270
floor. That is to say that the inspector in these awful summer
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
ward at Kennedytown and brought from Nam
once spammer months can only visit each floor | Tang had been shot and their carcases buried. ⠀
THE PLAGUE IN PORTUGAL. A letter dated August 31st was read from Mr. C. B. Bayley, Assistant Secretary to the Government of Bengal, which said :—
"I am directed to state for your information that intimation having been received of the outbreak of plagne in Portagal the necessary instructions have been issued to the officers concerned to strictly enforce the Venice Sani- tary Convention Regulations in the ports of Calcutta and Chittagong against vessels arriv.
two months and cannot spend more than two and a half minutes in each. That is a physical impossibility. I defy the strongest man to do it not only in two and a half minutes bat in four times as long a period. I argued from that that there were not sufficient men to do the work. For an inspector to visit one of these floors, see an illegal cubicle or cockloft or some other obstruction, converse with old women and small children, find out who put the ob- struction there and order it to be taken down, tell the people to keep the place clean-sweeping from the Portuguese ports." the floor, and so on-all takes time, and I main. tain that the inspectors have not the time and that it is absolutely impossible for them to do the thing properly. On these grounds I considered that there ought to be more men.
Of course the Vice-President has said that winter is the only time we can deal with overcrowding. For my own part I do not think we can touch the question of overcrowding. The moment you begin to do that you drive the people out, and there is nothing else to do; but the man who attends to overcrowding in the winter will have plenty of work to do in the summer when the plague is on, so that I do not think the man put down to look after overcrowding will have at all an idle time of it. From figures which I worked out made out that we should require a great many more men than we have asked for, but of course I know it is no use asking for too much, and therefore I agree with the report. Unless we get these extra men and an Assistant Medi- cal Officer of Health I cannot see that we can do much good.
MORTALITY STATISTICS.
The mortality returns from Macao for the weeks ended Sep. 3rd and Sep. 10th showed 60 deaths (including one from plague) for the former week and 39 (including three from plague) for the latter.
-
The Hon. R. D. ORMSBY—The only remark I wish to make is that I do not think we have any reason to speak-perhaps it was a lapsus linguæ of the Insanitary Properties Bill as being shelved. It is true it is 13 days since we sent it up from here, but there has been no meeting of the Legislative Council since, and it is quite possible the Attorney-General, who is extremely hard worked just now, may be pre- paring to lay the Bill before the Council. There has been, I know, some talk about the Bill being shelved, but I think there is no reason for us to speak of it as being shelved With regard to this other matter I think I shall be obliged to vote on the side of the Vice-President, because I think it is far more necessary we should do work in the colony in the way of getting rid of insanitary properties than in increasing the staff. As to an Assistant Medical Officer of Health. I am quite prepared to support that suggestion, and also the appointment of one or two more inspec. tors, especially in view of the tremendons growth of British Kowloon. The extent of building there is scarcely realised in this colony. The populaton is doubling every few years, I should think, and there will be quite work enough Assistant Medical Officer of Health for over on the other side in a very short time, but with regard to the total expenditure recommended here I am afraid I cannot sup- port the proposal.
?
The VICE PRESIDENT proposed, and the Hon. R. D. ORMSBY seconded, an amendment to the effect that the Government be asked to provide for the appointment of an Assistant Medical Officer of Health and two additional frit-class inspectors.
On the amendment being put, only the mo- ver and seconder voted for it. The President, Mr. Osborne, and Dr. Clark voted for the motion, which was carried.
BINDERPEST AT KENNEDYTOWN, Inspector Watson, in a report dated 18th September, said that on the 16th inst. two calves arrived at the Cattle Depot from Namtan suf- fering from rinderpest and very sick. He had them both at once segregated, and as he ex- pected they both died during the night. On the 17th inst. 34 animals were admitted into the Cattle depot from Nam Hung. Two were suf- fering from rinderpest and one showed strong symptoms of pleuro pneumonia. On the 19th inst the Inspector reported that in ao- cordance with instructions he shot the three_sick animals the previous day and had their carcases buried on the hillside.
On the 18th inst. Inspector Watson reported that in accordance with instructions two animals suffering from rinderpest in the segregation
Hongkong for the week ended Sep. 9th showed The mortality statistics for the colony of a death rate of 23-6, against 19-7 for the previous week, and 20-1 for the corresponding week last year. The rate for the following week was 23.2, against 17-2 for the corresponding week
last
year.
BAD MILE.
The application of Dr. Clark for power to destroy 42 tins of condensed milk which were unfit for human food was granted.
This was all the business.
OUTBREAK OF RINDERPEST AT POKFULAM.
On Wednesday afternoon a special meating of the Hongkong Sanitary Board was beld for the purpose of considering an outbreak of rinder post at the Dairy Farm. Pokfulam. The Pre- sident (Dr. J. M. Atkinson, Principal Civil Medical Officer) occupied the chair, and there were also present the Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart, Mr. E. Osborne, Dr. Clark (Medical Officer), and Mr. C. W. Duggan (Secretary).
