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HUMAN AND RAT PLAGUE.
(Daily Prers, 9th December.)
A volume of papers and reports upou hubonic plague has recently been issued at home by the Medical Department of the Local Government Board. The progress of the disease during the years 1898-1901 and the measures taken against it in different parts of the world are described, | the bulk of the report being the work of Dr. BRUCE Low, while the introduction is witten by the Medical Officer of the Board, Mr. W. H. POWER, F.R.S. Certain parts of the report are devoted to the considera- tion of the question of the connection between human and rat-plague, a subject which is of great interest out here. The opinion of the local medical authorities, as in most parts of the Far East, is in favour of an intimate connection, and indeed of the great influence of rats in the diffusion of the disease. But, on the whole, Dr. BRUCE Low does not seem to find the case against the rat as strong as has been supposed. The documents which he has had the
opportunity of consulting, while supporting the theory of reciprocal infection bitween men an rats, are not conclusive agains the rat as the introducer of the diseas: From an abstract of the Local Government Board publication (for the full report has not reached us) it seems to be held that, as far as plague on shore is concerned, in some localities man and the rat suffered from plague coincidently; in other localities man suffered before the rat; and in others again the rat suffered antecedently to man. Moreover, when in a particular district, either man
or the rat has suffered antece. dently to the other, the interval between the invasion of the first and of the second variety of the disease has often been a long one, cx'ending over weeks or months. Finally, it would appear, from the evidence before Dr. Low, that bubonic plague may prevail largely among men without rats becoming conspicuously affected; and. conversely, that the :sease may cause large mortality among the rats of a locality while failing to attack its human inhabit ants. It would be interesting to know whether the painstaking observers of the Hongkong epidemics are inclined to accept these conclusions. From a general survey of the local plague reports we should be inclined to judge the connection between humen and rat-plague to be much closer than stated above and to assign to the rat a larger share of the gui't than is there assigned to it. In any cas, as Mr. Powel says, it would be unwise to relax precautions against rat-born plague until have opportunities for fully mastering the facts.
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL.
A meeting of the Legislative Council was hell on the 9th inst. in the Council Chamber, Present:-
[December 15, 1902.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seco ded, ad the motion was agreed to.
The amendments of the Standing Law Com- mittee having been read, the third reading of the Bill was not taken.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND BUILDINGS BILL. On the motion of the ATTORNEY-GENERAL,
H18 EXCELLENCY THE GOVERN ›P, Sir seconded by the COLONIAL SECRETARY, the HENRY A. BLAKE, G.C.M.G.
HIS EXCELLENCY Sir W. GASCOIGNE, K.C.M.G. (Commanding the Troops).
Hon. F. H. MAY (Colonial Secretary). Hon. SIR HENRY S. BERKELEY, Kt. (Attorney-General).
Hon. A. M. THOMSON (Colonial Treasurer). Hou. Commander R. M. RUMSEY, R.N. (Harbour Master).
Hon. W. CHATHAM (Director of Public Works).
Hon. F. W. CLARK (Medical ffic r of Health'.
Hon. Dr. Ho KAI, C.M.G. Hon. WEI A. YUK. Hon. C. S. SHARP. Hon. C. W. DICKSON. Ilon. G. W. F. PL YFAIR. Hon. R. SHEWAN.
Mr. C. CLEMENTI (Acting Clerk of Councils).
LAW COMMITTEE REPORT.
The ATIORNEY-GENERAL laid on the table
the report of the Standing Law Committee (No. 1) and moved its adoption.
The -COLONIAL SECRETARY sero ded, and the motion was carried.
NOTICE OF QUESTION.
Hon. G. W. F. PLAYFAIR-Sir, I beg to give notice that at next meeting of Council I shall draw the attention of the D. P. W. to the return laid on the fable at the last meeting of Council regarding the supply of water to the upper levels of the Pak, and move the following resolution:-"That I.P. the Governor should appoint an independent commit ee u connected with the Public Works Department to examine into the truth of the statement contained in the return table by the Director of Public Works of the supply of water to the upper levels of the Peak in Novem-
ber lust and to the date of that return."
**STAR FERRY CO., LD.
"
Hon. C. SHARP moved the second realing of the Bill entitled au Ordinance to authorise the making of bye-laws by the Star" Ferry Company, Limited. He said-The obje ts of this Ordinanos are concisely stated in the objects and reasons attached. "The chief object of the Bill is to provide a summary method of punishment for persons who practise frauds on the Company by travelling by a higher class than the one to which their ticket entitles them-an offence in respect of which it is doubtful if any proceedings of a criminal nature can be iusti- tuted. The Bil is also inteded to provide & means by which the Company can regulate the traffic for the public benefis as is customary with similar companies in England. bye-laws will not come into force until they have bo n submitted for the approval of the Governor in Council and are publishe in the Gazette. I therefore beg to move the second reading of the Bšili.
