The-Hong-Kong-Weekly-Press-1895-03-20 — Page 4

March 20, 1895.

the applicants to furnish details as to how many Europeans and Chinese were on the premises.

Mr. FRANC.S thereupon withdrew his resolu tion and seconded Mr. Cooper's amendment, which was put as the substantive motion and carried.

MORTALITY STATISTICS.

The Secretary reported that the death rate for the week ended 2nd March was 20.8 per 1,000 per annum as compared with 16.3 in the corresponding week of last year. For the week ended 9th March the death-rate was 19.9 as compared with 21.1 in the corresponding week last year. A case of typoid fever was reported.

Appended was the following minute Mr. J.J. Francis, Q.C.-In cases of typhoid fever should there not be, in every case, a close enquiry of special nature into each cas, to ascertain, so far as possible, the cause. In some cases, of course, there is no possiblility of tracing the cause, but in other cases, yes.

THE DRAINAGE PLANS.

CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.

211

Grand Stand, Race Course; Tramvay Ter-socond, who was no doubt the man who fired the minns, Garden Road, Bank House, Garden | shots which took such fatal effect, was captured Road; Nos. 64 and 66. Queen's Road Cen- on the Praya while running away from Head tral, Gas Works, Praya West; Remedics District Watchman Lam On, by a European Terrace, Arbuthnot Road; Gleneally, Caine constable and an Indian police sergeant. Road; City Hall; and the Hongkong Club.

Before he was secured he threw something 10. Some notice is called for here of the in- into the harbour, and a revolver, of the sama accuracies of deposited plans and of the failure pattern as that found on his companion and as to properly inspect work before calling in the one left in the shop by another of the gang, was Board's officers. It is but too clear that in the picked up by a diver at the spot pointed out by majority of cases no attempt is made before the Police, starting the work to see what gradients may be

In the meantimethe rest of the number of four obtained for the drains, and in the flatter parts of or five-it is uncertain which-escaped by the back the city it is seldom that they can be laid through-door of the premises which opens on to the Prava. out to the gradients indicated on the plau. No One of them was stopped by two Chinese police notice is given of the change of gradient and it detectives while running not far from the scene is only ascertained on inspection. It is, too, a of the robbery and arrested, as he could give no frequent occurrence to find a drain leaking | satisfactory account of himself. on inspection, occasionally pipes are found Other two were arrested next morning in an to be laid without any hemp in the joints opium divan. The three men were identified as and with cement protruding in the drain having taken part in the robbery. through the bottom of the joint, Instances The trial was not concluded till the current could be quoted where four or five inspections month. The first two prisoners have been found Hon. F. A. COOPER said he regretted that the have bad to be made of drains before they could guilty of murder and sentenced to death, and the plans of the drainage system of Victoria, Kow-be passed. I call attention to these facts as they last three of robbery, for which they have been loon, and Yaumati were not yet in the hands of occasion waste of time, aud in the hope that condemned to 14 years' imprisonment, members. The plaus were in course of

those responsible will exercise more care in the prepara tion and would be ready shortly, when members

future. would be in full possesson of the various streets aud places in which the drains were.

The Surveyor's reports on the condition of certain house drains were discussed.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SANITARY SURVEYOR.

The following is the annual report of the Sanitary Surveyor, Mr. J. R. Crook, laid before the Sanitary Board on Thursday:-

Sir, I have the honour to submit the follow- ing report for the year ending December 31st, 1894.

!

11. The records which were started in 1888 have been maintained and are compléte to date. I have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servant,

J. ROWLAND CROOK, Sanitary Surveyor, H. McCallum, Esq., Secretary, Sanitary Board.

THE POLICE REPORT..

tendent of Police for 1894 was laid before the The following report of the Captain Superin- gislative Council on the 12th inst.:

Police Office,

1.-Plans for the redrainage of two hundred and fifty-two (152) houses were carried forward from 1893; plans for eight hundred and seventy-

Hongkong, 31st January, 1895. Sir.- bave honour to submit for the infor. eight (878) houses were deposited in 1894, mak-mati n of His Excellency the Governor the ori ing a total of eleven hundred and thirty 1,130) in hand during the year.

2.-A total of five hundred and fifty-five (55) houses have been completed and the plans for eight (8) houses cancelled during the past year, leaving five hundred and sixty-seven (567) still imcomplete which are carried forward to 1895.

3.-Certificates have been granted under sec tion 74, Ordinance 24 of 18-7, to forty-six (46) houses as having been built in accordance with the provisions of that Ordinance.

4. Tables A and B annexed show clearly-

Table 4.-The plans received and work com- pleted during each quarter of the past

year.

Table B.-The plans received, work com- pleted and certificates granted since the Public Health Ordinance came into force. 5. The number of houses (567) carried for- ward from last year is largely in excess of what it has been in previous years. About one-third | of these, however, are new buildings still in course of erection, while of the remainder a large proportion are completed except for small repairs.

6. The number of houses certified as having been built in accordance with the provisions of the Public Health Ordinance is only forty-six (46) as compared with two hundred and nineteen (219) in 1898 and four hundred and seventy-five (475) in 1891; the reduction may probably be attributed to the plague.

