9
In
THE COTTON REVIVAL.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
No. of looms
Production.
February 10, 1906.
about 5,000 weaving looms. The number | have to draw our supplies from Canton, increased to 6,442 at the end of the first half no Sanitary rules are observed. of last year, and to 7,742 at the end of the Correspondence on the subject was also sub- second half. The number of looms, the production of cotton goods, and yarn re-favour of stopping or restricting the use of human Mr. H. Humphreys wrote I am not in quired in each of the last three years were exoreta or urine in Chinese gardens save where as follows:
such are in the immediate neighbourhood of European dwellings or highways constantly frequented by Europeans. The poorer Übinese do not object to the smell, and the odour of fresh sewage, though offensive, is not dauger- ons to health. As almost all the vegetables eaten in the Colony come from Canton, where regulations which are
restrictions of any kind exist, ground of public nuisance would in iot an unnecessary hardship, on the Chinese farmers in British territory. Moreover, I am averse to any course being followed in this connection. which will involve an increased charge for inspectors. -
+
Yaro required, in pounds. 1903 5,043 10,351,117 37,040,197 yards 1904...5,085 12,981,203 40,105,010 1905...7,472 19,566,082 59,780,630 The weaving is more than keeping pace with the spinning. and that not only in Japan. There is no fear of the yarn market being glutted; it is, on the contrary, feared that "the time may soon come when sufficient yarn cannot be supplied to China and the home market, in consequence of the niore. rapid increase in the weaving industry than in the addition of spindles." This is an authoritative forecast, and is very good hearing indeed.
HONGKONG SANITARY
BOARD.
1
no
mide save on the
The Hon. Director of Public Works wrote I do not see why gardens here should not be cultivated in the same manner as gardens in England or elsewhere. I agree with the President,
.
(Daily Press, 9th February.)
mitted. mentioning a few days ago that another cotton mill was being started at Shanghai, we quoted the remark of a journal there that the Chinese seemed to have more con- fidence in this business than foreigners have. Such a remark might be entirely reminiscent of past foreign disappointments, or it might be merely a deprecation of further competi- tion now that the cotton industry promises to reward enterprise. At all events, for one reason or another, the Chinese have not had equal provocation to mistrust; and the decision to undertake further exploitation just now need surprise uo one. We men tioned several months ago that the Japanese had their eyes on Shanghai, and though so far we have heard no more of their scheme to control the industry in that port, we are able to announce that the Kanegafuchi Spinning Co. liave practically decided to establishca mill,there. The necessary capi tal, about three million yen, is to be taken from their big reserve funds, When the Chinese and Japanese are so convinced of the immediate future for cotton on these coasts, it is time for foreigners to relinquish the pessimism apparent in some of their com- ments. The factors of their past disappoint- ment are not to be feared now. 'matter of fact, the spinuing industry appears to be at that turn of the tide which must lead on to fortune. Last year all local companies did much better than anybody was expecting, and their next results are bound to be even more satisfactory. Every company in Japan last year is said to have made enormous profits," and "there are indications of yet greater prosperity." This will naturally lead to an increase of spindles, and a fear that there may again be too We are advised, many mouths to feed. however, that there is plenty of room for them all. The Japan Chronicle has collected some figures relating to the industry in Japan, from which we see that at the end of last year there were 49 spinning mills in Japan, the spindles aggregating 1,330,237, and producing 905,587 bales of yarn. The number of spindles and the production of arn last year are compared with the preceding four years as follows:- No, of Yarn pro- spindles. duced bales. .1,057,772 670,470 .1,075,358
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
As a
689,913
1,246,972
1,297,965
770,854 801,738 1,249,086 695,213
The coal consumption of the spinning mills in each of the last three years was as follows:- 1903 1904
1905...
"
.894,101,622 punds .805,324,744 .995,777,094 The price of coal required last year by the mills was Y29.63 per 10,000 kin (100 kin a picut) on nu average, in 1904 Y19.12. and in 1903 Y18.93. The number of opera- tives and the wages paid for last year is compared with the preceeding two years as follows
Wages. Operatives.
per head per day. 14,795 male
32.6 sen .59,386 female 20.6 .11,451 male · · 33.6 ..50,219. female 20.3
1903
1904
1905
....12,811 male 34.6
21
#1
58,684 female 21.2 · are interesting enough, but
A meeting of the Sanitary Board was held on February 6th at the Board Room. The Hon. Dr. F. Clark (president) presided, and there were als› present: Dr. W. W. Pearce, M.O.H., Dr. Macfarlane, Lieut.-Col. Josling, Mr. E. A. Hewett, Hon. Mr. A. W. Brewin, Mr. Shelton Hooper, Mr. H. Humphreys, Mr. F. J. Fung Wa-chuo, Mr. Lau Chu-psk, Mr. A. Badeley, and Mr. G. A. Woodcock (secretary).
