April 21, 1906.] gathered
Parsons: one
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
attending
285
twoAmerican writers. W. Barellay | lodgers? If not, why not?~~~(a) Practitioners | exception to Sanitary officers removing it. The page 30) of "An American Engineer in China" considers 5,000,000 a most post-mortem examinations on plague bodies. said he know that the down pipes of that. plague patients and holding speaker referred to the Gardeners' cottages, and generous estimate for the district of Canton, (b) Officers of including Fatsban, and other places in the working in the plague-stricken houses. (c) such a choked condition that had they belonged the Sanitary Department building were for more than eighteen months in vicinity; T. R. Jernigan in "China in Law and Coolies engaged in the removal of the sick and to any private individual they would not have Commerce, refers to the population of Canton the burial of the dead. No such experiments been left as they were for more than eighteen as over 1,000,000 and Fatshan as haring have been conducted in Hongkong, but it is hours. With regard to Crown lands, there was 750,000. I think the above notes should satisfy generally admitted by plague experts that one piece near Beaconsfield Arcade which was in the Sanitary Board that even
if we
can clothing may carry the infection of the disease, get with any approach to accuracy through especially if soiled with discharges from slightest doubt that it was injurious to health. a very dirty state, and there oculd be not the inquiries at the Chinese hospitals, Kaifong infected persons. Special precautions are taken | Again, they had only to go along. Caine Road committees and coffin shops a record of the by practitioners and officers of the Sanitary and see the pisce of land near the Disinfectant deaths at the city, these would scarcely enable Department to protect their clothing from Station which was used by the public as a short us to estimate the rate of mortality per defilement; should any such clothing, however, ❘ cut. thousand of the population of the city.
The place appeared to be nothing become polluted with infected material, it more or less than a depot for rubbish, and with would be at once disinfected. The clothing of these rains the greater part of it was under coolies employed in disinfecting infected pre-water, and would be for a long time; it was a mises and in coffining infected bodies is dis. breeling ground for mosquitoes. He thought, infected daily, and they are required to have if Mr. Howett's resolution was carried, that it a hot bath on completion of their work.
would be the duty of Sanitary inspectors to attend to such matters. He did not think they .... could serve a 24 hours' notice, with a view to a prosecution,_ on the worthy and honourable if such a matter were pointed out to him it Director of Public Works, but he was sure that would be attended to at once (laughteṛ).
The Colonial decretary (to the Secretary of the Sanitary Board)-I understand the Macao Bulletin is received regularly in your department. It should be regularly laid before the Sanitary Board, if this has not been done.
MARKET PRICES.
Mr. HOOPER, pursuant to notice of motion, asked the following questions, to which we annex the PRESIDENT'S answers :—
1. Is the price list of marketable commodities which appears weekly in the newspapers and which is signed by the Inspector of Markets obtained and published by the authority of the Board P-No. The custom of issuing a weekly statement of market prices, signed by the Inspector of Markets, has existed since 1867, which is many years before the Sanitary Board came into existence.
2. If not, by whom is the Inspector authorised to obtain and publish it ?—The authority no doubt came from the Government originally.
3. Is the information paid for by the news papers, or are the newspapers paid for publish- ing it P-No.
4. If so, how much is paid and by whom ?-I understand that the guild of poultry dealers pays 82 a month to one of the newspapers for copies of the list, so far as it relates to poultry
and game.
5. How does the Inspector obtain the information ?-By inquiry at the various stalls. 6. Is a copy of the price list as published supplied to the stall-holders ?-Ouly to the dealers in poultry and game.
7. If so, do they pay anything for it, and how much ?-Only so far as stated in answer No. 4. Mr. HOOPER-I would like to ask you further whether you are aware of the fact that the two dollars to the China Mail are for 200 copies. of the price list? If so, what is done with these copies ? It arises out of the question.
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The PRESIDENT-So far as my information goes, the two dollars are paid by the Guild of Poultry Dealers for copies supplied to the Guild for distribution among its members.
Mr. HOOPFE-And not to any other people? The PRESIDENT-Not so far as my informa- tiongoes.
Mr. HOOPER They are supplied only to the Poultry Guild ?
The PRESIDENT-Yes.
The discussion closed by Mr. HOOPER remarking that that was all he had to say until he had considered the subject farther.
THE PLAGUE AND INFECTION.
Mr. LAU CHU-PAK, pursuant to notice, asked the following questious, to which the PRESIDENT's replies are appended :—
1. Under what bye-law have contacts or persons living on the same floor with a plague patient been compelled to strip off their clothes and wear those provided by the Sanitary Board? -Bye-law 4 of the bye-laws governing "dis infection of infected premises contained in schedule B of the Public Health and Building
Ordinance.
4. Is it a fact that even in the cold winter the occupiers of the sime floor as a plague- stricken patient are stripped of everything they are wearing and forced to put on a thin suit (one coat and one pair of trousers) provided by the Sanitary Bard, and pending the disinfection of their own clothes they are to stand in the cold for hours ?—Only oue complaint of insufficient clothing has come to the notice of the M.O.H., and instructions were at once issued for extra clothing to be given out whenever asked for, and flannel clothing is now provided for cool weather.
