REVIEW OF HOUSING CONDITIONS IN HONG KONG
97
Pokfulam supply is distributed on the intermittent principle, conducted in a manner which subjects it in the highest degree to all the well-known dangers appertaining to that system. The water from the Wong-Na-Chong dam is not actually turned off daily, but the pipes are so small that the supply is virtually intermittent at the western extremity of the district which it supplies.6 Families in houses with no water supply had to hire water carriers to obtain their day's supply from public standpipes. The water at these points was turned on between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., and there was usually a mad scramble during this brief period; those who were left out had to obtain their supplies from distant water holes and streams on the hillsides.
It is not surprising that under such vile conditions the life expectancy of the Chinese citizens of Hong Kong was relatively short. To illustrate this point, Chadwick produced statistics to show that the mean age at death of adults (persons over 20 years) was 43 years in Hong Kong in 1881 compared to 55 years for the whole of England in 1840. No wonder then that Chadwick was forced to the conclusion that "…the foregoing facts clearly show that the health of the population is not so good as to make it presumptuous to attempt to reform time-honoured abuses; on the contrary, to my mind, they prove that reform is urgently required."
Chadwick made a considerable number of bold recommendations which the seriousness of the situation demanded. In particular, he recommended the provision of open spaces at the rear of buildings, the prohibition of cocklofts and earthen floors, the provision of a window in every habitable room, and the limitation of overcrowding so that each adult would have 400 cu. ft. of unobstructed space in undivided rooms and 600 cu. ft. in rooms divided into cabins. Further recommendations included the reconstruction of the drainage system, the improvement of the water supply, the requisition and reconstruction by Government of existing public latrines and the provision of additional facilities, the provision of public bathhouses and a laundry, the construction of new markets, and the improvement of the scavenging system. Other notable recommendations were that before building lots were offered for sale, the roads should be laid out, surfaced, and provided with drains; that Government…
6 Ibid., p. 16.
7 Ibid., p. 22.
REVIEW OF HOUSING CONDITIONS IN HONG KONG
97
Pokfulam supply is distributed on the intermittent principle, con- ducted in manner which subjects it in the highest degree to all the well known dangers appertaining to that system. The water from the Wong-Na-Chong dam is not actually turned off daily, but the pipes are so small that the supply is virtually intermittent at the western extremity of the district which it supplies."6 Families in houses with no water supply had to hire water carriers to obtain their day's supply from public standpipes. The water at these points was turned on between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. and there was usually a mad scramble during this brief period; those who were left out had to obtain their supplies from distant water holes and streams on the hill sides.
It is not surprising that under such vile conditions the life ex- pectancy of the Chinese citizens of Hong Kong was relatively short. To illustrate this point Chadwick produced statistics to show that the mean age at death of adults (persons over 20 years) was 43 years in Hong Kong in 1881 compared to 55 years for the whole of England in 1840. No wonder then that Chadwick was forced to the conclusion that .. .” the foregoing facts clearly show that the health of the population is not so good as to make it presumptious to attempt to reform time-honoured abuses; on the contrary, to my mind they prove that reform is urgently required."
Chadwick made a considerable number of bold recommendations which the seriousness of the situation demanded. In particular, he recommended the provision of open spaces at the rear of buildings, the prohibition of cocklofts and earthen floors, the provision of a window in every habitable room and the limitation of overcrowding so that each adult would have 400 cu. ft. of unobstructed space in undivided rooms and 600 cu. ft. in rooms divided into cabins. Further recommendations included the reconstruction of the drain- age system, the improvement of the water supply, the requisition and reconstruction by Government of existing public latrines and the provision of additional facilities, the provision of public bath- houses and a laundry, the construction of new markets and the improvement of the scavenging system. Other notable recommenda- tions were that before building lots were offered for sale the roads should be laid out, surfaced and provided with drains; that Govern-
6 Ibid., p. 16.
7 Ibid., p. 22.
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