120
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND accommodation increased, there did not seem westwards, on account of enormous possession much chance of their getting that site.
of land for Chinese houses. Therefore, if ac- The Hon. F. H. MAY said it had never been commodation was to be provided for expansion contemplated that the site in front of the at all, it must, in these instances, be in the Harbour Office would in itself be sufficient height of the buildings. He did not think Tho sites recommended were two in front of that regulations meant principally to apply to the Harbour Office and that of the Harbour domestic buildings should be made applicable Office when it was removed. He suggested to buildings such as those he had suggested that the Government be asked to let the Board see the report, when the matter could be fully gone into, pa
This proposal was adopted. BYE-LAW 18 OF THE DRAINAGE BYE-LAWS.
The following letter from the Colonial Secre- tary was submitted :—
་
The Hon. F. H. MAY supported the re- solution. When Ordinance 34 of 1899 was before the Board, there was in the original draft of that Ordinance a clanse limiting the height of buildings to one and a half times the width of the street; that was what they wanted to get now. He thought, with the
[February 9, 1901.
will alone
Unle
class of the communit for the benefit of all compensation for the lose they may offered, I do not see my way to agr
fer
AN APPLICATION GRANTED.
water closets and six vrinals at the new Club An application for permission to erect six house for the Club Germania was granted.
APPLICATION FOR THE ERECTION OF
BUILDING OVER 76 FERT HIGH. Messrs. Palmer and Turner, architects, that they were about to erect a block of build. ings on Reclamation Lot No. 7 and 2 C, at the junction of Des Voeux and Chater Roads, which
In reply to your letter of the 18th January, Medical Officer of Health, that this was really save over the 76 feet allowed under Ordin-
I am directed to enquire whether, in view of the fact that it may not always be possible to have a straight drain under the conditions ex- isting in Hongkong, it would not have the same effect of the words wherever possible' were deleted and the words unless the written per mission of the Sanitary Board Surveyor has first been obtained to lay it otherwise were substituted in bye-law 18 of the Drainage Bye- laws."
Dr. CLARK said he himself saw no objection to the deletion of the words "wherever possible," and he did not suppose that the Sanitary Board Surveyor had.
most important sanitary improvement, and the time had now come when they should fight as hard as they could to get this law passed.
The PRESIDENT—Mr. Osborne, "are" you pre- pared to make an amendment?
.:
Mr. OSBORNE-I don't think it is necessary to make an amendment; incorporate it in the report.
Dr. CLARK's motion was then put to the meeting and carried.
would sanction their building to a height of 100 and they would require that the Board
feet from pavement to parapet wall. The site was retangular, and the roads were 75 feet wido, so that there was no question of want of light and air.
The following minutes were appended.- Dr. Clark:-"I recommend refusal. Queen's Building, which is on the sea front, is only 80 feet in height (not including the domes), and I think that 76 feet is as high as any ordinary building should be in Hongkong except on the sea front, as the width of the streets is reduced some 12 ft. to 16 ft. by verandahs.”
The Hon. R. D. Ormsby-"I am in favour of sanctioning this. The building might be 112 feet high, namely one and a half times the force anywhere."
The PRESIDENT thought the alteration as suggested in the letter would 'exactly meet the case, and proceeded to put to the Board the re-mestic building should exceed in height one-width of the streets, under the strictest rules in solution embodying the alteration.
This was agreed to.
THE HEIGHT OF BUILDINGS.
The report was to the effect that the Govern ment should be urged to introduce further legislation on the subject of the height of build- ings in relation to the width of the streets on which they front. In June, 1898, the board unanimously recommended that no do- and-a-half times the width of the street upon which it fronts, and they were still of that opinion. In the reports of the Medical Officer of Health would be found particulars as to the excessive surface-crowding in the City, reaching That the Board again direct the attention in some of the health districts to more than 800 of the Government to the urgent necessity for persons per acre-a density of population that amending the law governing the height of compared very unfavourably with that of the buildings, and beg to recommend that no build-large cities of England. It had been clearly ing be permitted to be erected in future to a shown by anthorities on sanitation that the death greater height than one and a half times the rate of any district increased with the density width of the street on which it fronts.":
of the population. The most densely populat- Attached to the notice was the followinged districts of London had in 1881-90 200 per- minute by Dr. Clark:
Dr. CLARK had given notice of his intention to move:-
#
·
seen
|
Dr. Clark:-"The D.P.W.'s minute is not exactly correct, as the rules in force in London are that no building may exceed in height the width of the street on which it fronts, and there the street are not reduced 10 to 20 feet in width by verandahs.
Dr. Hartigan-"I agree with M.O.H." Mr. Chan A Fook" Refuse." Dr. Bell Refuse."
The Hon. F. H. May- Refuso. comes of giving an inch."
This
Mr. OSBORNE proposed that the application be granted. The building would have streets on two sides and would be used entirely as offices. Therefore the argument as to surface- crowding did not apply.
