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action was the same; and that judgment was recovered in respect of such cause of action and remains in force. The plaintiff is entitled to traverse any of these statements of fact. If he successfully controverts any of them, then the defence fails. It is obvious, therefore, that the putting forward of this defence involves the raising of definite issues between the parties with respect to the exist- ence and effect of the previous judgment, It is equally clear that it can be put forward by way of pleading it. If the defence is estab- lished, the defendant is entitled to judgment and the plaintiff's action is at an end. In the present instance the defendants have not adopted this course of procedure. They have elected to bring forward this ground of defence to the plaintiffs' claim in a summary way, that is, by a motion asking the Court not to stay proceedings but to put an end to the action. Is there any authority for a motion of this kind 2 No such authority was cited by the defendants' counsel, and I have not been able to discover any such authority. In the absence of authority, it appears to me that, on principle, it would be very inconvenient to allow a de- fence of this kind to be raised by way of motion. I arrive, therefore, at the conclusion that the Court cannot entertain this defence in its
present form, and consequently that the motion must be dismissed, with costs.
18th June.
CRIMINAL SESSIONS,
BEFORE SIR JOHN CARRINGTON (CHIEF JUSTICE).
DISCHARGED.
ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE.
Kwong Fung was charged with robbery with violence. He pleaded not guilty.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
retain the old by-law relating to the obstruction of streets and for that reason he had excepted by-law 4, which referred to that subject.
The PRESIDENT seconded, Carried.
NEW BY-LAW,
The PRESIDENT moved that an additional
by-law, made under Section 13 of Ordig. ance 15 of 1894, be passed and forwarded to the Colonial Secretary for the approval of the Government. The by-law provides that no street over land held under lease from the Crown, upon which any domestic buildings abut, shall be obstructed by any structure which may prejudicially affect the health of any of the inmates of such buildings. Should permission be refused the owner has the right of appeal to a Magistrate.
The MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH seconded.
Carried.
PLAGUE IN BOMBAY AND FORMOSA.
The official return from Bombay showed that from May 4th to May 18th there were 246 cases of plague and 182 deaths in the city and suburbs of Bombay. From the 19th to 26th May there were 76 cases and 58 deaths in Taiwan, Formosa.
MORTALITY STATISTICS.
For the week ended 5th June the death rate
in the colony was 24.9 per 1,000 per annum, as against 27.4 for the corresponding week of last year. For the week ended 12th June the death rate was 18.3, as against 17.7 for the corres- ponding period of last year.
A DANGER TO THE COLONY.
[June 22, 1897
The CAPTAIN SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE said the first typhoon would blow down the building.
The PRESIDENT moved that the Board com- municate with the Viceroy of Canton with the view to the prevention of the building now in course of erection being used as a hospital as in the Board's opinion it will prove a source of danger to the public health of the colony.
The ACTING DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS seconded.
Carried.
ADJOURNMENT.
The Board then adjourned for a fortnight.
THE DIAMUnd Jubilee ROAD.
Mr. G. C. C. Master sends us for publication the following copy of a letter which he has addressed to the Hon. C. P. Chater as Chair- man of the Jubilee Committee on the subject of the proposed new road round the island
Hongkong, 16th June, 1897, The Hon. C. P. Chater, Chairman, the Jubilee
Committee.
Sir. Before the proposed Jubilee Road is actually commenced at Kennedytown, where the foundation stone is to be laid, may I ask that you and your Committee should once more consider the utility of that portion of the pro- posed road to run round Mount Davis and along the coast line until it joins the present road to Aberdeen, which I assume will be near the last Bay before Aberdeen is reached.
I ask you and the Jubilee Committee to seriously consider whether it is desirable to commence the road from such a distant point as Kennedytown and carry it round Mount Davis rather than to improve the present Pok- fulum road by easing its gradients.
Mount Davis is carried out the cost of the road If the present idea of making the road round up to the point where it will join the Aberdeen Road will surely be very large as compared to the cost of easing the gradients of the Pokfu- lum Road; and does not the question arise as to whether the result will justify the cost?
The following report on a Chinese Hospital in course of erection at Samshnipo was laid on the table :-
Sanitary Board Office,
Hongkong, 31st May, 1897. Tong Wing, committed for trial for larceny Sir, I have the honour to report for the in- from the person, and Lai Yat, committed for formation of the Board that I inspected the stealing a watch, were discharged, the Attorney-hospital which is in process of erection at General offering no evidence against them.
Samshuipo on the 29th inst. It is evidently intended to be a large building as there is a retaining and enclosing wall fronting the sea, 200 feet long, while the lateral enclosing walls are 180 feet long. The Hospital is apparently to be built on the same model, as the Chinese Hospital at Macao, namely, rows of cells, each about 8 feet by 7 feet, separable by passages 8 feet wide. There are two large windows with iron bars in each cell, giving through ventilation, while the rooms are fairly lofty and the doors open on to the 8 feet lane. The floors have not yet been dealt with, but will, with the passages, presumably be concreted. The buidings are being constructed of blue brick, while the enclosing walls are of granite pointed with cement. A large dam, built of granite, has been thrown across the outlet of a narrow gorge at the back of the Hospital, but whether it is intended to serve as a reservoir for water or not I cannot say.