The PRESIDENT said he regretted to have to call them together at such short notice, but report had been received by the Secretary to the effect that rinderpest had broken out at the Pokfulam Dairy Farin, and it was necessary for the Board to declare the premises infected and to take the necessary steps to prevent the spread of the disease.
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[September 30, 1899.
the Hospital infected that will suffice for the present."
Mr. OSBOENH-Do you propose declaring these two infected ř
Dr. CLARK-Yox,
The PRESIDENT-It appears they have taken all the precautions they could, and I think that will be enough for the present.
On the motion of Dr. CLARK, seconded by the PRESIDENT, No 5 shed and the Hospital were declared infected.
This was all the business.
INLAND WATERS STEAM NAVIGATION.
The following correspondence has been for- warded to us for publication by Mr. R. Chatter ton Wilcox, Secretary of the Hongkong ten- THE STEAMER COMPANIES TO THE CHAMBER: eral Chamber of Commerce :—
Hongkong, 11th September, 1899. R. Chatterton Wilcox, Esq., Secretary,
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, Dear Sir,-We beg to send you herewith copy of a joint letter which we addressed to H.B.M. Minister at Peking on the 28th March last, pointing out the hardship entailed upon the owners of foreign steamers trading on the West River by the Inspector General of Cus toms' interpretation of the Steam Navigation Inland Rules and Regulations (amended) 1898, a copy of which we enclose, and in connection therewith we would particularly direct your at tention to paragraph 1 of the said Regulations, which reads as follows:-
"The inland waters of China are hereby opened to all such steamers, Native or Foreign, as are specially registered for that trade at the Treaty ports. They may proceed to and fro at will under the following Regulations, but they must confine their trade to the inland waters and must not proceed to places out of Chinese territory. The expression inland waters' is used with similar meaning to that given for places in the interior (nei-ti) in the fourth article of the Chefoo Convention."
Our representations to H.B.M. Minister were duly forwarded under cover by Mr. Mansfield, the British Consul at Canton, and by the reply received, enclosed herewith with other corres pondence on the subject, you will see that our effort to obtain redress of our grievances has been futile, although, according to Mr. Consul The SECRETARY read the following report Mansfield's despatch 7th July, the Inspector- from Inspector Watson, of the Animals Depot, General of Customs' ruling was in direct con- Kennedytown (dated 27, Sept.):-"I have the travention of Regulation No I as quoted above. honour to report that on the 26th inst. Mr. And even the privilege of calling at way ports Walker, manager of the Dairy Farm Company, for passengers has been withdrawn, the trade of requested me by memo, to go and see the cattle foreign steamers being now confined solely to at the Pokfulam Farm, as some of them appeared the treaty ports and the four ports of call men. to be sick. I went and found that he had tioned in the orginal proclamation at the open already isolated in his Cattle Hospital (a mat-ing of the West River. shed about 200 yards away from the nearest shed) five heifers over two years old, all freedom of traffic and trading on the Inland From the foregoing. it will be seen that the suffering from high fever, and that should waters, about which so much has been said and unfortunately an infectious disease ensue, he had taken all the neces-
or contagious written of late, is absolutely non-existent. We would therefore ask your Chamber to be good sary steps for preventing the spread of the enough to take the matter up, and endeavour to disease by having the shed where the animals obtain the removal of the restrictions of which were removed from (No. 5) and the mat- sheds where they are housed isolated from which constitute a very great hindrance to the we complain in our letter 28th March last, and the remainder of the farm by putting up a development of trade on the West River, so temporary barbed wire fence 4 ft. 6 in. high, much so that we have had to take one of our and he is getting two Indian watchmen to pre-steamers off the Line.-We are, dear sir, yours vent any communication between the healthy faithfully, sheds and that in which the animals were taken from. All the sheds are also looked with their attendants inside, and only opened by the Euro- pean in charge of the farm. This morning I again visited the farm, The remaining animals in shed No. 5 are in good health; so are the ani- mals in the other sheds. The five animals in the Cattle Hospital are suffering from rinderpest but of a mild type. There now remain 13 hei- fors and two bulls in shed No. 5, where the diseased animals were removed from, nearest sheds are Nos. 3 and 4, in which are housed 21 cows, five bulls, two heifers, and three calves, and these sheds are about 60 yards away from shed No. 5. The Indian watchmen had not arrived when I was there this morning but were hourly expected.
The
Dr. Clark in a minute appended to the report said :——" As none of the animals are milch cows I think there is at present no occasion for alarm, and that if we declare No. 5 shed and
THO. ARNOLD
Secretary, Hongkong, Canton and
Macao Steamboat Co., Limited.
Jardine, MathESʊn & Co. General Mangers, Ludo-China Steam
Navigation Co., Limited.
BUTTERFIELD & SWIRE, Agents, China Navigation Co., Limited.
THE STEAMER COMPANIES TO. THE CONSUL.
Hongkong, 28th March, 1899. Sir. We hand you for your information joint despatch we have addressed to H. B. M. Minister at Peking on the subject of Inland Navigation together with the enclosures therein alluded to,
These we shall be glad if, after perusal, you will transmit to their destination with any remarks you may think it well to make in order
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