Sessional_Paper_1907 — Page 509

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Q.--What did he do to your servants in your absence, the first time?

A.-He said "You dont know me? I am an Inspector. I must come into your house."

Q.—And did he inspect the house?

A.-No.

Q-What did your servants say to him?

A. He came round the house. He was not coming to look at the house.

Q-We are speaking of disinfection?

Mr. Lau Chu Pak.-Fumigation!

You remember the occasion ?

A.-Oh yes, that. There was one time my wife was pregnant, and he insisted upon taking the things to fumigate. I knew that the doctor said that when a woman was in that state, she could not smell. He insisted on taking them for fumigation. I could not get any leave from him not to do so, so I had to let my wife go to my

elder brother's house. It was Woolley.

Mr. Fung Wa Chun.-And your house was fumigated?

A. Yes.

Q.-The whole house?

A. No. But the servants' places. But the smell was all about.

Mr. Shelton Hooper.-Did they not do the basement of your house?

A.-No, the servants' premises.

Q. Is not that the basement?

Mr. Fung Wa Chun.--He has no basement.

Mr. Shelton Hooper.-In fumigating did they not go to the basement of your house, and the smell came up through the house?

A.-No, it was the servants' quarters, and the smell came in. The whole street smelt.

Mr. Fung Wa Chun.-You advertise that you give away coffins, is not that a fact?

A. Yes.

Q.—Why do you do that?

A. Because at a meeting of the Sanitary Board in 1904, it was said that there were so many corpses dumped into the street. One of the Members of the Sanitary Board said it was because the Chinese did not wish to spend the noney, and they would not take the money to pay for the coffin, but threw the corpse out. When I saw this, I knew it was not the case. I had no proof about it though, so I advertised in the papers for whoever was poor to come to me, and they would get coffins. Then, if it was true what the Member of the Board had said, everybody would come to me for coffins, and the bodies would not be thrown out. I have carried this on for three years. I gave one away to-day. It is only that about ten to twenty persons in the course of a year ask for coffins. But I knew that there were over 1,000 corpses dumped in the street in the course of a year,

I wrote up to His Excellency the Governor, and Mr. Brewin sent me back a reply thanking me for what 1 had done in this matter, and even this would not prevent the people dumping corpses.