144
THE INSANITARY
OF HONGKONG.
TION
II.
THE OFFICIAL EXPLANATION.
Page
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
44
(August 17, 190). CONDI-done, to remedy any defects likely to endanger special subject with ease and pows as an autho see that nothing is left undone which can be | able attributes permit him to approach say the public health of the community.
It is well the Government should recognise will undoubtedly be promoted to the welli rity. He is a wonderful mau, and ong day this. It is surely within its sphere of operation. merited post of Governor of some colony. There For convenience and to save space, I in will be no room for anyone else, but that is tend to deal with the remarks of the joint detail he will be qualified for every post, “ anthors together when they allude to the same subject. The Memoranda are opened by such great capacity, who is able to persuade The wonder is that possessing an oficer of Mr. May. Now there are two types of any Governor that black is white, anything Colonial officers--the candid and the sugar- approaching a grievance is known in the colony. candied, and in Mr. May's cass, assuming Everything should be perfect (it is on paper) that he originally came within the latter with which Mr. May comes into contact. Take category, his saccharine at' ributes evidently become atrophied by negligent cul- heard of a gristance in the Police Force? As have his special department for instance--whoever turo." He is usually so very candid that he a force it cannot control the impertinent has frequently been known to allow his feel- illegality of ricksha and chair coolies, encouraged ings to carry away bis better judgment. Mr. May by the guilds, but then that is perhaps a is a young man, he has the strength and enthu- duty outside the functions of the Poffce, which siasm of youth, and is an able officer. He is is left to be overcome by time and the graduat apt, however, in his youthful enthusiasm and submission of the coolies to benignant Western pride of office to commit himself to statements civilising influences. which mature reflection and the return to his normal state of official dignity would hesitate to confirm. Consequently, he has been known to say many extravagant things, one among others being that Governor he would suppress every newspaper in the colony." The news. papers will no doubt readily believe him and sympathise with him in his aspirations. It is over these self-imposed tasks that Mr. May, usually stumbles and the Memoranda before us are cases in point.
The explanation of the Government to the public Petition is contained in a Memorandum signed by the joint authors, the Hon'bles J. H. Stewart Lockhart, W. Chatham and F. H. May. Although he comes last, Mr. May is not the least of these three brethren. In fact, it is generally claimed that Mr. May is the sole author of the Memorandum. Mr. Chatham is responsible for the Enclosure A on Measures to give effect to Mr. Chadwick's recommendations of 1882-Works," and Mr. May is answerable for the Enclosure B on "Measures to give effect to Mr. Chadwick's recommendations of 1882-Legislation." The Hon, the Colonial Secretary was appar. ently editor-in-chief and revised the M88 of the two contributors, and toned down their adjectives, &c. Without destroying their iden- tity, in the interests of truth he might well have used the blue pencil a little more.
Practically the line of defence of the Govern. ment has been to show that Mr. Chadwick's recommendations of 1882 have been carried out almost in their entirety. The Government is pain- fully aware that the action of the Petitioners in praying for the appointment of a Commission, to be accompanied by an Expert, is a scathing im plication that either the last Expert's recom. mendations have been ignored or have not been fully carried out, although the Government has had nineteen years at its disposal, In fact the Petitioners quote numerons in stances to show they have not been carried out, and that the Government has ignored instead of anticipating and overtaking the sanitary needs of the colony. It is the statement of three Officials against that of the Petitioners, whose strength lies in the fact that their accuracy is officially confirmed by quotations from departmental reports. It is therefore possible that if Mr. Cham berlain is scripturally minded-though our Continental friends inform us he is not-he will apply to our Government the parable of the unjust stewards. It is quite conceivable that he may be reluctant to sanction the expense of sending out a Commission with another Expert to see what the Government has done for this colony during the last nineteen years and how it has carried out Mr. Chadwick's recommendations. He might justly say "Take two more decades, thon good and faithful servants, and—think over them."
It is, however, unfortunate that such a well deserved rebuke may not be administered, ⚫ as the colony cannot wait for the Official fulfil- ment of obligations. If the colony was solely to depend on the efforts of its local Officials to put it into that state of modern sanitation its condition demands-judging from the pace of past improvements the now prosperous island would become depopulated and sink into obscurity, giving place to the new and powerful rivals springing up around it. Hongkong would go the way of ancient Rome, though allowing for the glamour surrounding departed greatness, we must admit that Roman municipal admini. stration as exemplified in its public baths, roads, cloaca, etc., was certainly in advance of that attained by our local Bumbles. As the Peti tioners point out :-
4.-The permanent prosperity of Hongkong, in fact its very existence, depends upon a wise and a just administ:ative Government, which will ensure the protection and maintain the freedom of its inhabitants. The local Government must secure to an intending colonist a reasonable immunity from preventable disease, and convince and satisfy the existing inhabitants of the colony, both British and Chinese, on whom its future welfare depends, and who have invested large sums of money in assisting that welfare, that it is doing its utmost to maintain the public health of the colony, by providing and maintain- ing an adequate and suitable system of Public Sanitation and Hygiene, which the revenue is well able to afford. The Imperial Government likewise requires that an adequate and thorough system of sanitation be maintained on account of the health of the troops, naval and military, and the many officers attached to these Services and the Civil Service. The local Government must
"if he were
..
in his literary tub-thumping" in rebuking the Admitting this, there is therefore some reason signatories and informing them they are under an entire misapprehension—that the sanitary condition of Hongkong is perfect, as the Government has spent millions of dollars Petitioners for their wickedness in drafting on it.
