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exceeded; any infraction of that covenant will of course be followed by heavy penalties. There are naturally and necessarily many questions of detail, questions, for instance, of providing for those removed from infected districts, questions dealing with the rights of mortgagees and lessees, and questions of awarding compensation; but roughly speaking the main features of the Bill are those I have endeavoured to describe. With an Ordinance of this sort in force I need hardly tell you that Taipingshan and a great many streets not in Taipingshan will probably be razed to the ground and re-erected on proper sanitary principles. You will understand that such a measure as this affects many existing interests and will be of a very complicated character, and necessarily the Attorney General, even with the assistance of Mr. FRANCIS, will require some considerable time in which to prepare it. I can only hope, however, that he will not keep us long in suspense, for I think that the old adage "Strike while the iron is hot" is most applicable just now. I feel also certain that when the Bill comes before you, recognising the necessity for some very strong measure and realising the dreadful effect of the plague on the best interests of the Colony in the future if any half measures should be adopted you will give it your full and ready support. There is another matter connected with the plague which I may refer to, and that is the possibility of increasing our water supply. I suppose that drought to a great measure is responsible for this epidemic, and I understand that there is a large storage capacity available both at Tytam Reservoir and at Pokfulam, if the Council were to decide that the storage capacity should be increased. I may say that in my own opinion it will be no use giving a larger supply of water to the Chinese quarter unless it is distributed in a proper manner by responsible officials. What we want, as was well said in the paper this morning, is not so much a house to house visitation as a drain to drain visitation, and unless we can flush these drains regularly I am afraid we shall not get rid of the seeds of the disease. It would be retrograde of me to say, perhaps, that the separate drainage system was a failure, but I cannot help being of opinion that the proper system if it could be carried out for China- town would be the surface system (hear, hear) which is in force in the West India Islands where I have resided. There you see everything above ground, whilst here you do not see the dead cats, the dead rats, and old rags, that fill up the drains and cause such an intolerable and dangerous nuisance. I should be glad to know what the feeling of the unofficial members is in regard to the additional water supply. I should be prepared to call for reports from experts here if they considered it advisable, and I understand that for a moderate expense-$70,000 or $80,000-we could get 70,000,000 gallons more at Tytam alone. Before sitting down I think there is one other thing I ought to say and that is that I am sure the community at large and the Government feel most deeply indebted to the Military and Naval authorities for the gallant voluntary assistance which the officers and men have given to us and are still affording to us during this plague. (Applause.) They have thrown themselves into the disgusting and filthy work required of them with true characteristic British pluck, and one gallant officer has sacrificed his life in endeavouring to assist the community, I am quite sure that when the sad history of this plague is written one of the brightest spots will be that page which records how officers and men, numbering over three hundred in all, gallantly assisted us by risking their lives, with a view to saving the lives of thousands of others from whom they could never expect recompense, gratitude or even thanks. (Applause.) I fully endorse all that the Attorney General has said with reference to Mr. FRANCIS. I appreciate his help most thoroughly. I also wish to say that the Government is indebted to several public officers and lay volunteers, though the latter are not in such numbers as I should like to see, for the courage and energy they have shown in endeavouring to grapple with this disease. I hope, therefore, gentlemen, after what I have said, that you will be prepared to give the Government your fullest and most hearty support in any measure and in any action we may take not only to stamp out this plague but to prevent a recurrence of it in the near future. (Applause.)