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Council went into committee on the Bill ent tled an Ordinance to consol date and amend the laws relating to Public Health and to Buildings, and considered the Bill clanse by clause.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL consented to the deletion of sub-section 3 of section 2, es being unnecessary.
Sub-section 12 of section 26 defined as a nuisancs "any chimney (not being the chimney of a private dwelling-house) sending forth black smoke in such quantity as to be a nuisance." After the second bracket the words "or any furnace" were added.
On the suggestion of Hon. Dr. Ho KAI the words "medical officer of health" in the 7th and 8th lines of section 32 (referring to cases of non-compliance with bye-laws) were struck out and "Board" substituted in both cases.
In this connection the ATTORNEY-GENERAL raised the point of the delegation by the Board of their powers to the medical officer of health, and it was marked for further consideration.
In clanse 45, of which the side-heading was "Pasements, may not le occupied without to the satisfaction of permission," the phrase
the medical officer of health' was altered to to the satisfaction of the Board," on the suggestion of Hou. Dr. Ho KAI.
When clause 46, defining overcrowding, cam3 on for consideration,
Hon. Dr. Ho KAI pointed out that a large number of the population would be displaced by the operation of the new law, and prop sed. that prosecutions for overcrowding under this section should not be instituted for, say, thres mouths after the proclamation by the Governor in Council of a particular district to be liable to the application of the law as provided by this section; otherwise the sanitary inspectors would consider i to be their duty to commerce where overcrowding prosecutions at once existed.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that the Bill wold be brong tiuto force gradually.
H.E. the GOVERNOR re. arked that when the Bill was passed it would undoubtedly be the duty of the sanitary inspectors to see that its It was stated that provisions wore carried out.
about 50,000 people would be unhoused. It was an important question whethe: this glause should come into force at ouce or time should be allowed for the displaced population to fin. accommodation. He understood there were about 400 racant houses in Kowloon. Perhaps the Director of Public Works could tell them how many people these houses could accommodate?
OF
The DIRECTOR These
Hon. C. W. DICKSON couled, anl the motion was agreed to.
seconded by the Hon. C. W. DICKSON, was agreed to.
Hon. C. S. SHARP then moved that the The Sindakan correspondent of the Singapore Council go into comm ties and consider the Bill Free Press writes: -It is stated that the amal-clause by clause, an ! this motion, which was also gamation of the Bor e Hardwood Co, Ld.. with the China-Borneo Co., Ld, is now an accomplished fact, and that the title of the new concern will be the latter. The timber business is not particularly satisfactory just now, but there ar some slight indications that thing are on the upward trend again.
The
Singapore advic's record another shipping disaster, the vessels concerned being the Kian Yang owned by Khoo Tiong Pan and the Boon San II owned by the Opinm Farm r. vessels had collided near Pulau Pisang light, and in a few in uates the Kian Yung sa k. many lives being lost- the number was esti gated at about 30. The Kian Yang was about of seventy tons nett and one hundred and twenty gross, was built of wood at Hang kong in 1891 and was 110 feet by 18 feet by 7 feet. She was of 35 horse-power and was com- manded by Captain Chopard, who had a crew of 32 natives.
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The Bill having been so cousidered, the third reading was not taken.
EMPLO ERS AND SERVANTS.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the third reading of the Bill entitled an Ordinance to amend the law relating to employers and ar· v.nis.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the Bill was read a third time and passed.
TITLES IN THE NEW TERRITORY. The ATTO`NEY-GENERAL moved that the Council go iatu committee on the Bill entitled the New Territories Title Ordinance. Hu ex- plained that as the Stauling Law Committee bad alr ady considered the Bill claus by clause, it was unnecessary, acco ding to Rule 40 of the Sau-ing Orders, for the council to so consider the Bill, as the Standing Law Committe in that respect was equal to a committee of the whole Couucil.
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PUBLIC WORKS-
Twenty to thirty each house.
H.E. the GOVERNOR said that taking it at 25 that would give them accomm dation for 10,000 people immediately. In that case they might begin giving immediate notice in one district that the new Bill would be brought int operation, and then the other 'districts knowing that would be prepared for the ex- tension of the Bill to them. He took it that those people who made it their business to supply accommodation would set about pro- viding it. There was no doubt that the English Acts bad to contemplate provision being made for the a commodation of the people who were being removed, but from what he knew of Hongkong bis impression was that the requirements of the displaced population would be met in the ordinary course of events. There would be no want of houses if landlords saw that there was a demand for them. Indeed, if there were 400 or 500 vacant houses just now it showed that there was a little overbuilding in Hongkong at present.
The ATTORNEY-GEN RAL suggested that Dr. Ho Kai's poiut might be met by the addition of a suspending clause at the end of the whole Ordinance fixing a time when it should come into operation.
Hon. Dr Ho KAI said he did not want the Ordinance not to come iuto force at once, but simply to pospone the institution of prosecutions for overcrowding for a period.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.