370
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
14
[November 10, 1900.
HONGKONG SANITARY BOARD. out by the owner, to the satisfaction of tho having their houses thoroughly cleaned. It said Board, not less than twice in every was not a great deal to ask of anyone, even On the 9th inst. a meeting of the Hong-year, namely, during the months of May and of the poorest person. He did not think that kong Sanitary Board was held. The President June and of Noveniber and December." He anyone would be bold enough to say that the pro- (the Hon. R. D. Ormsby, Director of Public said they had provided this Bye-law because mises of the poorer classes of the Chinese were Works) occupied the chair, and there were in the first place the Board had power to make ever cleaned except during these lime-washing also present the Hon. F. H. May, C.M.G.. it. Then there was a Bye-law made some time seasons and perhaps at the Chinese new year. (Captain Superintendent of Police), Dr. Bell ago which covered the whole colony. Subse- There had been drawn a dreadful picture of the (Acting Principal Civil Medical Officer), quently another Bye-law was made and certain poverty endured by these villagers, but that Major Brown, R.A.M.C., Mr. J. McKie, months when lime-washing should be carried on picture was not in agreement with the general Dr. Hartigan, Mr. E. Osborne, Dr. F. Clark were specified, and at that time by some over prospority of the colony and the general sur- (Medical Officer of Health), Mr. Fung Wa sight the villages were left out altogether.roundings of these poor people." They Chuen, Mr. Chan A Fook, and Mr. G. A. Recently he had had some considerable difficulty seemed to live in comparative suxury; and did Woodcock (Secretary).
in Shaukiwan in getting tenement houses lime. not appear to overwork themselves to get food. washed, and if this Bye-law were adopted the If a beginning was not made-if steps were not difficulty would be removed.
taken to compel those people to keep themselves The Hon. F. H. MAY said he could not clean, they must expect to have plague always RCO any sufficient reason for extending with them after so much trouble had been taken this Bye-law to these villages. If they extend--after so many people had been prosecuted. It ed it to the villages mentioned there was no would be a distinct retrograde movement to go reason that he could see why it should not be back upon it now, and he thought Dr. Clark's extended to every other village in Hongkong motion should receive the support of the Board. Island and on the Kowloon Peninsula. He was not aware that they had had any plague in these villages. He recollected, indeed, that they had been particularly free from it. There was no doubt that this lime-washing would be a con- siderable expense and would give a great deal of trouble.
THE WATERING OF THE STREETS.
On the minutes of the previous meeting being read over, Dr. HARTIGAN called attention to the fact that there was some misapprehension as to the resolution passed as to the watering of the streets. He understood that the intention of the Bourd was not to stop watering the streets altogether but to stop watering them with filtered water.
It was decided to alter the resolution so as to make this clear.
THE INSPECTOR'S QUARTERS AT KENNEDY-
TOWN.
The following letter, dated Oct. 29th, was submitted:-
Major Brown thoroughly agreed with Mr. Osborne's remarks. They had been told these houses were filthy, and now they wore asked that they should not be cleansed. These people were only asked to clean their houses twice a year, and they all knew that the Chi- nese as a race was one of the filthiest that Mr. FUNG WA CHUEN said he was in existed. They had been told, these houses were favour of sanitary measures. but consider-hovels; if that were so, the sooner the hovels were cleaned, and the oftener, the better it would be for all concerned.
"I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 153 of the 26th instant, for. warding a resolution of the Sanitary Boarding the poverty of the places indicated he that the Inspector in charge of the slanghter- did not think it would be wise to whitewash house should receive a house allowance pending their houses twice a year. All these people the contemplated improvements to the district were not educated. They were perfectly in which his quarters are situated. In reply I ignorant of the law. They seemed to remain am to inform you that on examination by Dr. impassive and not to learn anything. Con- Young and Mr. Tooker it was found that the sequently the result would be that many people neighbourhood of the Inspector's quarters and would be prosecuted and fined or imprisoned. the Police Station is infested with the unopheles Families, seeing their heads put in prison, mosquito, which, as suggested by the Medical would be compelled to sell their belongings in Officer of Health in October, 1899, accounts for order to redeem them. It would really be a the recurrence of malarial symptoms. His Ex-hardship to them. Besides, they had not had cellency the Governor has given orders that the ground surrounding the Inspector's quarters shall be thoroughly cleared of brushwood, and steps will be taken to deal with the breeding places of the anopheles. In the meantime a house allowance of $30 per mensem will be given to the Inspector for the period of three months. By that time it is hoped that the house, which appears to be a suitable one in itself, will have been freed from the presence of the malarial mosquito."
Mr. McKie minuted—“ Bring this matter ap again three months hence."
The PRESIDENT-Do you wish that to be noted, Mr. M'Kie.
Mr. M'KIE replied that he did. The action taken by the Governor was only a temporary one, but it was hoped that it would have the desired effect.
The PRESIDENT understood that the man would not leave the house.
Mr. M'KIE thought that to be hardly possible. He wished most distinctly to state that the action taken now should be regarded as only a temporary one, and he moved that the matter be brought up again in three months.
Dr. CLARK seconded, and the motion was
carried.
THE DRAINAGE QUESTION.
