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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
HONGKONG SANITARY BOARD.
produce. They urge that if they suffer damage to their factories by flood or the raids of savages the low price fixed upon will leave them no margin from which to make good the loss.
A regards the manner in which the Govern ment will sell its camphor nothing definite has been decided, but according to a competent authority the Government will not sell the drug at all for the present but will allow an interval of six months or a year to elapse, when it is anticipated the article will fetch three times the price paid for it to the producers. Owing to the importance of increasing the general re- venue to make it balance the expenditure the Government, it is stated, desire to get a million yen out of the monopoly.
THE HOSPITAL SISTERS
JMEMORIAL.
We take the following from the Notes for July issued by the Rev. R. F. Cobbold, Chaplain of St. John's Cathedral:-
19
In the North Transept has been placed a stained glass window in memory of two Hospital Nurses who died last year. The work has been executed by Messrs. Heaton, Butler and Bayne of London, from a design approved by Mr. C. Palmer. We think that the window will be very much admired; and it is an interesting fact that the designer is a lady who was well known in Hongkong a few years ago. The manufacturers, with whom the order was to be placed invited Mr. Shields to
submit a design. This gentleman could not do it at the time, owing to press of other work, but be sug- gested the name of one of his former pupils whose work he could thoroughly recommend. The result is that we have a beautiful window designed by Miss Kate Coughtrie. And it is the more interesting by reason of its position in the Cathedral next to the "Stewart Window which was chosen eight years ago by her father. The subject of the window is so plain and appropriate that it hardly needs any description. However, we venture to give the following: In the upper portion are two women, each of whom seems to combine the characteristics of devo- tion and work which were severally displayed by Mary and Martha of Bethany. One, on the right of the picture, is looking upward to the calm face of the Saviour, as though seeking the direction of His will: the other is in an attitude of service administering the cup of relief to a dying man. Over them, but unseen by them, on the left, is an Angel of Reward bearing for them the Martyr's palm. Above all is an emblematic crown. The whole picture very beautifully illustrates the words: Inas- much as ye did it unto one of these.... ye did it unto Me."
In the lower portion of the window are two angelic figures, one carrying a crown, and the other a book, and bearing respectively on a scroll the words, "I will give thee a crown of life," and I will give them an everlasting name." The name of the two Nurses, with the dates of their deaths are in the window. The work has been beautifully executed from very artistic, appropriate and effective design.
Under the window is brass plate with the following inscription:- In loving memory of of Elizabeth Frances Higgin and Emma Ger- trude Ireland, who died in 1898 of plagas con. | tracted on duty. They were for nearly eight years members of the Nursing Staff of the Government Civil Hospital, Hongkong. This window was placed in Saint John's Cathedral by the Community of Hongkong."
..
The Straits Times of the 26th June says:--- The German cruiser Kaiser, 2,223 tons, Cap- tain Stubenrauch, arrived yesterday morning from Amoy and exchanged salutes with the port. She carries 36 guns, is of 8,000 horse- power, and has a crew of 612. She is expected to leave for Colombo on Monday next. The Kaiser has had a large amount of money spent on her during her stay in Chinese waters, but it is stated that the recent performances of her engines have been anything but satisfactory Rumour has it that she will have to be towed to Europe. From an architectural point of view the Kaiser is certainly the ugliest speci- men of the modern warship that has passed through Singapore.
SPECIAL MEETING,
[July 8, 1899.
the matter and under the circumstances will not insist on putting me to the expense of breaking up and relaying the surfaces referred to.”
A special meeting of the Hongkong Sanitary
In the letter referred to Messrs. Denison Board was held on the 30th June for the and Ram say " We find that the whole surface purpose of recommending sites for four latrines of the yard, cookhouses, and sleeping rooms and to consider the question of further search used by your servants are covered with a per parties for plague. The President (Dr. J. M. fectly good surface of cement. Whether this Atkinson, Principal Civil Medical Officer) pre- is laid upon six inches of lime concrete which sided, and there were also present Mr. A. W. the Sanitary Board requires in the case of new Brewin (Acting Registrar-General), Mr. Eworks-we cannot say, but we have no Osborne, Dr. Clark (Medical Officer), and Mr. hesitation in saying that your quarters are in C. W. Duggan (Secretary).
excellent condition from a sanitary point of view, and that they are covered with an im- pervious material-in point of fact a good deal more impervious than the six inches of rather in- differenti ime concrete which is often laid down."
The PRESIDENT said the sub-committee ap. pointed to consider the question of the sites for new latrines had sent in their report and recom. mended two sites. One was on Crown land at the junction of Pound lane with Taipingshan street, bounded on the north by Taipingshan street, on the east by Sui King lane, on the Pound lane. The other was on Crown land at south by Kat-cheong lane, and on the west by the back of the Harbour Office. He proposed that a reply be sent to the Colonial Secretary recommending the sites mentioned.
