July 28, 1902.]
in such house or building for any loss or damage he may sustain in consequence of his house or building being sat back or forward, the amount of such compensation, in case of dispute, to be settled by arbitration in manner provided by this Act'; and Section 308 provides for full compensation to be paid to any person who sustains any damage by reason of The exercise of the powers of the Act, in relation to any matter as to which he is not himself in default, and so on.
I also submit that all damages sustained by any person on account of the destruction of household furniture, weating apparels, and so on, consequent upon measures taken to combat plague and other infectious dieases, should be made goud and compensated.
Section 121 of the Public Health Act above
mentioned provides for this, and Section 6 of the Infectious Disease (Prevention) Act, 189 says:-"The bedding, clothing, and articles sha I be disinfected by the authority, and shall be brought back and delivered to the owner free of charge, and if any of them suffer any unnecessary damage the authority shall com- pensate the owner for the same, and the amount of compensation shall be recoverable in, and in case of dispute shall be settled by, a court of summary jurisdiction."
These measures, if introduced, will mitigate
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
With regard to the bye-laws for the Dr. Clark also recommended that the follow- prevention of plague referred to in the coming addition be made to No. 2 of the Bye-laws mittee's report, Professor Simpson speaks very for the Importation of Animals in the draft strongly of the necessity for prompt action in Public Health and Buildings Bill:—“ And all dealing with the earliest Cases, whether animals brought into the city of Victoria for discovered in man or rat, and if the whole of the sale or slanghter shall be conveyed or driveü staff are to stand idle awaiting the fortnightly at once to the Government depots at Kennedy: meeting of the Board the benefits to be derived town." from prompt action will be lost.
The Board have themselves recognised this fact by delegating, during the recent outbreak, the whole of its powers under these bye-laws to the President and Medical Officer of Health. The Chinese members of the Board should bear in mind that if the Sanitary Commissioner has this power he will probably find it necessary to order house-to-honse visiting in only one street and one block of buildings at a time, whereas the Board's resolutions have hitherto covered large areas for the reason that a fortnight must elapse before further authority can be given, unless special meetings of the Board are held. Moreover, the Board has power to amend or revoke these and any other bye-laws, so under
these circumstances I think the scheme of the experts should be given a trial.
The following minute was by Dr. Clark, Medical Officer of Health :-
The PRESIDENT-If no member has any thing further to say, I move that the report of
the
Committee and attached minutes, the minutes of the Veterinary Surgeon and the Medical Officer of Health, be forwarded to the Government,
Mr. OSBORNE -Then we are not asked to adopt the report? Some of us might not agree with it in part.
The PRESIDENT-No. We are only forward- ing it to the Government and they will decide upon it themselves. The letter that was sent to us requested us to make any observations on the subject that we desired to offer.
Lt.-Colonel HUGHES-If a Sanitary Commis- sioner is appointed, are there to be two medical
officers ?
Dr. CLARK-Yes, the Report recommends that,
The President's motion was agreed to.
THE DAIRY FARM'S PREMISES.
A letter was laid on the table from Mr. A.
the concealment of plague and other infections/mittee definitely states that, in the opinion of Gibson, Colonial Veterinary Surgeon, recom-
cases and the dumping of dead bodies.
(Sd.) LAU CHUPAK. The following minute by Mr. E. Osborne was attached :-
It seems strange that when the two sanitary
whose
The report which was referred to the com- both experts, the Sanitary Commissioner should be a medical man, and moreover it clearly defines his duties. The committee have, how- ever, gone to an early memorandum, pooned by Professor Simpson a few woks after his experts, one of them a medical man
arrival in the Colony, and in which the life's study is sanitation and the other a civil appointment is first mot d for further inform engineer, agree in recommending that the Sani-ation. It is only fair, however, to state that, at that time, Professor S mpson was not acquainted tary Commissioner should be a medical mau
with the very important da'is and functions of the Public Works operiment in connection with the sanitation of the Colony, and te catalogue of du'is which is qnotel by the Committee is given by him only to show what important matters lie on side he
skilled in sanitation, the Committee should proceed to argue that he should be an engineer. I think we should do well to follow the recommendations of the experts.
The conjoint report referred to the Com- mittee defines the duties of the Sanitary Com- mission as being those of "dealing with all nuisances and sanitary defects of whatever nature," while in the memorandum quoted by the committee it is further stated he should deal with official documents bearing upon the administrative work of the Department. All this can best be done, as the experts have clearly stated, by a medical man skilled in sanitary administration.
It would be most. undesirable that the duties of the Sanitary Commissioner shou'd in any sense overlap those of the head of the Public Works Depart ment, and I have no doubt the Government will arrange that such of the duties enumerated in par. 7 of the committee's report as belong to that officer are kept distinct from the Sanitary Department, and there is in my opinion much greater likelihood of harmoniens intercourse between the two Departments if the head of is a medical man and the head of the other II engineer, than if both are members of the same profession.
