CO129-276 - Governor Sir Robinson - 1897 [6-8] — Page 31

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"area and 400 cubic feet of clear and unobstructed internal air space shall be deemed to be in an overcrowded condition."

(and consequently a nuisance under the Ordinance.)

14. There can therefore be no hardship in the fact that Bye Law 3 requires Opium Divans to comply with this law between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.

15. The truth is, if an Opium Divan keeper is prosecuted under the domestic building law, there is always the chance of the prosecution being unable to prove legally that persons passed the night there. The keeper would always pretend that the men found there in the morning were not the same as those there at night, and if some credible witness stayed all night in order to prove the fact, the keeper would probably become suspicious and turn out those of his customers who would otherwise have remained all night.

16. If, however, it could be justly contended that Bye Law No. 3 imposed any additional restriction against overcrowding, it would, in my opinion, be a perfectly good and just Bye Law affording no ground of complaint to the Opium Farmers.

17. At the end of paragraph 15 of the Petition, the Petitioners admit that they knew of the existence of the Public Health Ordinance at the time the grant was made.

18. Their contention that the Grant amounted to an agreement that the power of making Bye Laws with regard to the sanitary maintenance of Opium Divans should not be exercised appears to me entirely groundless.