270
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
owner
ap-
[October 7, 1897,
The resolution was carried unanimously. INSANITARY DWELLINGS AT JARDINE'S GARDENS.
"Provided always that in the event of such The SECRETAry having read the minutes, width and there is yet no provision in the permission being refused by the said Board the The MEDICAL OFFICER of HEALTH said- Ordinance or by-laws of this colony to pre
the top owner of any such backyard or back lane shall Sir, I have a resolution to move on this subject, vent those streets being covered on
and blooked up at both ends, and this by. have the right of appeal to a Magistrate who but I should just like to say a few words ex- shall take evidence on oath thereon and who, if planatory of the history of this by-law. As the law remodelled by the Insanitary Properties was made by the satisfled that the proposed obstruction will not letter of Mr. Leigh and the amended by-law of Commission and which prejudicially affect the health of any of the in- the Insanitary Properties Commission appear Board in June last, is intended to provide for mates of such building, may grant permission to to me to bear absolutely no relation to one the sanitary condition of the houses fronting or erect such obstruction, and provided also that this another I shall have to deal with them separa- otherwise abutting on those particular streets. by-law shall not affect any additions or rebuild.tely. First in regard to Mr. Leigh's letter. What the Insanitary Properties Commission has ing of any building which conforms to the pro He says "that no owner of property will be done is to convert our street by-law into a back visions of the Building Ordinance of 1889 and able to add to or extend a building, or build on yard by-law by that proposed amendment, the Public Health Ordinance of 1887 and the parts of his lot at present aubuilt upon, or forgetting apparently that we have already by-laws made thereunder.
pall down and rebuild on his lot, nor even put a back yard by law passed by the Legislative "Any person who shall contravene this by-law out a sunshade, either temporary or perman- Council in May last. So that when the mem- shall on conviction thereof be liable to a penalty ent, without obtaining the permission of the bers of, the Commission ask for the conversion not exceeding $25 for each contravention, and Medical Officer of Health." Mr. Leigh, in the of this street by-law into a back yard by-law, it any refusal or omission after conviction, to re- first place, shows that there is confusion in his shows that they hardly realize the exact position of affairs, while they stultify the whole thing move the illegal structure or object shall be mind between a back yard and a back lane.. He deemed a fresh contravention of this by-law." speaks in that sentence of a building and when, in the last paragraph of the proposed The MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH wrote presumably, therefore, any space in the rear of amended by-law, they say that the by-law shall He, who knows our not affect any additions or rebuilding of any the following minute. This recommendation of it will be a back yard. the Insanitary Properties Commission will, if sanitary regulations and by-laws so well, buildings which conform to the provisions of the Building Ordinance of 1889 and the Public adopted by the Sanitary Board, deprive it of must know that by-law No. 5, which was
Health Ordinance of 1887, neither of which has some of the meagre powers which it already passed by the Legislative Council in May
last, already provides that an possesses under the old street by-law, and I can
may reference to the sanitary condition of exist hardly believe that the members of the Com- build over a back yard provided he leaves aing houses which front or private streets. mission have fully realized the nature of their clear and unobstructed space, defined in the The matter is a difficult one to explain, proposal. The only reference to private streets by-law as not less than 100 square feet in the verbally, but I have done my best to make contained in Ordinance 24 of 1887 is that it case of a building of two stories and 150 feet it clear to you, and I now move "(1) That the Colonial Secretary be informed that the shall be considered a nuisance if any such street in the case of a building of three or more is so foul as to be noxious or noisome or un- stories in height. There is no provision in this Board cannot adopt the further suggestions healthy, while Ordinance 15 of 1889 concerns street by-law which will prevent his building of the Insanitary Properties Commission for itself with the stability of building structures over such a back yard provided he leaves an the amendment of the by-law relating to the and therefore protection from fire, but it also open space as provided by law. Another para- obstruction of private streets, which was contains one reference to private streets in graph in the letter says.-"Why, then, should drafted by the Commission and duly made by section 52, applicable, however, only to buildings not the Board pass a definite by-law laying the Board on June 17th, 1897. (2). That the minutes of the members of the Board be for- wholly erected subsequent to the passing of that down clearly what distance at the front and back Ordinance. The by-law as made by the Board, of buildings of say, oue, two, or three stories warded to the Colonial Secretary for the in- and which has already received the approval of in height shall be left unobstructed, instead formation of His Excellency the Governor." the Commission, deals with the sanitary condition of trying to pass such an absurd, vague, The ACTING DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
I beg to second that. of existing dwellings abutting on private and arbitrary by-law as the one proposed, which streets, lanes, &c. In February of this year I would vary with the opinion of each and every
Health Officer or other officer that may be showed the members of this Commission a number of such honses and the majority of pointed, so that there would be no certainty; them emphatically expressed the opinion that and what one Health Officer might approve an- they were "unfit for human habitation," and other would disapprove." First, sir, in regard a disgrace to the sanitary legislation of this to the space provided in the front of buildings. colony; while, moreover, in May, 1896, two That is already provided for in the Building prominent members of the Commission publicly Ordinance, 15 of 1889, section 52, which says spoke of the sanitary condition of the colony as that there shall be a clear and unobstructed space being "a disgrace to civilization" (and perhaps of at least seven and a half feet in width, measur. in some respects they were not far wrong), and ed from the centre line of such lane in front yet their proposal, as contained in this amended