Dr. HARTIGAN seconded.
The PRESIDENT supported, and the motion was carried.
RINDERPEST AT NAGASAKI.
stating that rinderpest had broken out there.
The PRESIDENT read a letter from Nagasaki
The letter was referred to the Colonial Voterinary Surgeon for his information.
THE PLAGUE.
Karachi, and Formosa were submitted.
Reports of cases of plague in Singapore,
sons per acre, which was being appreciably los "In view of the proposed consolidation of the sened. Taking health districts 4 to 9 of the Building Ordinances at an early date, and the City of Victoria, comprising over 200 acres, the grave importance to the sanitary welfare of density of population amounted to 638 persons the colony of the question of the height per acre, which could not be regarded as sani- of buildings, I think the Board should tary. The present regulations as to the height not neglect this opportunity of again urging of buildings in this colony resulted in deficient upon the Government the absolute necessity of light on the lower floors, and this was most pre- amending the existing law upon this point, if judicial to health, and encouraged such filth the colony is to be preserved from future diseases as bubonic plague. An example of the epidomics of those diseases which are fostered excessive height to which buildings could by want of light and air. There is probably :o be erected was other British colony or possession in the wor'd buildings on both sides of a lane exceeding in the fact that the where a building can be put up to a height of by even an inch or two 15ft. in width, 46 feet in a lane only 14 feet wide. The whole of may be raised to a height of 40ft. In the the recent sanitary enactments are being stultified Liverpool Sanitary Act of 1846 the mini- by our present rules as to the height of build- mum width of streets permitted was 30ft.,
Dr. CLARK said that with regard to Formosa ings, for the Chinese and other property owners and no building may exceed in height the moved that the Board should recommend the cases and 46 deaths were reported. He have at last begun to realise that where they width of the street it fronts. The sanitary | Government to declare Formosa infected with now have a two-storey building the law allows regulations contained in the Newcastle Improve-plague, so that vessels coming from there could them to put a three or four-storey one, and ment Act of 1870 required a minimum street be medically inspected. during the past two or three years an enormous width of 40ft., and gave the municipal anthori number of plans have come in adding to the ty more discretion as to the minimum width height of existing building or replacing the of footpaths in all cases. In London, it was two-storey buildings by more lofty ones." understood, no building could be erected to a greater height than the width of the street on which it fronted without the special permís sion of the sanitary authority, and similar restrictions were now in force in other large cities of England.
Dr. CLARK said that since giving notice of this motion the report of the recently appointed committee on sanitary improvements in the City of Victoria had been handed in, and that report kad quite taken the wind out of his sails. It represented his views exactly, and he wished to ask the permission of the Board to withdraw the resolution,
The PRESIDENT—I presume the Board has no objections!
79
motion was carried.
The lion. F. H. MAY seconded, and the
THE HEALTH OF THE COLONY. 13th was 161, against 17-8 for the previous The death rate for the week ended January week and 200 for the corresponding week last year. The rate for the succeeding week was 20.0, against 23.0 for the corresponding week last year.
DEATHS IN MACAO.
The deaths in Macao for the week ended
ceeding week 31. January 13th numbered 32, and in the suc-
27th January, 1900, give a total of 40 deaths.
The mortality returns for the week ended
This was all the business.
The second question the Committee wished to bring forward was that of the resumption of were may private lanes in the city over one or insanitary or obstructive buildings. There both entrances to which owners had in the past Dr. CLARK, proceeding, said that argn- been permitted to erect dwellings, thus convert ments with regard to the height of building these streets into what was technically ing had been gone over so frequently that known as "courts"-the most insanitary type of it seemned almost unnecessary to go over them building. The Committee recommended that the again. He then proceeded to treat of the Government should absolutely forbid the erec- various points raised in the report, and ended | tion of any more of these buildings, and should | dicate, says 8 forvion by moving its adoption, adding that it be sent at the same time proceed gradually with the re- to the Government with the strongest recom-sumption and demolition of those already in mendations of the Board for its early adoption. existence. Under the Housing of the Working Mr. OSBORNE said he should like to bring Classes Act of England, the entire cost of such the notice of the Board one point in resumption would fall upon the owners of the this matter. The central remaining houses in such courts whose proper- of the city, between Fedder's Wharf and ty would be materially benefitted by such the Naval was the only part devoted to sanitary improvements. publio buildings, offices, and so on. There was Mr. Fung Wa Chuen minuted- no room for expansion eastwards, towards themendations contained in this report appear to "The recom- Naval Yard, and very little room for expansion me to bear very hardly and unequitably on one
ecti
|
Private letters from the cruiser Terrible in
will be ordered home in March, or three years contemporary, that she after she was commissioned. The Terrible was the first great ship fitted with water-tube boilers to commence her trials; and although the Powerful was the first to finish the not wanting expeits, who attended the both, who declared the Terrible prove the more successful ship of tho
invidions com far, however, nothing has occurred
for both thips
realised
Wero of
would
J-
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.