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July 30, 1896.J
fficial Members of the Legislative Council, in hich they suggest that certain items should omitted from the Statement of Revenue, on which the Military Contribution is based.
· ·2—I regret that I am unable to meet the views of the Unofficial Members in this matter, and I would observe that if any of their pro- posals were adopted, it would be necessary to reconsider the proportion of Revenue which has been fixed as the amount of the Contri- bution.
3. That proportion, seventeen and half per cent., taken on the total gross revenue of the colony, less Land Sales, and including all those items which have hitherto been accounted for ag: revenue, appears to me to be by no means an unreasonable sum to ask the colony to con- tribute; and I have already explained in my despatch No. 258 of 26th October last why I consider that there is no unfairness in charging the same percentage in the case of Hongkong as in that of the Straits Settlements, although in the latter colony municipal revenues are not taken into account.
4-Turning to those items of Revenue which were in the Estimates for 1895 (for the first and last time) treated as Appropriations in Aid, I would remark that they are in the nature of reimbursements towards expenditure, most or all of which expenditure would have to be incurred, even if nothing were recovered by way of reimbursement. These receipts are therefore, in my opinion, properly treated as Revenue and as indicated in my telegram of this day's date I can see no sufficient reason for deducting them from the total on which the Contribution is to be based.
5.-Similarly I can see no reason for deduct- ing any portion of the Postal Receipts, as proposed in your despatch under acknowledg ment. Most of the arguments advanced by you on this point would apply equally to several other Heads of Revenue, e.g., Harbour Receipts, Court Receipts, and Water, Receipts, all of which might in one sense be regarded as reimbursements in aid of expenditure.
6-I request you to lay this despatch and my despatch of 26th October last before the Legislative Council.-I have the honour to be, air, your most obedient, humble servant,
J. CHAMBEELAIN. Governor Sir W. Robinson, K.C.M.G., &c.,
&o, &c.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
with clothing, whilst their own was being discession has been availed of only infected by the Sanitary Board before being the removal to Canton of one finally returned to them. After the period of bodies, I am of opinion that the grantin ten days had elapsed, they were at liberty, if has tended to calm the minds of the native popu. still free from the disease, to return to the city, lation and to discourage the concealment of cases or to their own homes on the mainland. Only from the knowledge of the authorities. one or two persons developed the disease during the period of isolation, and they were of course at once removed to the Kennedytown hospital for treatment.
(iii.) The house in which the case occurred was at once closed and guarded by the Police until it had been thoroughly cleansed, disinfected, and whitewashed under the supervision of the Medical Officer of Health attached to the Sani- tary Board.
3-During the greater part of January, Canton was reported to be almost entirely free from the disease, but towards the end of that month it became more prevalent there. This fact materially altered the state of affairs and as, in view of the difficulty of restricting the passenger traffic from that port; from which Hongkong derives the greater part of its food supply, the colony was in any case exposed to the danger of the introduction of cases from thence and as the number of persons in segre- gation amounted to over 200 and was rapidly increasing, the Sanitary Board resolved to abandon the system of isolation on marriage boats. It was accordingly decided that such of the inmates of infected houses as desired to do so should be permitted, after their clothing had been disinfected, to proceed to Canton, their departure being supervised by the Police, and a sufficient sum of money being given to each person to defray the cost of his passage and his necessary expenses during the voyage.
4. Towards the middle of February the number of cases occuring daily began to show an appreciable increase, and the disease ceased to prevail only in a single district, but ap peared to be spreading over the whole city. Consequently on the 19th of that month it was declared by the Sanitary Board to be epidemic and from that date the Health Officer of the Post ceased issuing clean Bills of Health to versols leaving Hongkong.
5.-About the same time the ordinary staff of the Sanitary Board was increased by the ap- pointment as temporary Inspectors of Nuisances of nine European Police constables, who were entrusted with the duty of siding in the super- vision of the inspecting, cleansing, and disin-
THE GOVERNOR'S DESPATCH ON fecting of houses.
THE PLAGUE.
The following despatch: addressed by the Governor to the Secretary of State was laid before the Legislative Council at its last meeting:-
Government House, Hongkong, 6th May, 1896. Sir, I have the honour to forward for your information the following account of the in- cipience and progress of the bubonic plague in this colony during the current year and of the measures which have been and are being taken to suppress it.
2. The first case of plague occurred on the 4th January, and from that date to the 29th January there were forty-five cases, as reported to you in my despatch No. 26 of that date. These cases were merely sporadic, being con- fined principally to the western portion of the city.
Precautionary measures of the following nature, to prevent the disease from spreading, were adopted without delay
(1.) Every person found to be suffering from the disease was at once removed to the hospital at Kennedytown, situated in an isolated position at the extreme western suburb of Victoria, and was there placed under treatment.
