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But if Malaria be excluded there is still an increase of 1,536 deaths from the other three causes.
Overcrowding increases the incidence of tuberculosis but, if overcrowding has increased in spite of the increase of houses this means that the population has increased by immigration.
Non-tubercular respiratory diseases show for 1922 an excess of 1031 deaths and, Beri-beri shows an increase of 303 deaths.
There was therefore an increase of 304 per cent in deaths from these causes in 1922 above those in 1921.
The respiratory diseases do not include Influenza from which there were 238 deaths in 1922.
It is not possible to account for the excess of deaths from the non-tubercular respiratory diseases and beri-beri otherwise than by supposing that there was a much greater population in the Colony during 1922 than in 1921,
HOUSING OF THE CHINESE,
In the Health Report for the year 1921 there were made some comments on the housing of the Chinese working classes and, as regards Tuberculosis it was shown that deatlis from this cause greatly outnumbered those from all the Notifiable Infectious Diseases.
The same is observable during 1922 for, during this year the total deaths from Tubercular Diseases were 2,096 while those due to the Notifiable Diseases were 1,708.
The deaths in 1922 from General and Pulmonary Tuberculosis were 1,777 or 12:47 per cent of the total deaths.
The want of sufficient light and ventilation in the subdivisions or cubicles which the Chinese are driven to make owing to the bad design of the houses provided for them under the present building laws is doubtless much to blame for the high incidence of tuberculosis in the Colony,
It is true that the law does not permit the erection of window- less cubicles in houses built since the passing of the present Publie Health and Buildings Ordinance, but as the law has not had the effect of providing houses in which such cubicles are unnecessary they are still constructed. Efforts over many years to abolish such cubicles have not succeeded.
During the year under review it was recognised that it was necessary to make some concession in the matter of cubicles in new houses ie. houses built after the passing of the present law
and to put such houses on a more or less similar footing to the older houses in which cubicles were permitted by the law,
It was therefore decided that in new houses cubicles should be allowed provided the following conditions were observed: (1) the front quarter of the floor to be left free from cubicles, (2) the partitions forming the sides of the cubicles to be glazed or made of rail or other open work in their upper thirds,
The following diagram shows the arrangement.
A large number of floors have had their cubicles altered to comply with this plan.
In making this concession the Board was actuated by the knowledge that the effectual enforcement of the law would result in driving those people to whom cubicles are a necessity from new houses into old houses" thereby increasing the over- crowding of such “old houses which are for many reasons less sanitary than new houses".
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While it is admitted that a hard and fast law to prevent the construction of windowless cubicles in new houses is desirable.
it was found that in practice it was indesirable to enforce the law owing to the fact that the "new houses" are not of such design as makes such concession unnecessary.
A new type of house for the Chinese working classes is imperatively needed and. I am informed that this matter is receiv- ing the attention of the Government.
W. W. PEARSE, M.D., D.P.R., Medical Officer of Health,
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