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Hon. Mr. HEWETT-The Sanitary Board are pow admitted as having control over nuisances on Crown lands. The pool should certainly be filled up, and I would suggest that the Hon. the Director of Public Works applies for a grant for this purpose.
Hon. Mr. BREWIN-How was the pool form- ed; in consequence of work done by the P.W.D.?
The A.M.O.H. reported-These pools have in some degree been formed by the making of the new roads which are raised to a higher level than the surrounding ground. They will be very much worse when the rainy season seta in, and will undoubtedly be a breeding place for large quantities of mosquitoes. The filling in of these pools to the level of the adjoining roads is the only satisfactory course which could be adopted.
The PRESIDENT wrote as follows to the Director of Public Works :-Can you fill in all of these pools that are on Crown land before we get any warm weather? If by raising the road your Department has caused pools to form on private land, I am afraid we may have trouble in trying to force owners to abate any nuisance caused thereby. Is there any arrange- ment whereby the pools on private land may be similarly filled up as part of the anti- malarial measures paid for by Government, with the consent of the owners, of course ?.
The DIRECTOR of PUBLIC WORKS replied that one pool was on private ground, and had
been there ever since he could remember. An-
other was on ground of which the lessee was the Roman Catholic Bishop, Steps were being taken to have it filled. Another pool was due to the construction of the road in a great measure, but all this low-lying ground had been a swamp for many years, and much of it had been improved by being filled. There were no funds available for the filling-of the latter pool at present.
With regard to another nuisance reported by Mr. Goldring, the PRESIDENT Wrote to the A.M.O.H-The military officials naturally say that the offence is committed by civilians, of whom there is a large number in Kowloon. Can you not catch anyone in flagrante delicto and hand him over to the nearest constable? I don't want street fights, however, over it.
The A.M.O.H. replied :-As the offenders would be Indians-whether civil or military-I do not see how we could catch anyone without a street fight. Sergeant Appleton's experience seems conclusive. But I understand the military authorities have a piquet-surely this piquet could arrest civil or military, or could distinguish between the two aud report.
The PRESIDENT-I think the proper pro- cedure is for this Board to recommend the Government to authorise the Director of Public Works to incur the necessary expenditure involved in filling up this pool. Certain neighbouring land-owners were called upon to fill up pools in consequence of mosquitoes breed- ing there, and if this pool were not filled up their work would have little effect.
Mr. HOOPER-Don't you think it would be more in order that a printed form be sent to the Director of Public Works calling upon him to do the work in the same manner as the adjoining owners would be called upon? When he got it he could plead as a pauper and ask the Government to get him out of a difficulty by doing the work at once (laughter). They would surely do it.
The PRESIDENT-I don't think we have authority to serve a notice on the Director of Public Works.
Hon. Mr. HEWETT-Most certainly we have. If we find the Director of Public Works to have committed a nuisance we can call upon him to remove it.
of
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS read
a section of the Ordinance stating that a general notics should not apply in cases works belonging to the Crown, and stated that although His Excellency had given instructions that Government build- ings might to some extent be supervised by officers of the Sanitary Board, still the Ordin. ance exempted Government officials from the procédure of having notices served upon them.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
(July 14, 1906.
i
of the Sanitary Department as much as private, appointed a sub-committee to go into the matter lands; therefore the Director of Public Works | and report. is altogether wrong when he says they are not under the same control as private land owners. They had it in writing from the Law Officer of the Crown.
Mr. HOOPER-Perhaps I might find a middle course and
sty that instead of using our printed
forms which some people consider offensive, and no doubt they are (laughter) a letter be typewritten calling the attention of the Government to this nuisance and informing them that as similar nuisances on land owned by private individuals immediately adjoining this have had to be dealt with by the Board, and the owners compelled to remedy them, that they asked the Government to do the same.
The PRESIDENT seconded, and the motion was carried unanimously.
SCAVENGING CONTRACTOR'S GRIEVANCE. The scavenging contractor forwarded petition to the Board, from which the following extracts are taken:The rubbish was always taken to the place mentioned in his contract, but baskets overboard within the boundaries of the it was possible that the coolies dumped a few harbour. Last month when the police boarded a dustboat to arrest some of these coalies they were like wolves and tigers and the people escaped as best they could. One man who jumped into the water to escape was drowned. Some of the coolies were arrested and taken before the Court, where they were e ich fined $50 or imprisoned for two months. The men could not pay the fines and the contractor was not able to pay for them.
Mr. HUMPHREYS minuted--When will the refuse destructor come into operation? There will always be trouble under the present system. Mr. F. J. BADELEY-The contractor made the contract with his eyes open and knew what he had to do. If he allows his coolies to dump the rubbish in the water as a set-off for under. payment he deserves to suffer for it.
It is a matter of great difficulty and some expense to catch them in the act, and when they are caught it is not the least use imposing a nominal fine. He ought to employ a responsible man to make the coolies do what they are required to do.