He is thus entitled to chide the such a document since a paternal govern ment, which he represents, is ever ready to carry out any desired improvement which, after very The Petition to Mr. Chamberlain, it will le Thoughout the Memoranda the Official nature reflection, it may consider reasonable remembered, was signed by more than one thon-triumvirate endeavour to show, very cleverly it sand residents. Among these were all the local | may be admitted, that not only has the Govern. medical men and all the leading civil engineers, | ment done everything necessary, in the interests whom most people will admit are thoroughly of local sanitation, but they claim for the Go- conversant with the technical questions touched vernment the initiation of these sanitary reforms, upon by the l'etitioners. If these failed to Conld anything possibly be more audacious understand the question of local sanitation and more untrue?" They even go further, and most of them have been working for years to state that if any sanitary measures were not. improve it and to bring a stubborn Government carried out, it was owing: entirely to Unomeist to a sense of its shortcomings, but with little opposition. The Unofficial Members of Council success-on whom are we then to rely? The can, of course, answer for themselves, and no appended signatures of nearly all the lawyers doubt will in Council, and as for the community: in the colony should convince Mr. Chamberlain it as to the accuracy of the statements in the Petition, for what lawyer signs a document without reading it, or supports publicly a Petition made up of reckless and inaccurate details? Lawyers are never reckless-except in their charges. The Petition was also signed by the heads of all the leading commercial firms in the colony-do these usually sign documents which they have not mead or cannot endorse? Finally come the signctures of their Rt. Reverences the two Bishops, who, as men of religion and understanding, would scorn to give episcopal sanction to a document unless convinced of its entire truthfulness!
would be no exaggeration to say that nosanitary measure has ever been introduced into this colony that was not the outcome of public agitation.
Read
space at my disposal to quote from the news- It is to be 1egretted that I have not sufficient paper files of the last twenty years the numer pus instances of Official opposition to public demands for sanitary improvements. the reports of the meetings of the Sanitary Board for the last few years and realise the extent of Official opposition to many measurO3 -- which the trio now trumpet forth as their own.
To show the extent of the Government- opposition to a measure which Mr. May the Taipingshan Resumption, we will quote Mr. now triumphantly claims as its own, namely, May's own words at a Banitary Board meeting in July, 1894, when he temporarily forgot he WM Government official; but his strictures: are of none the less valno :—
The CAPTAIN Superintendent of POLICE: I
To all these men of local high standing, great ability and integrity, to this overwhelm- ing testimony of those whose united efforts have brought the colony to the prosperous and important position it occupies to-day, Mr. May calmly states that they signed a document teeming with misstatements, and exaggers would only add to the remarks Mr. Francia has tions. The Petitioners, he alleges, did not know made-I have not heard them in their entirety, what they were writing about and the signato---that as I indicated in my minute, I would in: ries knew even less what they were signing. justice to this Board say that it is not fair for Ha endeavours to prove this by the Memo
the Government to try to throw their respon- randum which he has had the audacity sibility upon this Board. The Government is a to send in to Mr. Chamberlain. Mr. May continuous system, and you cannot divide the he believed the majority of the signatories opinion, although I am a Government official even induced H.E. the Governor to write that Government up by the periods of tenure of office
of successive "Governors, and in my humble: signed the document without reading it- the principle of Josh Jones his mark X-which of a Governor on his taking up office to make, and perhaps I should not say so, it is the duty is a polite tribute from H.E. to the understand himself acquainted with the state of the colony ing and integrity of the Petitioners and the and the history of every question likely to crop seal of infallability of Mr. May's judgment. up, and more especially with the history of the Who then is Mr. May, who can lead a Governor Statute Book; and I agree with Mr. Francis that and defy a community?
if the Government had borne in mind the Crown' parts; he has the scrutineering instincts of a not have fallen into what I regard as an error The Hon'ble F. H. May is a man of many Lands Resumption Ordinance, they pomibly would political agent; he is equally at his ease as of judgment in trying to throw responsibility Chief of Police, Colonial Secretary, Treasurer, for the insanitary condition of certain houses Superintendent of the Gaol, Vice-President of the upon this Board. Anybody who has lived in the Sanitary Board (a body he has just excommuni colony for the last five years knows the history cated) and Dictator in Chief to the other Officials everybody knows that if the Governor's predeces- of the Crown Lands Resumption Ordinance, and in the colony. He is a colonial Crichton,sor had not gone away, that Ordinance" would and supports each position with character have been put into practical "operation," and istic ability, admirable tact, and marvellous probab'y Taipingshan would be now energy. He has been known to commit errors Settlement. of judgment, but mistakes never; his subor dinates may do so, otherwise they are unheard of outside their own department. His innumer- '
now ? What proef after all have we this be
Is it wise, therefore, to take Mr. May now in earnest ?
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