accompanying Cornopondence re Sanitary improvement of Tai-ping-shan".
End 1+9 29th June 13th Aug 787 with 6 Meare copies of eso
I have the honour to be,
My Lord Marquees, Your Lordship's most obedient,
humble servant
Witham Robinzz
SIR,
Enclosure !
731
CORRESPONDENCE RE SANITARY IMPROVEMENT OF TAI-PING-SHAN.
C. O.
17303
PERMANENT COMMITTER, SANITARY BOARD,
RECP
[GR1178/1922/32(III)]
HONGKONG, 29th June, 1891.
In addition to the houses in Tai-ping-shan which the Permanent Committee have closed up and which they recommend should be destroyed, there are a number of houses (191) scattered throughout the City from which they have removed the people and which they have cleaned and disinfected with the intention that these houses should ultimately be re-opened and re-occupied. Most of those houses have been closed because three or more cases of plague have occurred in them. There are some, however, that have been closed, having had only one case of plague or perhaps no case of plague at all but because they have been found so over-crowded, so dark, ill-ventilated, or otherwise so defective and insanitary that a medical practitioner has declared them to be for the time being unfit for human habitation.
A list of these houses is appended.
The Permanent Committee have the honour to suggest for the consideration of His Excellency the Governor-
(1) That their action in closing these houses and in removing the inhabitants should be ratified by Ordinance and that they should be protected, themselves and their officers, from suit or action on account of their dealings with these houses.
(2) That they should be authorized by Ordinance to continue in possession of these houses and to refuse to allow them to be occupied until the owners have amended the defects found in them and have put them generally in a sanitary condition to the satisfaction of the Committee, and until they have signed an Agreement not to permit, pending alterations in the law, these houses to be occupied in excess of the numbers for which the Permanent Committee certify the houses to be respectively suitable.
The requirements of the Permanent Committee are as follows, viz.:--
(a) That no basement shall, under any circumstances, be occupied as a dwelling.
(b) That no basement shall be occupied as a shop or store for the sale of goods unless it opens, on the side on which the front of the shop or store is, on a public street at least 25 feet wide,
(c) That the ground floor of every building (whether in a basement or otherwise) shall be formed of material impervious to gas and water to at least nine inches in depth; and that no ground floor of any building shall be occupied as a dwelling unless and until the floor thereof has been made so impervious.
(d) That every house shall be inspected and measured as to its superficial area and cubic space, internally, and each room in each house declared and certified to be suitable for occupation by a certain number of persons not exceeding one adult for every 21 square feet of superficial area and every 200 cubic feet of air space.
The existing law permits one adult for every 300 cubic feet of air space, but the Committee are unanimously of opinion that floor area must form an element in the calculation. Otherwise the number of persons in rooms of the same length and breadth will vary as the heights of the ceilings.
The Honourable
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY,
Present
accompanying Cornopondence ze Sanitary improvement of Tai-ping-shan".
End 1+9 29th June 13th Aug 787 with 6 Meare copies of eso
I have the honour to be,
My Lord Marquees, Your Lordship's most obedient,
humble servant
Witham Robinzz
SIR,
Enclosure !
731
CORRESPONDENCE RE SANITARY IMPROVEMENT OF TAI-PING-SHAN.
C. O.
17303
PERMANENT COMMITTER, SANITARY BOARD,
RECP
[2.62 1 OCT 34)
HONGKONG, 29th June, 1891.
In addition to the houses in Tai-ping-shan which the Permanent Committee have closed up and which they recommend should be destroyed, there are a number of houses (191) scattered throughout the City from which they have removed the people and which they have cleaned and disinfected with the intention that these houses should ultimately be re-opened and re-occupied. Most of those houses have been closed because three or more cases of plague have occurred in them. There are some, however, that have been closed, having had only one case of plague or perhaps no case of plague at all but because they have been found so over- crowded, so dark, ill ventilated, or otherwise so defective and insanitary that a medical practitioner has declared them to be for the time being unfit for human habitation.
A list of these houses is appended.
The Permanent Committee have the honour to suggest for the consideration of His Excellency the Governor-
(1) That their action in closing these houses and in removing the inhabitants should be ratified by Ordinance and that they should be protected, themselves and their officers, from suit or action on account of their dealings with these houses.
(2) That they should be authorized by Ordinance to continue in possession of these houses and to refuse to allow them to be occupied until the owners have amended the defects found in them and have put them generally in a sanitary condition to the satisfaction of the Committee, and until they have signed an Agreement not to permit, pending alterations in the law, these houses to be occu- pied in excess of the numbers for which the Permanent Committee certify the houses to be respectively suitable.
The requirements of the Permanent Committee are as follows, viz. :--
(a) That no basement shall, under any circumstances, be occupied as a
dwelling.
(6) That no basement shall be occupied as a shop or store for the sale of goods unless it opens, on the side on which the front of the shop or store is, on a public street at least 25 fect wide,
(c) That the ground floor of every building (whether in a basement or otherwise) shall be formed of material impervious to gas and water to at least nine inches in depth; and that no ground floor of any building shall be occupied as a dwelling unless and until the floor thereof has been made so impervious.
(d) That
every house shall be inspected and measured as to its superfi- cial area and cubic space, internally, and each room in each house declared and certified to be suitable for occupation by a certain number of persons not exceeding one adult for every 21 square feet of superficial area and every 200 cubic feet of air space.
The existing law permits one adult for every 300 cubic feet of air space, but the Committee are unanimously of opinion that floor area must form an element in the calculation. "Otherwise the number of persons in rooms of the same length and breadth will vary as the heights of the ceilings.
The Honourable
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY,
Present
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