Mr. LAU CHU-PAK- The coûtractor has his own reason to grumble, as he has to pay fines so often both for himself and his coolies and other
unnecessary expenses which absorb all his pro- fits. In my opinion the last part of clanse 22 of the scavenging contract is bad, and should be deleted in the next new contract. Bo long as the contractor is required to send his boats to Chinwan Bay, it is impossible to prevent dumping, and that clause can never be properly enforced. The remedy for the present state of affairs will be to so amend the next contract as to make the contractor provide large seagoing junks, properly decked and locked, and engage launches to tow them out to sea to dump the rubbish, pending
the erection of the refuse destructor.
Hon. Mr. BREWIN-I agree with Mr. Lau Chu-pak. I dislike the idea of entering into a contract on terms which you know the other party cannot fulfil. Enquiries should be made as to the probable cost to the contractor of carrying out the contract in the present manner, and of carrying it out properly. It will then be seen whether there is any reasonable prospect of the contract being carried out satisfactorily with profit to the contractor. Occasional infliction of heavy punishment is a very antiquated way of securing observance of the law. The proper way is to maintain adequate and constant supervision.
The PRESIDENT-The present contract expires at the end of the year, and the Board will have an opportunity of discussing the conditions of the next contract probably in September. I don't know whether it will meet your views to let the matter stand over till then.
HARMFUL OR BENEFICIAL. A letter W68 submitted from Messrs. Palmer and Turner relative to the provision of gutters to the floors of balconies, which they regarded as being receptacles for dirt and garbage in the usual type of Chiness houses.
Mr. SHELTON HOOPER-Should not this complaint have been addressed to the Building Authority as coming under Part III. P
Mr. H. HUMPHREYS-Why not ask the
Director of Public Works and the local architects whether in their opinion any necessity existe for clause 9 of schedule G. ? What is the use of having regulations that do mors harm than good?
The PRESIDENT-Members would notice a letter in the papers last night_complaining bitterly that a sufficient number of gutters and down-pipes were not provided for verandahs in this Colony. Evidently there are two sides to this question. Personally I agree we could do without a good many of these gutters which are used for a purpose for which they were never originally intended. We might ask the Director of Public Works for his opinion on the subject.
Mr. HOOPER-As I said on my minute, Ir don't think we have any jurisdiction whatever in this matter. It devolves on the Building Anthority and we would be wasting our time in discussing it. If we did, one of the most flagrant cases is the building we are now in. The only shoots it has are those which would shoot out water and make everyone wet as they go to church on Sunday morning if the building were washed at that time.
The PRESIDENT-I think we are quite entitled to discuss the suggestion because it is made on sanitary grounds.
Mr. HOOPER 1 don't think so myself. I think we should refer the matter to the Building Authority and ask him to attended to it, as it is within his jurisdiction and he might take offence if we interfered (laughter).
Members agreed.
OVERCROWDING.
The number of persons displaced as the result of prosecutions in respect of overcrowding in the city of Victoris during Jane was 326, the greatest number, 82, being in No. 7 district.
A GREEN ISLAND NUISANCE.
The Colonial Secretary wrote to the Board pointing out that the manure from the animal depot at Kennedytown was deposited on Green Island, where it was breeding flies and mosquitoes so as to be a nuisance and great pest in the quarters of the lighthouse staff, and requesting the Board to suggest some other place for the disposal of such manure.
The PRESIDENT minated an opinion that some bay on Kowloon side would be more suitable.
The VETERINARY SURGEON recommended that a small bay in New Kowloon be used for the purpose.
A suitable place is to be procured.
INSANITARY VİLLAGES,
A detailed report by Dr. PEARSE, into the state of the villages of Tai Hang and Wong Nei-cheong, to which Mr. Hooper had called attention, was read. He made suggestions for improving the condition of the pigstyes in Tai Hang and pointed out that repairs to the foot- path would remedy the complaint with regard to the hydrant in the pathway in Shepherd Street. With regard to matsheds used for the reception of clothes prior to their removal to the city for ironing and folding, it would be difficult to prove their use as domestic buildings. He remarked that a good deal might be done to improve surface drainage, while with regard tó two buildings originally built as pigstyes and occupied as domestic buildings no pigs had recently been housed therein. In conclusion, be said that some houses appeared overcrowded, the nullah certainly needed training and the road and vacant ground in front of New Tai Hang swampy and needed levelling and
draining.
was Mr. BREWIN did not think the present was a day too soon to consider this question. Ha moved that a sub-committee be appointed to consider the contract to see whether any amend. ment could be made.
Mr. LAU CHU-PAK seconded, and the
Mr. HEWETT-I beg to differ from the Vice- President, and would refer to the Attorney-motion was carried. General's opinion. He has advised the Sanitary The Hon. Registrar-General, Mr. Lau Chu. Board that Crown lands come under the control pak and the Medical Offloor of Health were
With regard to Wong Nei Cheong, he stated that he had not found any pigstyes used as domestic buildings, while the roads and path- ways about the houses where there was much traffic needed better surfacing and surface draining. The supposed leper was probably a leper, but for absolute diagnosis he would need
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