The back of the Hospital is within ten feetable distance ? of the conduit, which supplies fresh water to the junks, and this will be almost certain to be contaminated should any cases of plague, cholera, or typhoid fever be treated in the Hospital.
The jurors were-Messrs. J. P. Xavier, V. P. M. de Peralto, T. Yule, S. S. Benjamin, R. E. Kelly, F. W. Heuermann, and M. Heymann. The Attorney-General (Hon. W. M. Goodman) prosecuted and explained that a man named Tam Ho was walking along Queen's Road Central on the 5th inst. carrying a bag con- taining $993.88, when the prisoner assaulted him and snatched the bag. The thief was chased and caught and the bag and money, which he dropped, were recovered.
The jury, without leaving the box, convicted the prisoner.
His Lordship said the prisoner was liable to imprisonment for life and three floggings. The sentence would be three years' imprisonment and one flogging of twenty strokes,
HONGKONG SANITARY BOARD.
A meeting of the Sanitary Board was held yesterday afternoon at the offices. Dr. Atkin- son (Acting Colonial Surgeon) presided, and there were also present-Hon., F. H. May (Cap- tain Superintendent of Police), Hon. W. Chat- ham (Acting Director of Public Works), Dr. Clark (Medical Officer of Health), and Mr. H. McCallum (Secretary).
MINUTES.
No provision appears to have been made as yet for the drainage of the Hospital except a surface channel on the western border, but this will no doubt follow when the floors are laid.
The Hospital will undoubtedly be a grave source of danger to this colony if used for the The minutes of the last meeting were read treatment of cases of infectious disease, for and confirmed.
BY-LAWS REPEALED.
such cases will be smuggled out of the colony, leaving infected premises of which the Board knows nothing, while, again, convalescents will return here with infectious clothing or even before they themselves are free from infection. Both these conditions constantly happen at the present time, but with a native Hospital across the frontier the mischief will be greatly aggravated, and the only safeguards which I can suggest are to put into operation without delay of medical inspection of all the scheme vessels entering this harbour which has already been propounded by me, and during periods of special danger to control the entry of any Chinese into this colony overland.-I have the honour to be, &c.,
The MEDICAL OFFICER of HEALTH moved- "That the by-laws-with the exception of by-law No. 4-which were made by the Sanitary Board under section 13 of Ordinance 15 of 1894, on the 19th and 28th days of March, 1895, and ap- proved by the Legislative Council on the 20th day of March and the 4th day of April, 1895, respectively, and which were published in Gov- ernment Notifications Nos. 111 and 134 of 1895, be repealed as from the 22nd May, 1897. being the date of the publication of the new by-laws as set forth in Government Notification No. 201 of 1897." He explained that the resolution was purely formal and was necessitated by the new by-laws made by the Board and approved by the Legislative Council with the exception
one relating to streets. It was advisable to | The Secretary, Sanitary Board.
.*
FRANCIS W. CLARK, Medical Officer of Health.
I would also ask you and the Committee to consider whether, assuming a new road were made round Mount Davis and the gradients of the Pokfulum road were also eased, along which road would the majority of pedestrians, bicyclists, carriages, and equestrians proceed in order to get to or past Aberdeen, or even if the majority had no definite object in view would they probably proceed through China-town in order to enjoy the new road preferably to using an improved Pokfulam Road and by 80 doing avoid having to pass through China- town? Are the Chinese community likely to take to open air exercise merely on account of a new road, to reach the commencement of which many would have to travel a consider-
I beg that you and the Committee will take steps to ascertain whether the wishes of the subscribers to the Jubilee Fund are really in favour of carrying the proposed road round Mount Davis irrespective of cost, and that this letter may be brought to the notice of the authorities before a sam, probably exceeding $140,000, is spent in making such portion of the proposed new road and which after it is made may be found to be a failure as far as its use and benefit is concerned.
Will it not be better to first commence the improvement of the present pathway beyond Aberdeen and to extend the Shaukiwan road to Sai Wan Bay leaving the question of the ad. visability of a road round Mount Davis to be considered later when the question of expense and utility has been more fully considered.
When it is remembered that the Jubilee Com-
have not discussed the question of a road round the island with the public at a public meeting, and when it is also considered that to complete such a road a good deal of public money will have to be spent, I suggest it behoves the Com- mittee to be quite certain they represent the wishes of the public, or at any rate the majority. of the subscribers to the Jubilee Fand, before causing a large sum of money to be spent on a road round Mount Davis when the same object, viz., improved road accommodation, can be
mittee, who were nominated by the Governor,
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.