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS.
•
Mr. Lau Chu-pak in an addendum to the miante already written, stated that as a matter of principle manuring with fermented night. soil and urine should not be stopped, because, firstly, that would throw men out of employ ment and compel the Colony to rely on Canton for its supply of fresh vegetables. In the second place, according to the report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shanghai Municipal Council, there was no better way for the disposal of human exorets than by returning it to Mother Earth as is done by the and jars would reduce the offensive smell and Chinese farmers. Fermentation in covered pita
was sufficient to kill all the germs. If it were on account of the smell this manuring was The PRESIDENT said-Gentlemen, before point out the state of mentioning the business this afternoon I should objected to he would peh its sparse population, like to say that it is with very much pleasure I could not be worse than in the crowded extend a welcome to the two new members of city of Victoria, where no neans had the Board-Mr. Henry Humphreys and Mr. been devised for the inhabitants to dispose Shelton Hooper. I am quite sure their long of their urino. The Chinese - had been in many matters which come before us to decide conveniences, and what urine was in their houses experience of the Colony will be of value to us sonderuned as unfit to use any modern
(applause).
KOWLOON ODOURS.
The detailed report by Dr. Macfarlane on the use of nightsoil in gardens at Kowloon was submitted.
2.
and even also in European houses was all emptied into the drains, that being the only alternative open to them. No wonder in the hot season the stench from the drains was unbearable. The Medical Officer of Health recommended He said-It was found that nightsoil was that no action be taken to stop the use of human being carried out to the gardens from Hung-excreta for manure provided that it be ripened take action and the practice seems to be dis- hom and Yaumati. The police were asked to in sumps for three weeks before use.
continued for the present.
The President wrote I don't admit t
the argument that it is just as difficult to prevent On the whole, the odours do not appear to me the use of nightsoil as it is to enforce Dr. to be much abated allowing for the fact that Pearos's contention that nightsoil must first be they are always less obvious in the cold than io ripened for at least three weeks in sumps. the hot weather. The Board's instructions direct Farmers can easily be prosecuted by the police special attention to the removal of sumps, which and Sanitary Department working in unison. has been done, but in my experience these sumps Fresh urine is non-odonrous but fermented do not smell unless stirred up. The main urine has an offensive smell. The objection causes of swell is the morning and afternoon to the former is that it may contain the germs watering with diluted nights oil and the of disease in an active form, and the objection evaporation which takes place afterwards.to the latter is that its use renders the highways To stop this it would be necessary to entirely suppress the use of nightsoil, but this would throw the gardens out of cultivation and they would then become mosquito swamps. At present the gardens are receiving the nightsoil less than 10,000 persoas. of a village population estimated roughly at not
M. Lan Chu-pak minuted-The entire stoppage of mauuring, I should say, would inflict great hardship on the gardeners, most of whom depend on gardening as the only means to gain their living. It would also compel Hongkong to depend entirely on Canton for the supply of fresh vegetables, which is certainly a retrogressive step. I think some regulations might be drawn up ander which manuring with nightsoit should be allowed.
Mr. H. A. Hewett wrote-I cannot agree with Mr. Lau Chu-pak. The Board should in no case countenance the use of nightsoil in vegetable gardens. The use of stable manure for the ground should be permitted and if those dealing
necessary the wording of the Ordinance should haps more significant. Our contemporary to encourage the cultivation of vegetables says In the preceding year only nine required for the Hongkong market under proper spinning mills were engaged in weaving with | sanitary conditions, rather than that we should
objectionable to passengers. The use of this manure should be prohibited in the immediate neighbourhood of highways, if not entirely. It is argued that this prohibition of human excreta in market gardens will throw these gardens out of cultivation. This does not necessarily follow, as a certain amount of animal manure will be available, and, further, the time has probably come when a good deal of this land ought to be thrown out of cultivation owing to the proximity thereto of dwellings in increasing numbers. The argument that the Chinese market gardeners should be allowed to do what they had been accustomed to do for years was not tenable. The Chinese have for many years been accustomed to
pinoculate for smallpox, but it
was illegal in British territory, and one never hears of its being done in any of the territory under the jurisdiction of the Board. I have no fear that the public will be misled as to the safety or otherwise of eating raw vegetab this Colony Everyone knows that the bulk of our vegetables comes from the Canton River raw vegetables which have not been gro under their own personal exceedingly risky proceeding. On the whole,
These figurth cotton weaving are per- be altered. Everything possible should be done | district, and everyone should kno
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