(11.) The other inmates of the house in which the case had occurred and who were in close contact with the patient were segregated on large and roomy junks locally known as
the
hired by Government for the ored in the vicinity of Stone here they were detained under ten days, nine days having been be the maximum period of in- the disease in 1894 Every paid to the comfort of who, besides · being fed Government, vere supplied
6.—It is a somewhat remarkable fact that during the latter part of February and the first three weeks in March, while the disease was increasing in Hongkong, Canton was reported to have become almost entirely free from it; the immunity it enjoyed being attributed by the Chinese to the cold weather which prevailed during that period.
7.-It was, of course, not to be expected that the Chinese would submit with any great com- placency to the compulsory inspection, disin- fecting, and cleansing of their dwellings, which cannot be carried out without causing some discomfort to those concerned, and though, I am happy to say, that they have shown them- selves this year more ready than in 1894 to recognise the absolute necessity, in the interests of the public health, of the sanitary measures which have to be adopted, they nevertheless have displayed great unwillingness to come forward to report cases of plague coming under their cogni- sance. Innumerable have been the devices and subterfuges to which they have had recourse in order to remove patients and corpses from the colony without the knowledge of the authorities, and, in many instances, with a view to avoiding enforced segregation, they deserted their houses. leaving victims of the disease dead or dying, the bodies not having been discovered till some days after death. One case was brought to light in which a corpse was being conveyed secretly out of the colony as merchandise in a camphorwood box.
8.-In order, therefore, to allay the suspicions and apprehensions of the Chinese, who as a people are naturally timid, and to induce them to report cases with greater readiness, it was decided, towards the end of March to permit them to remove their sick to Canton under cer tain conditions, a copy of which is enclosed, and this privilege was shortly afterwards extended to the removal of corpses. Although this con-
9.--I am glad also in this connection be able to state that although good many of the well-to-do Chinese have rem their wives and families from the colony, and although the attendance at most of the schools has greatly diminished, there has been no general exodus of the popula tion such as occurred in 1894, and business has so far not suffered to any appreciable extent, except perhaps from the imposition of quaran tine by the Governments of Singapore and Batavia.
;
recommended that, in view of the danger, 10.-Early in April, the Sanitary Board: involved in sending inmates from plague- infected houses to Canton, where the disease had by that time again assumed formidable: dimensions, sheds should be erected in the colony for their segregation while their clothing: accordingly been erected, one each in the was being disinfected. Three such sheds have eastern, western, and central portions of the... city, and are being used for the temporary. housing of the inmates of infected houses whilst the latter are being cleansed and disinfected.
to apply to His Excellency the General Officer 11.-On the 6th April, I found it necessary Commanding for military assistance to aid in the work of house to house visitations and cleansing, and he was good enough to detail for gineers and subsequently seventeen men from that work twelve' men from the Royal En- the Rifle Brigade and three non-commissioned officers, who are cheerfully performing their difficult work in a most efficient manner. They are being remunerated at the same rate as that fixed in 1894.
each Chinese house in the colony about once in 12.-The search party visits and inspects
every ten days, and from the 25th February to the 21st April no fewer than 3,200- houses, with few exceptions, a separate dwelling, were comprising 8,330 floors, each floor forming, thoroughly cleansed, disinfected, and, in many Brigade." This work is still in progress. The cases, also limewashed by the "Whitewash total number of occupied Chinese houses in the city is 6,350, but as a number of these are occu pied by well-to-do Chinese no interference on the part of the Sanitary Board is necessary. It is hoped that before long every house in the city requiring attention will have been cleansed and limewashed.
13.-Having described in detail the sanitary measures which have been taken to cope with the disease, I now proceed to deal with the sub- ject from a medical point of view.
14.-I am informed by Dr. Lowson that the type of the disease is identically the same as in 1894, a full description of which is given in that officer's report, forwarded in my despatch No. 122 of the 16th April, 1895.
15.-I enclose a return showing the number of cases and deaths to date, and the number of cases which have occurred during each week s since the 4th January.
16.-I may here mention that in order to en- sure all possible accuracy in the statistics, the bodies of all Chinese whose deaths are regist but the causes of whose deaths have not been certified by a medical practitioner are examined before burial by the Medical Officer of Health In proof of the necessity of this step I may state that that officer found that between the 8th February and the 30th April as many as fifty deaths from plague had been erroneously registered as due to other c
« causes, principally consumption, bronchitis, and intermitten
everus
17.The mortality generally as com with 1894, shows a slight improvement. The total number of Chinese cases, up to noon-on the 4th instant, was 675 and the num deaths 602, or a little more tha whereas in 1894 the mortality who were treated in hospitals it must also calon
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