16
L
握着
44
Que
There are matters referred to in this para graph which solely concern the medical man, such as "the preserv. tion of the purity of the water supply "(apart from constinctio al work), the sanitary mai tenance of the severage. which Mr. Chadwick recommended should be handed over to the Board, the construction of healthy houses," the reservation of open spaces,"
the provision of public and private latr ues," the abolition of cubicles without windows,", questions of insanitary property," and so on. Professor Simpson has not recommended that the Sanitary Commissioner should either design or COLstruct healthy houses or latrines, etc., but that his advice should be available to the Government and to the Board in regard to these and kindred matters, which the home Acts recognise as coming within the province of the medical expert. With re, ard to the question of plans, it will be within the Board's knowledge that all plans for
works have during the past six years passed through the hands of the Medical fficer of Health (s is done, I understand, in the large cities at home, and it surely cannot be contended that it requires a civil engineer to decide whether a certain design is in accordance with the Public Health laws, or whether the house, when erected (under exemption, perhaps, from some of there provisions), will be a sanitary one.
new
routine
work of the Medical Officer of He:lth.
It is clear, I think, that the later report. written two months after the preliminary memorandum, and with a better knowledge of the various Government departments already existing in the Colony, and morvovir, after due consultation with the engineering expert sent out from England to collaborate with him, contains the more maturo opinions on this question, which is merely sketched in the early roport. The Board may. I think, rest assured that had Mr. Chadwick thought an engineer was the proper person for the Sanitary Commissioner he would not have hesitated to say so in the joint report which is nuder con- sideration, and that as he has not recommended a member of his own profession for the office it cannot really be necessary.
I would like to add that the Sanitary Com- mis-ioners in Judia are invaribly medical men --offieurs of the Indian Medical Service and their duties are not altogether d ́ssimilar from those which have been so clearly laid down in paragraph 27 of the experts' joint report and in the Draft Bill,
The President minufed: "I did not say that the Sanitary Commissioner should not be a medical man, but that we have doubts on the
point,"
The Captain Sup rin'endent of Polies also said that was his meaning.
The President further minuted: "Lagree with Mr. Osborne as to the prompt action which is necessary in dealing with the early cases of plague, but I do not think the power referred to should be conferred on one officer but should be left to the Board or to a committee of the Board to perform."
A letter was submitted from the Colonial Veterinary Surgeon relative to the proposed
Public Health Bill,
Also there was submitted a comunication from Dr. Clark in which he stated:----"I think that a clause should provide that the individual mem- brs of the Sanitary Poard are not to be held liable for the actions of their officers and servants, and alzo a clause limiting the time within which actions cau be brought in respect of matters done under this Ordinance and protecting public officers generally, in so far as they are protested at me, frein actions in respect of iler official duties."
|
mending that the premises of the Dairy Farm company, where rinderpest recently broke out infection, the outbreak now being at an end. among the cattle, be declared free from
On the motion of the PRESIDENT, the pre- mises were declared free from infection.
LIMBWASHING RETURNS. district of Victoria, 2.427 were limewashed Out of a total of 2,660 houses in the western during the fortnight ended 8th July.
PLANS.
Plans were submitted for two water-o'orets and one urinal in the Hongkong Hotel..
On the motion of Dr. CI.RE, seconded by the PAYS DENT, the water-closets were sanctioned and the arrangement of the usinal disapproved.
MATSHEDS FOR PIGS,
Because during the hot weather the sun shines so strong, that it affects pigs waiting on the
raya to be mar ed befor being taken to the cattle depot, certain of the members of the Pig Guild have petitioned the Board requesting permission to erect two matsheds, one beach near Cadogan Street and the other in Forbes Street,
ou the
On the motion of the PRESIDENT, it was agreed to inform the Government that the Board had no objection to the erection of these matsheds
HEALTH OF THE COLONY.
The mortality statistics of the Colony for the week ended 25th June showed a death-rate of 16.8
per 1,000
per annum, against 22.1 in the previous week and 34.3 in the corresponding week of last year.
This was all the public business.
HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER ·
QF COMMERCE,
At the monthly meeting of the General of Commerce, held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, 8th Committee of the Hongkong General Chamber July, 1902.-Present:— Hon. ('. S. sharp (Chairman), M. W. Poate (Vice-Chairman,) Hoa. C. W. Dickson, Messrs. 5. A. Hewett, N. A. Siebs, J. R. M. Smith, and R. C Wilcox, Hou. R. Shewan (ez officio), and A. R. Lowe (Secretary).
MINUTES.
The minutes of the last monthly meeting (held 13th June 1902) were read and confirmed.
NEW MEMBERS ELECTED.
The SECRITARY reported that Messi 8. Mounsey & Brutton, solicitors, and Messrs. Alex. Ross & Co, merchants, had been duly proposed, seconded, and elected to membership pince the last meeting, subject to the usual con- firmation at the next annual general meeting.
STORM WARNINGS.
Read letter, dated 4th July last, to Hon. Colonial. Secretary acknowledging receipt of his letter of 21st May informing the Cmmittee that the non-receipt of storm-warning notices issued by the Sicawei Observatory was receiving attention and stating that the Committee would now be glad to know that the Government hä
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.