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23. The question therefore presents itself: how are the existing buildings to be dealt with? Some have advocated burning; some demolition of houses; others see no reason for either of these measures but are of opinion that, now that the houses have been disinfected, and remained empty thoroughly exposed to the fresh air for several months, they might with safety be repaired, and re-occupied.

24. The advocates of total destruction by burning have apparently based such a recommendation to a large extent upon the fact that plague has not occurred in the City of London since the fire of September 1666 immediately following the great plague of 1665, and also on the statement which was publicly made that the plague bacillus existed in the ground to a considerable depth.

25. I would point out that the epidemics of plague, (some of which appear to have been of a similar nature to that now known as the bubonic plague), that ravaged England during the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, were not confined to the City of London, but extended more or less over the whole country, and with the one exception, that of the case of London, as far as I know, the plague has been banished from England by the enforcement of sanitary laws without resorting to fire.

26. Further, what was the condition of the City of London in 1665 ? Sanitation was practically unknown, the houses were erected in narrow streets and built entirely of wood. Indeed, to those who have read the Address of Captain Sir DOUGLAS GALTON to the Society of Arts in 1886, the then chairman of that society, reviewing the history and progress of sanitation in Great Britain since the accession of Her Majesty Queen VICTORIA, it cannot but be apparent that the City of Victoria with all its sanitary defects in many respects, from a sanitary point of view, is not nearly so bad as most cities and towns in England were at the commencement of the present century.

27. As regards the existence of the plague bacillus, Dr. YERSIN, before leaving this Colony, expressed his desire to correct a mis-statement, and stated that he had only discovered the bacillus of plague at a depth of 2 inches below the surface in the infected districts and not at a depth of a foot or 18 inches as reported. (Hongkong Weekly Press, August 8th, 1894.)

28. The heat developed even by such a general conflagration as suggested would not penetrate below the surface of the soil to any practical extent.

29. We next come to the total destruction of the buildings. As it happens, the project for relay- ing out the district practically necessitates the total destruction of all the buildings with few exceptions, the reconstruction of the streets, and the erection of new houses; such operations will involve the turning over of nearly the whole of the ground surface and removal of the existing old drains, so that this point need not be further considered now.

30. As to the repair and occupation of the existing premises, such a course only appears applica- ble in a few cases, and, in view of the re-opening of upwards of 350 houses closed during the epidemic and the provisions of Ordinance 15 of 1894, I cannot at present see how any logical objection can be sustained to repairing and re-occupying the comparatively few houses that it is proposed not to destroy. And further in view of the experiments conducted by Professor S. KITASATO during his visit to Hong- kong last year as described in his preliminary notice of the bacillus of bubonic plague, there would seem little probability of the existence of the bacillus in these premises after the provisions of the above mentioned Ordinance have been enforced.

31. I therefore propose, if this project is approved, to commence operation as follows :-

(a) In block A, clear out of the houses all débris and light wooden work such as cubicles and

cocklofts and cause the same to be removed and destroyed.

(b) Advertise for tenders to clear the whole site of block A and sell the materials.

(c) Remove the buildings over Yun Wo Lane, improve the lane and sell the houses and site

as they now stand, retaining the lane for the public use.

(d) As soon as block A has been cleared and the streets constructed, put up the sites in this

block to public auction.

32. I do not propose that the Government should level the sites or construct the retaining walls beyond what is necessary for the construction of the roads, such works to be carried out by the purcha- sers of building lots.

33. The total estimated cost of the improvements, including all drains, water mains, &c., is $83,000, materials on the ground being used as far as practicable in such works.

I shall address you further on the subject of premium and Crown rent and the erection of a new market and public latrines in this area.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

The Honourable

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY,

FRANCIS A. COOPER,

Director of Public Works.