108
MEETING OF PUBLIC WORKS
COMMITTEE.
A meeting of the Public Works Committee was held to consider the proposal to establish a refuse-destructor for the city. The ACTING DIRECTOR of PUBLIC WORKS presided, and the other members present were the Hon. C. P. Chater, Hon. J. Thurbarn, Hou. Dr. Ho Kai, and Hon. C. McI. Messor. Dr. Clark, Mr. E. Osborne, and Hon. F. H. May represented the Sanitary Board.
The CHAIRMAN said H.E. the Governor had suggested that the question of providing a 1efuse-destructor should be considered by the Public Works Committee in conjunction with the members of the Sanitary Board. The first occasion on which he could find a record of the question in the proceedings of the Public Works Committee was on 31st August, 1899, and the minutes showed that the estimated cost of the refuse-destructor was $60,000. The question came up again at a meeting on 23rd July, 1900, and on that occasion the Committee again considered the proposal to establish a refuse destructor at Kennedytown at a cost of $60,000. On 23rd August, 1900, a month later, at another meeting, the proposal to include that sum in the estimates for 1901 was considered, and the question was finally discussed at a fifth meeting of the Committee on 23rd January, 1901. Mr. Chatham then entered into a lengthy statement of technicalities dealing with Mr. Crook's report and quoted liberally from correspondence with patentees of destructors. Continuing, he said it had beon originally proposed to erect a destructor at a spot near the Kennedytown Slaughter Houso, but that was made impossible from the fact that the fine dust which would
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emanate from the destructor would in all
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
probability settle on the meat. The latest suggestion was to have the destructor at Happy Valley. Mr. Chatham then proceeded to det.il a scheme of his own for dealing more effectively and at less cost with the city refuse. He suggested that a couple of steam hopper barges be procured at an estimated cost of about 840,000 each, and that three piers be erected at different points along the Praya conveniently situated for the different districts where the refuse could be taken early in the morning and loaded directly on to the barges, which of course would call to collect it and afterwards proceed to sea and dump it. There might be times when on account of stress of weather the barges could not go to sea. In the event of this, he proposed that at the end of each pier there be erected a shed where the rubbish could be received and stored away from public gaze and public interfer- ence until suitable opportunity occurred to take it away. One barge would be sufficient to carry away all the refuse of the city, but in case of breakdown or emergency, it would be advisable to have two constructed. A saving would be effected by this scheme in that the cost of the scavenging contract would be entirely done away with. The cost of working the two barges would be about $6,000 each per annum. These were actual figures, not fancy estimates. The barges would be able to fill up, go out to sea and return in two or three hours, so that they could deal with any quantity of rubbish and also make provision for refuse very much in excess of what existed at present. He was of opinion that this was really the most inexpensive and economical scheme for disposing of refuse. In regard to the piers, they could be made another source of income. A portion of them could be let out to steam ferry com- panies. Dozens of applications had reached him for permission to make piers for steam ferry services, and a good income could be obtained by letting out portions of the piers.
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Dr. CLARK, referring to the Chairman's criticism of the estimate given by Mr. Crook, said the estimate included the preparation of the site, the erection of the chimney and the erection of quarters for the attendants. Then again the Chairman had quoted from comments of the patentees of one destructor as against the patentees of another. Well, the one side would say as much as they could to depreciate the other, so he did not think that much weight attached to these quotations. The reason which sotuated the Board in pressing this matter was to secure the absolute destruction of plague refuse. · During • plague epidemio refuse was removed from the houses and had to be burne
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[August 8, 1901.
the mnitary the barre would cartloads of rab
in any open space which might be available | barge he should be very in the neighbourhood. These spaces were condition of this City, as, becoming year by year more limited. Com- be loading at one piery plaints were coming from people living in their | bish would have to lie on the other two piers. neighbourhood as to the nuisance not only from smoke but also as to the street coolies picking over this stuff, and taking away what was worth their while, and they could not be prevented unless there was a European constable on duty st every heap. A second reason
was
the constant complaints as to the silting up of refuse thrown from the boats that were ongaged to take the rubbish away. Hundreds of tons of the rubbish was thrown overboard, abolishing the deep water frontage, and if this went on year after year, they would eventually have no deep water frontage at all. At low water this r. fnse was exposed, and the smell which emanated from it was unquestionably a danger to the public health. Every one who went out on a launch occasionally knew that a large quantity of this rubbish was unshipped as soon as the boat got away from the eyes of the water police at the back of Stonecutter's Island. That accounted for the tons of rubbish that came floating over the harbour at times, making the harbour extremely foul. It was also thrown up on the sandy beaches and foreshore. The rofuse of the City of Victoria was about 130 tons a day or 3,900 tons a month. Now, they had a letter from Singapore in which it was distinctly stated by the Municipal Engineer that a four-cell destructor consumed 2743 large cart loads of refuse in one month The Hongkong cart-loads could hardly be called large, and yet he believed each of them held at least a ton. Assuming, then, that 2743 cart- loads meant 2743 tons, the probability was that a six-cell destructor would be capable of destroy ing all the refuse of the City. The Municipal Engineer of Singapore said that the destructor there had been in use since 1897, with the most satisfactory results. He also said that no fuel was used in the furnaces. The Public Works Committee had been largely influenced in their previous decision on this matter by the statement of Mr. Ormsby that the refuse-destructor would require a large quantity of fuel. Comparing Hongkong with Singapore, the population was much similar, but in the latter place they had rain every other day, so that the refuse was bound to get wetter than here, and, if they required no fuel there other than that needed to produce forced draught, surely they might reasonably assume that they would require no fuel to burn the refuse here. He had it in his mind to suggest to the Committee that it would be a very simple matter for the Government of this colony to send a practical man of the Public Works Department to Singapore to see the actual working of the refuse-destructor, and report. He would be in an excellent position then to say whether such a system would work in Hongkong, and they would get far more information from him than by any amount of documents or correspondence, and he might say any amount of special pleading. With regard to the Chairman's proposal for hopper barges and piers, that was equally as good a scheme, but would probably be found to be the more expensive of the two.
