328
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
on
Government- could make up its mind position of a Government department, taking its to reorganise the Board on this broader basis, orders from the Colonial Secretary, and to elim- it would be better that the Sanitary Board nate the popular element so far as possible. should be abolished, and that all power and Two unofficial seats have been left unfilled for authority in sanitary matters should be con- months without just cause. On the first news centrated in one officer or department of the of the ontbreak of plague in Hoihow this year, Government, and we appealed to you to support the Board met twice to disuss the matter us in the efforts we then pledged ourselves to and unanimously recommended the Govern make to obtain for the Board that extended ment, the Board having no power, to stop jurisdiction and that plenary authority over its all immigration of Chinese from Hoihow. own officers without which we all felt it was use. The Government refused to act on that recom- less for the Board to attempt to carry on its work. mendation, after referring it to the Colonial We address you to-day to report to you that we Surgeon and Dr. Lowson, who ridiculed the cannot any longer continue members of the ides and strongly recommended as a more useful Board and that we resign our seals into your measure prompt isolation of all persons reason. hands. All efforts to obtain for the Board any ably suspected of being infected with plague extension of its powers and authorities in the and the instant preparation of places for required directions have been ineffectual. The carrying out this isolation. The permanent Government has shown itself, more than Committee of the Sanitary Board took in ever, determined to retain in the hands of its stant steps to carry out this recommen- own officers the entire control of the sewers and dation, inspected and selected suitable build- main drains and of the water. It never evenings for the purpose, arranged terms with condescends to consult the Sanitary Board the owners, and worked out plans for fitting on any point connected with the supply or them up, isolating, and protecting them, and distribution of water, and, after years of con- applied to the Government for authority to tinued application, the Board has not yet socproceed and incur the necessary expenses, as oseded in getting a complete plan of the new the plague might appear in the colony any day, public sewers for its information and guidance and the matter had been put before them as in the performance of its own special duties. most urgent-the Board, be it noted, having Any complaint on the subject of the main drain unfortunately no power to do what was requisite age is either ignored or resented. Last year and proper of its own authority. A curt letter repeated attention was called at Board meetings from the Government was the only reply. The to the blocking up of old sewers in the progress Government had its own ideas sad its own plans of the Reclamation works, to the necessity of and when they were completed would let the providing temporary outlets for the sewers, old Sanitary Board know. The Board was to have and new, and of carrying them out beyond the the responsibility of carrying out plans about line of the new sea wall, but nothing has been which it was not even consulted. done, although bitter complaints were coming Shortly after, the Sanitary Board received a daily before the Board as to the insanitary nuis-letter stating that Captain Hastings, H.N., had auces resulting from the neglect of the Board's been authorised and appointed to arrange for the warnings.
isolation of suspected persons afloat, and the The Sanitary Surveyor, in spite of repeated Permanent Committee were to put themselves representations, is still a subordinate in the in communication with him. Captain Hast- Public Works department, depending for payings, being referred to, stated that he and promotion on his official superior in that had not been appointed and had no autho- department and on the Government, and to this rity. He had only been asked to see if subordinate officer is entrusted the entire con- boats could be got, and how many. The Govern- trol of the water supply-as Water Authority ment scheme was to segregate in boats over at -instead of to the Board, only a very small Stonecutters' island, near the mine field, all portion of his time being available for the suspected persons, men, women, and children, and work of the Sanitary Board. A Medical the boats to be used were what are called " Officer of Health has recently been appointed riage boats," utterly unseaworthy except in the but he has been appointed as ап officer of smoothest water and best weather. Captain Hast- the Government, not under the authority of ings got his authority a day or two later. The the Board, and, apparently, with powers and Sanitary P'oard was not even consulted as to the duties which constitute bim an independent practicability of this mad scheme, yet if it had to be sanitary authority. Before this appointment carried out the Board would necessarily have the was made the Government consulted the Saui-duty and responsibility of putting it in operation, tary Board on the subject, all the papers were The by-laws to give it effect could only be circulated to members, and the matter was dis- made by the Sanitary Board and, without the cussed at a full meeting of the Board. The re-authority of the Board, it could not be enforced. commendations addressed to the Government While Drs, Ayros and Lowson were recom- were, that a Medical Officer of Health was very mending the careful isolation, for the full length much required, that ho should not have a seat on of the incubation period, of all persons who had the Board, that he should be directed to report been in contact with plague patients or even in himself on appointment to the Board and to act the same room, the Government were elaborating under its orders. A medical committee assem- another plan of dealing with the plague patients bled by the Government to advise as to the medi- themselves wholly inconsistent with the former. cal department generally was asked its opinion Recommendations from the medical committee as to this appointment and recommended that already mentioned were sent the Permanent the Medical Officer of Health should be placed Committee, for their adoption, to the effect under the Sanitary Board, as in London. The that persons attacked by the plague were to recommendations of the Board and of the com- be left at liberty to leave the colony and go mittes were alike disregarded and an Ordinance anywhere they would, provided it was over authorising the appointment of the Health Of twenty miles, as the crow flies," away from floor to the Board as an official member the colony. Piers east and west were to be thereof was forced though the Council at set apart for this departure cargo boats provided one sitting, without bringing to the notice properly fitted, and matsheds put up for their of members the recommendations of the temporary accommodation, and the only duty in Sanitary Board, or allowing them time to read, cumbent on the sick was to report themselves much lesss study, the report of the medical com to the officer on duty at the pier. There was mittee. A resolution of the Sanitary Board no stipulation that they were only to go to a protesting against this appointment in this place where there was a hospital, none as to their form was addressed to the Government, but fitness to go on such a voyage in a cargo boat. without result. The Government justified Thus, persons actually suffering from the plague the appointment of the new independent sanitary were to be allowed to go whither they would to authority by a reference to the dual control spread infection up and down through every theretofore existing in sanitary matters. Iu village on the coast or in the river, provided it stead of endeavouring to simplify and concentrate was only twenty miles away, while persons only the sanitary administration it seeks, apparently, suspected of having possibly caught the infection to further divide, that it may more effectually were to be forcibly imprisoned and quarantined govern.
