CO129-317 - Governor Sir Blake - 1903 [4-6] — Page 590

No.323.

Hongkong.

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C. O.

583

Reck

30 JUL 03)

Government House,

Hongkong, 27th. June, 1903.

Sir,

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I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt

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of your Despatch No. 178 of 14th. May referring to your question in paragraph 7 of your Despatch No. 132 of 16th. April, with

reference to the proposed appointment of a Sanitary Commissioner.

2.

My reason for objecting to the appointment

of a Sanitary Commissioner was stated in my Despatch No. 116 of 10th. March, 1903. I considered then as I do now, that all the

duties of a Sanitary Department will be more effectually control-

led by a Sanitary Board on which are found representatives of

every section of the Community than by a Commissioner, who may be

a good man, but who might be quite incompetent and who would in,

either case be practically irresponsible however theoretically

be might be supposed to be responsible to the Governor. The

Principal Civil Medical Officer who has been relieved of his

duty as Senior Medical Officer of the Government Civil Hospital

has now ample time to supervise and control every branch of the

Medical and Sanitary Staff, and it must be remembered that the

carrying out of the details of the duties of Sanitation demands

no very high degree of professional knowledge. The principles of

Sanitation are simple enough and in my opinion the Sanitary Staff properly forms a Sub-department of the General Medical Staff of the Colony, as does the Analytical and Bacteriological Staff. The

continuance of the Sanitary Staff as a branch of the Medical

Department will, I hope, tend to economy. The expenses of

RIGHT HONOURABLE

JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN, M.B.,

Sanitation