Mr. THURBURN-May I ask a question ? Is it not the case that a destructor has been already ordered, and is to be available for the destruction of plague refuse ?
Dr. CLARK-The Sanitary Board pointed out that a destructor used for the destroying of caroases of cattle would not be suitable for the destruction of city refuse.
Mr. CHATER-We had it here that it could destroy plague refuse, but it came out in the Sanitary Board meeting that it could not.
The CHAIRMAN-It could be done, but it is not an economical method.
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Mr. OSBORNE spoke in support of the Chair- man's scheme, and suggested three ordinary hopper barges to call at the three piers to collect the rubbish, after which they could bɔ taken out to sea by a steam tug to discharge their cargo.
After Mr. May had spoken,
The CHAIRMAN said that as regarded the piers it was his intention to have them concreted with shoots leading to the barge. The whole thing would be of such construction that it could be easily washed down at any time. His idea of having three piers was that, instead of the rubbish having to be trundled through the streets for miles, it could be run to any of these three places within reasonable distance of the different distrlets.
Dr. CLABX requested that the scheme be re- ferred once more to the Sanitary Board, as there were some details he would like to go into.
The members of the Sanitary Board then retired, after which the Committee dircumed the matter privately, and concluded that a refuse destructor should not be provided, and that the scheme brought forward by the Chairman should be further gone into and referred to the San- tary Board for consideration.
SUDDEN DEPARTURE OF BRITISH WARSHIPS.
Bailing, it is believed, under sealed orders— a phrase that may express much and again may mean little-the second-class cruiser Eclipse, the sloop Daphne and the gunboat Pigmy left the ten o'clock on Wednesday night. The rumour harbour suddenly between half-past nine and regarding the projected despatch of warships we chronicled in our issue of Thursday. The Daphne was the first to sail, picking up her moorings at half-past nine. Shortly afterwards the Pigmy followed, and at ten o'clock the Eclipse steamed away in the wake of the two far as the public is concerned, is a mystery, and, gunboats. The destination of the vessels, no as always happens when the circumstances are stattling and information meagre, rumours, gained currency was the stranding of H.M.S. vague and improbable, are rife. The first that Glory, which was due here on the 1st inst., with Admiral Bir Cyprian Bridge on board. This, however, was promptly denied on enquiry at the Naval Yard, but beyond that and the bare fact of the vessels having been despatched furnish no information. Another story stated hurriedly, Commodore Powell, C.B.," would the object to be the frustrating of some French move at Amoy. All this is mere conjecture, and so it must remain until the authorities are pleased to unburden themselves
or news reaches as from either the North or London.
SICKNESS AMONGST THE TROOPS.
TWO MORE DEATHS.
Two more deaths took place on the 28th ult. amongst the troops, in Hongkong, Private Townley, Army Ordnance Corps, succumbing to heat-stroke, 'and Gunner Torin- dor, Royal Garrison Artilley, to an attack of fever. The funerals took place at Happy Valley Cemetery late in the afternoon, and were well attended alike by a very large number of military and civilians. The codina were wreathed with floral tribules from the dead nol- diors' comrades. Gunner Toriador was a Roman Catholic, and the funeral services had to bɔ con- ducted separately. The volleys over the grave of the artilleryman were for Private Townley will be remembered player, and gare Voluntees, prome three weeks ago.. Ha on, the 254k › ult, through working his head un
Dr. CLARK-If you want to know the most economical way of getting refuse from the various parts of the City to the refuse-destruc-| tor, I think that the proper way to do it is this: You have the carts full, and the rubbish in those carts should not be transferred or handled in any way. The carts should be taken to the level of Queen's Road, and put upon boger trollies which would run on the tram lines, and -- that. then with ordinary coolie labour run along to against the refuse destructor.
to be l
* Continuing, Dr. Clark said that if they | time. were to have three wharves and only one hopper prosent pac
the service Townley
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