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The Chairman.--Now, Mr. Ho, you spoke just now with regard to the drains, and you said if the drains were choked, it was the fault of the tenant, and that the landlord should not be summoned, but the tenant. You remember that?
A. Yes.
Q.-Supposing there is a house with three or four families living there, and the drain is choked, it would be very hard to say what tenant was responsible for the choking. How could you serve a notice on the tenant? Dont you think in those circumstances it is very much better that the notice should be served on the landlord? It might be a man on the top floor had been peeling potatoes, and his refuse had choked the drain at the bottom, and you summon the tenant on the ground floor, because the drain is choked, and it is not his fault at all. It is the fault in this case of the man on the top floor.
A. If you will prosecute the man on the ground floor, he will tell the man on the other floor.
Q.-It seems to me that that proposition would create a good deal of friction. only have one family living in or e house, then make the tenant responsible.
If you
A.—But the landlord does not live in it, and he does not put the things in the drain.
Q.--No, but if he has three or four tenants-I dont see that your proposal to make the tenants responsible would work if there were three or four families living in a house. In most Chinese houses, you have 3 to 4 families in one house, and the landlord should take the charge out of the tenant.
A. It is very hard on the landlord, if he does not live in the house.
Q.-Quite so, but you must hold the landlord responsible.-Alright, that is a point to be considered. Is there anything more you want to tell us, Mr. Ho?
A. And I would say that whitewashing once a year would be sufficient, and as to the washing of houses, the washing how takes place once a year, but the best thing would be to have it twice a year.
Mr. Fung Wa Chun.-Do you know that the houses are now being washed once a month?
A.-I didn't know that. That is still better.
Q.-People would not have any objection to that?
A.-There is no necessity for doing it so often.
have money would do it every morning.
The cleaner people and those who
Q.-The cleaner people would always get exemption. You know that ?
A.-Yes.
The Chairman.-Dont you think that common lodging houses and places of that sort ought to be whitewashed twice a year?
A. Yes, it would be well where many people are living, but it is very difficult to make a distinction.
Mr. Fung Wa Chun.-You said that has nothing to do with plague?
A.-It has nothing to do with the plague. Then as to concreting. A number of houses have had concrete put down by the Government. Then after it was done, the In- spectors passed it certainly. Then a year or two afterwards, another Inspector would come, who had not had charge of that District, and he would say the concrete was not done properly, and require it to be done again. It is very troublesome. The owner of the
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