Dr. CLARK seconded, and the motion was carried.
the President said that during the last month The Standing Orders having been suspended, 21 cases of bubonic plague had occurred at British Kowloon, most of them during the last week. He proposed that the peninsula of British Kowloon be declared infected,
Dr. CLARK seconded, and the motion, was carried.
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The PRESIDENT said that he called the mom- starting search parties for Nos. 4, 5, and 6 bers together to consider the advisability of districts. At present there were no search parties in these districts, which were the that they could not obtain any police to assist most populous in the city. The difficulty was in this work this year, on account of their being engaged in other work. He was strongly in favour of the establishment of search parties.
Mr. OSBORNE spoke in favour of the search parties being instituted again. He remarked that search parties would force the Chinese who number of cases of plague which came be- were sick to leave the colony. He believed the fore the Sanitary Board were a very small proportion indeed of the number which ac tually occurred. He believed the returns to the Sanitary Board practically represented the corpses which had been found He thought this a fitting occasion to call the attention of the Government to the utter helplessness of their not having a proper staff. the Board in times of epidemic on account of They had not half the number of men they ought to have, and the men they had were not suffi. ciently paid for what they had to do. They wanted a better class of men and a great many ment be recommended to call for volunteers, more of them. He proposed that the Govern- European and Chinese interpreters, and to ask the military authorities to lend the assistance of the number of soldiers required.
The PRESIDENT seconded, and the motion
was carried.
This was all the business.
The usual fortnightly meeting of the Hong- kong Sanitary Board was held on Thursday afternoon The President (Dr. J. M. Atkinson, Principal Civil Medical Officer) occupied the chair, and there were also present the Vice- president (Hon. F. H. May, Captain Superio tendent of Police), the Hon. R. D. Ormsby (Director of Public Works) Mr. E. Osborne, Dr. Clark (Medical Officer of Health), and Mr. C. W. Duggan (Secretary).
SANITARY SURVEYOR.
The Secretary reported the appointment of Mr. Drury as Sanitary Surveyor.
ད་
APPIKATION FOR EXEMPTION. The Hon. R. M. Rumsey, writing to the Secretary of the Sanitary Board on the 16th June, said :- With reference to a notice re- cently served upon me by order of the Sanitary Board, calling upon me to re-lay the surfaces of the backyard and servants' quarters at my house, R. B. L. 25, I have to request that you will lay before the Board the enclosed letter from Messrs. Denison and Ram, to whom I had referred the work and I trust that the Board on perusal thereof will reconsider
The PRESIDENT said that as this floor seemed to be impervious and was not a cause of nuisance he moved that the application be granted.
motion was carried.
The Hon. R DORMSBY seconded, and the
APPLICATION FROM THE DIOCESAN SCHOOL.
An application for permission to erect four waterclosets at the Diocesan School on Bonham road was submitted. į.
On the motion of the VICE PRESIDENT; refused, seconded by Dr. CLARK, the application was
THE LIGHTING OF THE CENTRAL MARKET, A report of a sub-committee of the Board on the lighting of the Central Market was sub- mitted.
THE PLAGUE IN FORMUSA.
A report from the British Consulate at Tai- nan stated that the number of cases of bubonic the 30th May to the 5th of June inclusive was plague which occurred in the prefecture from 53, the deaths numbering 45 and the recoveries 19. For the period June 6th to June 12th in- olusive the cases numbered 37, the deaths
being 35 and the recoveries 20; from January 7th to June 12 there were 2,106 cases, with 1,600 deaths and 427 recoveries. Acting Consul (rif- fiths remarks. "I am happy to say the epidemic appears now to be rapidly subsiding."
MORTALITY STATISTIČS.
The mortality statistics for the colony of Hong- kong for the week ended June 24th shows death 14.7 for the corresponding week last year. rate of 50.4, against 38.1 for the previous week and
The mortality returns from Macao show 52 deaths (including one from plague) for the week ended June 11th, 69 (including five from plague), for the week ended June 18th, and 80 (including 12 from plague) for the week ended
June 25th.
LIMESWASHING IN THE WESTERN
DIVISION Mr. OSBORNE proposed that proceedings be in the Western Division which had not been taken against the owners of the 1,583 tenements
cleansed and limewashed in accordance with the most insanitary district had been cleansed ac- law. Only one-third of the tenements in this cording to law-that was at their own expense
and as the Board had given every reasonable. warning to the people to cleanse these premises he thought nothing more remained but to enforce the law.
The Hon. R. D. ORMSBY seconded and the motion was carried.
This was all the business.
THE PLAGUE.
The weekly returns for the past two months are as follows :---
WEEK ENDED.
May 6
CASES.
DEATHS.
64
52
13
89
69
་་
20
87
:70
84
27
143
134
June 3
92
97
10
97
91
" --
17
109
·115
46
24 July 1
... 148
138
142
144
The daily returns for the present week are as follows
July 2
44
14
CASES.
DEATHS.
14
16
15
15
14
14
8
*13
16
16'
7
14 yesterday was 1,170 and the deaths 1,105.
The total number of cases reported up to
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