in the colony. Of course the Sanitary Board, official and unofficial members alike, refused to have anything to do with carrying into opera- tion these prop.sals.
We are sorry to say that, since the cessation of the visitation of the plague last year, the Government has shown a steadily increasing hostility to the Sanitary Board, and a settled determination to consult anybody and every body on matters of sanitation rather than the Sanitary Board, to reduce it if possible to the
**
mar-
|
From the beginning to the end the Govern- ment has not consulted the Sanitary Board or its Permanent Committee, with its valuable experience of last year, as to how any fresh visi-¦
[May 1, 1895.
tation of plague should be dealt with. It has consulted, apparently, every other person and every other body, including individual members of the Legislative Council and of the Chamber of Commerce, All the recommendations of the Board or of the Committee, even its last, that im- migration from Macao should be stopped, have been disregarded. No acknowledgment even of that recommendation was received and nothing done until it was reported that women from an infected house were actually in the colony.
Under these cironmstances we feel it useless to remain on the Board. We are doing no good and can render you no useful service. We think the other nuofficial members of the Board, nom- it better to resign, and concurrently with us pated by the Government, have also resigned their seats on precisely the same grounds. We have acted throughout in consultation with them,
done. We hope you will refuse to send to the We hope you will approve of what' we have Board any farther representatives until the Government think fit to entrust the Sanitary Board with the power and authority possessed by any and every Sanitary Board in England, and to the Secretary of State for the Colonies the we hope that yon will support us in representing
a sanitary point of view because of the nawilling deplorable position in which the colony is from ness of the Government departments to entrust to a popularly constituted body powers and responsibilities hitherto exercised by them in secret and unquestioned.
JNO. J. FRANCIS. R. K. LEIGH.
SUPREME COURT.
25th April.
IN APPELLATE JURISDICTION. BEFORE THE FULL COURT-THE HON. W.
M. GOODMAN (ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE), AND MR. T. SERCOMBE SMITH (ACTING PUSNE JUDGE),
HILL v. GOMES.
Mr. J. J. Francis, Q.C., made a motion for leave to appeal in the case of Hill v. Gomes.
The ap
Mr. Francis said that this was an ex parte motion for leave to appeal from the decision of the Court in Summary Jurisdiction, and the application was made under section 41 of the Summary Jurisdiction Ordinance. pellant was J. Baptista Gomes, gentleman, of Macao, who was the defendant in the Court below, and the respondent was Robert Hunter Hill, merchant, of Swatow. The action was brought to recover $1,000, part of a claim of $1,103 59, the $103 59 being abandoned for the purpose of bringing the base within the summary jurisdic- tion of the Court. The cause of the action arose out of certain share transactions. There was absolutely no dispute as to the facts, and the application was made on a point of law. The plaintiff had been the holder of shares in the Labuk Planting Company, Limited, which carried on business in Borneo, but was registered under the Hongkong Companies Act. The company had been for some time past in liquidation, and in April, 1889. Mr. Hill, who was the owner of a large number of shares in the company, directed his brokers, Messrs. Chater and Vernon. to sell fifty shares of the company, on which only one or two calls had been paid, and a large number of calls had still to be paid. Messrs. Chater and Vernon sold the shares to a broker, Mr. Gabbay, a gentleman well known in this colony. Mr. Hill, who was at that time in Swatow, had sent the scirp of the shares and the transfer filled in and signed by himself, so far as he possibly could, to his brokers, Messrs. Chater and Vernon, and they handed the scrip of the fifty shares and the transfer still in the bank, without the name of any purchaser filled in, and handed them to Mr. Gubbay, who gave a cheque for the amount.
His Lordship-I suppose that is the difficulty ➡the blank transfer ?
Mr. FrancisYes, the fact that it was a blank transfer.
Continuing, Mr. Francis said that Mr. Gub- bay seemed to have acted only as a broker in the transaction, for he simply received the cheque from Mr. Gomes, and handed to him the scrip and the blank transfer. He purchased not as a principal, but under instructions.
His Lordship-There is no difference between
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.