of every new domestic building, erected in a by-law, is a deliberate attempt to revert to the private street. And, again, Ordinance 15 of 1894 inadequate sanitary legislation of the pre-plague regulates the heights of buildings in accordance days, and all because, forsooth, a local architect with the width of the streets upon which they considers that any improvement in the direction front. The space to be provided in the rear of indicated might prejudice the rights of the owners buildings is similarly provided for in by-law of these disgraceful properties, for the sugges-5, which I have already quoted. So that Mr. tion that the Medical Officer of Health and the Leigh asks for what has already been pro- Magistrate would both be so blind to the true vided, and the matter does not rest at all interests of the community as to object to any with the Medical Officer of Health; it is genuine improvements of house property is too provided for in the by-laws and in the Or- absurd to be seriously entertained. If the Com-dinances of the colony. The other point mission persists in advising these proposed amend-which has been confused in his letter is, to my ments, I see no alternative open to me than to apply to the Board for permission to request the Magistrate to condemn many of these houses as "unfit for human habitation," in accordance with section 23 of the Public Health Ordinance of 1887. I have hitherto avoided this extreme measure in the hope that the proposal of this Commission would render such a course unneces- sary, but if this emasculated by-law is to be regarded as a fair sample of what the Commis- sion will recommend the Government to do for the betterment of the housing of the poorer classes of our community, then the Sanitary Board need no longer look to them for assist- ance and support in securing the very neces- sary reforms urged by us upon the Government in August, 1896. I fail to see any reason why this matter should be considered in camera (as suggested by the President, for the by-law has al- ready been laid upon the table of the Legislative --Council and published by the local Press, and, moreover, the suggested amendment is the outcome of a letter also published in the Press by Mr. Leigh.
The ACTING DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS appended the following minute-The by-law should be retained in its previcus form. The exercise of the powers conferred on the M. O. H. in any arbitrary manner is sufficiently safe guarded by the right of appeal to the Magistrate. The PRESIDENT-I agree with the Director of Public Works.
Future
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The MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH wrote calling the attention of the Board to the fact that a large, number of insanitary matshed dwellings existed upon Inland Lots Nos. 1,028, 1,019, 1,020, and 1,021 known as Jardine's Gardens. Ju October, 1894, the Sanitary Board served a notice upon Messrs. Jardine, Matheson
Co. requiring them to put some precisely similar dwellings, which then existed on Inland Lot 1.018, into a sanitary condition, or remove After a considerable amonnt them entirely.
of correspondence the buildings were removed in May, 1895. At the end of the same year and dur. ing 1896 many of the buildings were re-erected and were now in quite as bad a condition as be- fore, but owing to the outbreak of plagus in 1896 and the regrettable death of Inspector Moffatt, who had charge of that district until June of that year, no further action was taken against Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co. The Medical Officer of Health therefore recommended that another notice be served upon the owner or agents of the lots requiring them to put all buildings thereon into a sanitary condition, or to remove them entirely within a period of six months from the date of serving such notice. At present about 550 persons occupied the dwell. ings, which cover an area of about 18 acres.
In the minutes attached to the letter Mr. EDE and the MEDICAL OFFICER of HEALTH
expressed the openion that an order should be served on the owners or agents.
mind, the distinction which must be drawn between the sanitary provisions of existing houses and the sanitary provisions of future houses. That second paragraph of his letter must necessarily refer to future houses, because the application of any such hard and fast rule as he suggests to existing dwellings would necessitate the demolition of almost all the Chinese houses in the colony. houses are already provided for and future additions to existing houses are already provided for, and this by-law, which was originally drafted and made by the Board on the 17th December, 1896, deals with the obstruction of existing private streets. It did not, as origin- ally drafted by the Board, leave anything to the discretion of the Medical Officer of Health. permission to be granted; if any. The was to be granted by the Sanitary Board Mr. Leigh has apparently over- and
the Insanitary looked the fact that it was Properties Commission and not the Board that placed this great oans upon the Medical Officer of Health. The Board were prepared to take
The SECRETARY informed the Board that he the responsibility, but the Commission thought
`had received a letter from the agent's architect otherwise and they placed the responsibilty on the Medical Officer of Health in conjunc-saying that the matsheds on lot No. 1,018 had tion with the Magistrate. At the present been erected without their permission. The оде hundred buildings would be pulled down as soon as pos- time there are more than private streets in the City of Victoria sible, probably some time this month. less than 15 feet in width; three or four, Fletcher Street, are of greater
snch as
The ACTING DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS wrote the following minute-I have already stated that a considerable number of these huts will have to be removed when the cotton mills are begun, which will take place very shortly. I think the matter could stand over until it is seen which of the huts are to be left, and these could be dealt with as suggested by the M.O.H, Greater vigilance should be observed by the Inspectors to see that those displaced by the mills are not reconstructed, as has already been the case with the huts formerly removed.
The PRESIDENT thought the best course was to draw the attention of the agents to the
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