The following drainage Bye-law was made by the Board under subsection of section 13 of Ordinance 24 of 1887:-The Bye-laws made by the Sanitary Board on the 1st of August, 1890, under sub-section 1 of section 13 of Or dinance No. 24 of 1887, and approved by the Legislative Council on the 13th day of October, 1890, are hereby amended as follows:- The word new before the words "drain," "drains" and "drainage," respectively, where- ever it occurs in numbers 1, 4, 10, 19, 24, 33, 43, 44 and 45 of the said bye-laws, and in the marginal note to No. 43 is hereby struck out, and the marginal note to No. 41 is also hereby struck out, and the following substituted there- for, viz.:-" Opening drains for inspection, &c."
LIMEWASHING IN THE VILLAGES.
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A vote was then taken, when Dr. Clark's motion was carried by a majority of one, five voting for the motion and four against,
THE MALARIAL MOSQUITO.
A report on the malarial mosquito by the Medical Officer of Health, with special reference to the Inspector's quarters at Kennedy-town,
was submitted. It ran as follows:-
"The modern theory in regard to the trans- mission of malaria is that the disease is con- veyed from man to man by certain mosquitoes belonging to the genus anopheles, of the dip- terous (two-winged) family Culiciduc.
very many plague cases from these villages, and it had not been proved to the satisfaction of the Board or to the satisfaction of the public that white-washing did keep down plague. Of
"It has long been known that trre course white-washing was a good thing, but it
malaria is associated with the presence had not been proved that it was one of those of certain minute organisms in the blood things which had a good effect upon plague. of the patient; and it can readily be un- Many of the people in these villages were poorderstood that when a patient suffering from. people. They were slop-carriers or stone-cut- ters or common labourers, He was at a loss to understand how they were to get the money to pay for white-washing twice a year.
malaria is bitten by a mosquito some of these organisms are taken (with the blood) into the body of the mosquito. The malarial organisms there undergo certain developmental changes, and should the same mosquito subsequently bite a healthy person he becomes inoculated with the disease and develops an attack of malaria.
The PRESIDENT. in seconding the motion, said the expense of white-washing would be a mere nothing-probably about a dollar. A bushel of lime would go a long way, and the man would do the work himself, so that no The anopheles differs from the ordinary householder need be at any expense to keep his mosquito (genus culez) in that its approach house clean. This lime-washing might not pre-is not heralded by that noisy ping that cha- yent infectious diseases, but it would certainlyracteries the latter; that its bite is not near- keep mosquitoes out of the house, and that itselfly so irritating to the skin; that it rarely was something. He certainly was in favour of the proposed Bye-law.
Mr. CHAN A FOOK was of opinion that the last speaker had no knowledge of these poor villagers. He (the speaker) was born in Stanley and he kner more about Stanley than any one in the colony. Talking about a bushel of lime and a bucket of water not costing much, he had known cases where people had not even the money to pay for their food. They gained a living principally by going up to the moun- tain and cutting grass, which they sold for 60 or 70 cash, and with that money they had to Ho support a family of perhaps six or ten. therefore could not see how they could be expected to save anything to limewash their houses-poor houses at that, the best of them.
Dr. BELL agreed with Mr. Chan A Fook in saying that the time had not arrived for these measures to be put into operation; the time never would come. The mere white-washing of a house did not prevent the rise of infectious diseases, except, perhaps, malaria. It was simply a matter of keeping the house clean, and he was of opinion that, because the Board wanted Dr. CLARK proposed that the following draft to have a house clean, they ought not to step in Lime-washing Bye-law be made under sub-and make a man clean it. section 4 of section 13 of Ordinance No. 24 of 1887:-"Any house, or part of a house, in the villages of Quarry Bay, Shaukiwan, Stanley, Aberdeen and Aplichau which is occupied by members of more than one family, shall (unless specially exempted by the Sanitary Board) be cleansed and lime-washed through-
Mr. OSBORNE said it was very sad to think what a long time it took to educate people's mind into reason. No one in his maddest momente ever imagined that the mere pouring of a little weak lime-wash on the walls of the house was going to keep away plague. The object was to get these people to live in a healthy state by
bites except between sunset and sunrise; and that while the culez will breed in any old flower-pot or tin containing water the anopheles is fortunately more choice in its selection of a breeding ground and requires a small sheltered pool, containing perhaps organic matter in sus- pension or a small quantity of water weed, and the water of which is noither stagnant nor yet pure spring water. The anopheles can travel a distance of some 400-500 yards, and can remain alive for a period of several months-that is to to say, throughout the whole of the dry season. Asiatics, and especially children, suffer more or less constantly from malaria, as they no means of protection from the adopt bites of mosquitoes, and anopheles are almost always to be found in the neighbourhood of native dwellings, while some 1 to 5 per cent. of them will be found to contain the malarial or- ganism. It follows, therefore :~-
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(1) That European houses should be distant some 400-500 yards from native dwellings.
(2) That all pools in which anopheles can breed should be filled up for a like distance around such European houses,
'(3) That all brushwood and rank vegetation, including grass, should be kept down by fre quent cutting.
“(4) That mosquito nets should be used at nights.
Applying these principles to the neighbour- hood of the Inspector's quarters at Kennedy. town, I beg to recommend that the Government be asked-
t
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