SANITARY INSPECTION OF GOVERNMENT
PROPERTY.
Mr. HEWETT, before moving the motion standing in his name, said it was considered necessary and proper that certain sanitary inspection should be given to property in Hongkong. There did not appear to him to be any reason why Government property should be exempt from this rule, because they knew very well that Crown lands and buildings occupied by Government officials were just as likely to be insanitary as other property. All buildings must constantly get into an state, and
insanitary to prevent them becoming & danger to health of the Colony they should be inspected officers.
by sauitary It was absolutely necessary sanitary inspection of Government property should be transferred from Government officials to their own experts, and that these experts should have the right to enter Crown lands and buildings for the purpose of seeing that they
2. Is it not likely that the clothes provided by the Sanitary Board may also get infected when produced at
the plague infected premises and handled by coolies engaged in plague work? If so, what difference is there between the people's own clothes and those
provided by the Sanitary Board ? The Sanitary Board clothing is disinfected immediately after use.
3. Is it the result of actual experiments that the clothes of the contacts carry infection? If so, are all the clothes of the undermentioned per- song whom the nature of their duties bring them into closer contact with the disease, submitted to the same process of disinfection immediately in every case as those of the patient's fellow
were
the
that
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OVERCROWDING,
A return showing the number of persons dis placed as the result of overcrowding in the city of Victoria was submitted. It showed that the total for January was 282, for February 126, and for March 186.
Mr. LAU CHU-PAK minuted—It would be in. torosting to know where the persons displaced have shifted.
Mr. Fung Wa-chun-I suppose they have gone out of the Colony.
A BURIAL SITE WANTED. An application was made by Ko Chi-woo for the purchase of a grave space in Mount Caro. line Cemetery.
Mr. HEWATT minuted—I think the applica. tion should be refused if in the near future the cemetery will be done away with and existing graves removed elsewhere.
The Hon, Rкgistrar GenEBAL-Isn't there land near Aberdeen set apart for a cemetery of this kind where space for family vaults can be purchased ?
The application was refused.
EXTERNAL AIR.
Correspondence was submitted relative to Nos. 2, 3, and 4 Yan Shan Lane,
Messrs. Weaser and Raven, architects, wrote that they had been unable to arrange with the owners of houses Nos. 18 and 20, Wellington Street with regard to removal of cornice encroaching on the external air to Nos 2 and 3, Yan Shan Lane, and they therefore asked the Board to allow them an exemption from com. plying with the strict letter of the law,
Mr. HEWETT minuted that he did think the exemption should be granted.
them to the proper authorities if they were not. ia a sanitary condition, and reporting This was not asking the Government to give up
Buy of their right-merely asking them to transfer a sort of nebulous control to qualified Government officers. He moved That in the opinion of the Board it is desirable all Crown lands and Government buildings be placed under the control of the
Mr. LAU CHU-PAK wrote that in cases of this Sanitary Board so far as sanitary matters are
kind the Government should either resume the concerned and that the officers of the Sanitary houses or pay compensation for alterations. Department have the same right of inspection Mr. HOOPER was of the opinion that the pro- as is now granted with regard to privatelyjecting eaves and cornice should not be deducted owned property under Section 23 of the Public from area of external air. Health and Buildings Ordinance No. 1 of 1903 as amended by Urdinance 23 of the same year.'
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Mr. HOOPER seconded the motion. He said he might say that some of it was not new. When the present Public Health and Building Ordinauce was going through its earlier stages the principal European landowners in this Colony, over which the speaker presided, obtained the services of four of the principal firms of architects in this Colony, and they drew up a detailed report and criticism on the bill. In that report, which was annexed to a petition to the Governor, they advocated that the nuisances specified in section 26 of the Ordinance Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8 should
apply to Government as well as to private property, and if members would look at section 4 of the Ordinance they would find that there was a certain quantity of Government property which came under the Board. He thought what Mr. Hewett suggested, that the section should be extended so as include all Government property, was not in any way derogatory to the Government. They were all for the time being members of the Government and the officers of the Board were Government officers. If there was a nuisance on Government property, surely the Government would not take
It was decided to recommend the Govern ment to graut the exemption.
t
FOOD AND DRUGS ACT. The return of samples examined under "The Sale of Food and Drugs Ordinance 1896" for the quarter ended March 31, 1906, was submitted. Of 9 samples of milk, 4 of ram, and 4 of whisky, all were found unadulterated.
REMOVAL OF NIGHTSOIL,
Tsim Sha Tsui to inform householders that he Respecting the application of a contractor at
houses, which permission was refused, was prepared to remove nightsoil from their
Mr. HOOPER intimated his intention of bringing a resolution on the subject before the Board. He said it was the duty of the State to remove sewage from premises.
NEW MARKET WANTED.
An application for a license to sell pork at Quarry Bay was refused.
Mr. SHELTON HOOPER moved that the Government be requested to provide a sum in the Estimates for next year for the erection of a market at Quarry Bay. The fact that the Board had granted eleven licenses to sell pork there showed that there was aneed for a market. Mr. HUMPHREYS seconded, and the motion was carried.
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