by the Surveyor Central

This is a

IRE

Petite

24

3007

aganist the Public Health Ordinance prepared by the

landlords (o

or or

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of

chave.

which

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insanitary tenements.

the ordinance aceted to improve)

for signature by the coolies

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classes.

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the signers of

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read the

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The Petitions comprises

thinken objections to provizims

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for the the Sanitary

most part from

law

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England,

- provisions which have been

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by

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and churfully accepted by English people, and as thet

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