7. The drains of five hundred (500) houses were inspected by me last year under a warrant from the President made in accordance with section 53 of the Public Health Ordinance, and the owners were called upon to reconstruct the drainage arrangements.

8.-Un the outbreak of plague in May my services were placed at the disposal of the Board for the purpose of supervising the disinfection and cleansing of all plague houses throughout the colony. A detailed report of this work has been furnished, but the annexed tables Caud D, which were attached to that report, are sent in again now as they have an important bearing on the work done in the redrainage of private premises. The redrainage of a large number of houses has been undertaken by the owners since the occurrence of plague in them.

9-Water-closets have been erected to the house drains by permission of the Board or have been reconnected after the remodelling of the closets and drainage in the following premises:

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minal statistics and the report on the Police Force for the year 1894,

with the return of last year of 5.99 per cent, in The statistics show a decrease as compared the total of all cases reported to the Police,

In the sub-division of these cases into serious and minor offences, there appears a decrease as compared with last year of 5.50 per cent in the former and of 6.25 per cent, in the latter cate

gory.

3.-Seven cases of murder came under the notice of the Police. The first ocourrad at the Kowloon camp, where a sergeant of the Hong- kong Regiment was shot by a private of the hanged. same corps. The culprit was convicted and

The second occurred during the clan dis- turbances, noticed further on, which occurred in March last, The victim was shot in broad daylight in Hillier Street while carrying some merchandise. The murderer made good his escape.

2.

The third case was a somewhat mysterious one. A woman who lived with her husband in a matshed at the Coffee Plantation was found dead on the top of Caroline Hill, near the cemetery there. only identified by the clothes upon it.

The body was so decomposed that it was The husband was arrested and tried for her murder but acquitted. There is little doubt that the woman was unfaithful to her husband, and it is probable that on that account it was more than usually difficult to obtain evidence in the case from the Chinese in the neighbourhood.

In the fourth case the victim was a boat. woman, who was found dead in her boat near -bau-ki-wan. She was reputed to have some few dollars in her possession and it is probable that her boat was hired and taken out of reach of assistance by some ruffians, who proceeded to rob the woman and then decamped into Chinese territory. There were no marks of violence on the body, and the doctor who made the post mortem examination gave it as his opinion that failure of the heart due to shook was the cause of death.

In the fifth case Indian police constable No. 575 Amer Singh was shot while endeavouring to arrest one of a gang of robbers who were sur- prised while robbing a shop in Winglok Street. At the same time a Chinese coolie who was passing in the street was also shot dead.

One of the robbers was arrested on the spot by District Watchman Pun Hing, while a

In the sixth case a Chinese police constable was shot in the Chinese iness-room at the Central Station by an Indian constable, who, after firing several more shots in the compound, turned his rifle upon himself and committed suicide.

No motive is assignable for his shooting the Chinese constable.

4-Twenty-nine cases of robbery with violence appear in the returus. They comprise 9 high- way robberies, 9 gang robberies, 9 street rob- beries, and 2 robberies which cannot be classed under those three heads.

cases:-

The following is a brief summary of these

Q

HIGHWAY ROBBERIES. 1-On the 10th of January a man was at- tacked by four men on the road between Shan-ki-wan and Stanley and robbed of money and clothing to the value of $3.00.

2. On the 15th of March an English maid on the Kennedy Road was robbed by two men of her watch and chain.

3. On the 1th of May a man was robbed by v a man on the Abordeen and Stanley Road of money and clothing; value $2.60.- 4-On the 13th of May a man was robbed by another on the Rifle Range, Kowloon, of a bundle of clothing; value $6.00. 5: On the 1st of June three men robbed a Chin se woman on the Shau-ki-wan Road of $72.00. One of the robbers was arrested by the woman's jinricksha coolie, convicted. and sentenced to 12 months' hard labour. 6. On the 18th of June one of the other two men was arrested by the Police, convicted and sentenced to 12 months' hard labour, These two cases are really therefore one and the same robbery.

7. On the 18th of June a man was robbed by two men on the Pokfulam Road of a watch and a piece of cloth; total value $4.00.

8. On the 22nd of October two cattle dealers were robbed of $46.00 on the Kowloon Road by five men, one of whom was armed with a sword.

9. On the 19th of November a gardener from Tai-tam-tuk was attacked and robbed on the Stauley and Aberdeen Road by thres men, one of whom was armed with a sword. One of the robbers was subsequently arrested and committed for trial. he case was re- ferred brok to the Magistrate and the prisoner was finally discharged. All of the above robberies took place during the hours of daylight.

GANG ROBBERIES.

1.—At 12.30 a.m. on the 12th of January six men, some of whom were armed with knives, entered a matshed at Tsat-tez-mui and stole clothing to the value of $16.00. 2.-On the 26th of January at 9.30 p.m. two men entered No. 12, Cheung Sau Lane, gagged the only occupant-a boy of 14 years and stole a box containing clothing valued at $74.00.

3.On the 23rd of March at 1.30 a.m. six men, some of whom were armed with swords. entered a matshed at Wong-chuk-hang near Aberdeen, tied up and gagged the occupants, and stole property to the value of $4.00.

BI

-On the 8th of September four men, one of