Sessional_Paper_1896 — Page 134

131

No.

7

06

SIR,

HONGKONG.

PAPERS RESPECTING THE RECONSTITUTION OF THE SANITARY BOARD.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor.

HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, HONGKONG, 19th October, 1894.

The Committee of this Chamber, in their capacity as representatives of the commercial interests of this Colony, deem it their duty as well as their privilege to address to your Excellency some observations on the recent terrible visitation of disease, which had such alarmingly fatal results, and which for some months so extensively disorganized the normal trade of the port,

The Committee gladly recognize the promptitude and the energy with which the Government, when the presence of the epidemic had once been fully de- monstrated, set to work to repress the outbreak, and gratefully acknowledge the devotion and self-sacrifice of the Military, Navy and Volunteers, who lent their valuable aid in this important work. It is with no little satisfaction the Committee express their belief that these gallant efforts have at length been crowned with complete success in stamping out the plague, which they sincerely hope may not appear again.

In view, however, of the lamentable loss of life, the utter derangement of the business of the port, involving enormous loss and inconvenience to those engaged therein, and the serious set-back to the prosperity of the Colony not yet recovered from the severe financial blows dealt it by the dislocation of exchange, and the long period of depression following the unsound speculative policy of a few years ago, it now becomes important to enquire how far this last and crowning disaster was due to preventible causes, and, if so, to whom should be apportioned the blame and the responsibility.

In embarking on such an enquiry the Committee are actuated by a desire to bring to your Excellency's notice and attention some facts and suggestions thereon that may serve to prevent the perpetuation of a faulty and prefunctory system, repetition of past errors or possible perseverance in a policy of "drift" and procrastination.

The fact that the sanitation of the City of Victoria was far from satisfactory was officially recognized some fifteen years ago. It is only just to say that, long prior to such recognition, attention had been earnestly called by the Colonial Surgeon, Dr. AYRES, to the ever-increasing saturation of the soil by sewage, owing to bad drainage, and he predicted the calamity which has now taken place, if the evil were not abated. It was not, however, until 1881 that the official recognition of the impending danger took any concrete form, when Mr. OSBERT CHADWICK was commissioned to make a report on the sanitation of the Colony, and in the following year the conclusions of this expert were given to the Secretary of State for the Colonies in some exhaustive reports. Lord KIMBERLEY, when for- warding these reports early in 1883 to the Officer Administering the Government (Hon. W. H. MARSH), remarked in the fourth paragraph of his covering despatch :—

"What appears to me to be most urgent is that immediate steps "should be taken to organize and enforce a thorough house to house and "street to street service for the removal of night-soil, garbage, ashes, "house sweepings, and rubbish of every sort."

Soon after the receipt of Mr. CHADWICK's reports Mr. MARSH appointed a permanent Sanitary Board "to supervise and control the practical sanitation of the Colony," The Board consisted of the Surveyor General, the Registrar General, and the Colonial Surgeon, with a sanitary inspector and staff. Three months later a Bill entitled "The Order and Cleanliness Amendment Ordinance” was passed by the Legislative Council. Section II. of this Ordinance empowered the Governor to constitute a permanent Sanitary Board, consisting of the official