May 4, 1907.]
publicly in the streets the Sanitary regulations | and to impress on the poorer class the folly of dumping their dead. As regards cremation suggested by the Medical Officer of Health, 1 strongly disapprove of this step, as it is against the Chinese religion and would naturally offend all classes of the Chinese community. In soy case it would only be treating the dead with disrespect as the guilty party who dumped the body could never be traced, and would not suffer in the least.
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
am sare Chinese do not want to dump bodies if they have facilities for treating their sick at home and burying their dead, I think the proper way is to ask the Government to leave the matter in the hands of the Registrar General, to saries among the labouring classes, and the open more hospitals and dispen labours of the Registrar general and the other gentlemen who are willing to work with him will, I am sure, result in the enlightenment stopped. of the people and dumping will gradually be
The Hon. Mr. BaɛWIN-If oremation is not proposed to prevent dumping and not intended
as a deterrant then it is useless to discuss it on this occasion. What we are asked to do now is
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taining some hold on the disease as a result of proceded- Therefore that shows we are main... ··
the measures adopted in Hongkong. I fail to operate with us. The Government have taken see that we have not asked the Chiness to co- every measure possible to be taken in order to obtain that cooperation and if they won't help us we must take firmer steps. In many more cases than in the first three months the three months of this year there have been of 1905 and it is with the object of dealing with this evil that I have proposed the motion now before you. The Registrar General admita that this practice did exist before plagus was prevalent here at all, as there were over 230. bodies dumped in 1893, s0 it osanot be entirely due to plague.
THE GOUGH STREET AFFAIR. Regarding the accusations levelled against sanitary officials and an interpreter at the Magistracy concerning & case which was heard there concerning a latrine in Gough Street, the Colonial Secretary wrote :-
to consider the question of remedies for the evil. I am sorry to see that you remain apparently Mr FUNG WA Chun-I am sorry I cannot in doubt as to the origin of this practice. You agree with the motion. If you can satisfy me mention that only about one third of the bodies that oremation is of any good, if you can prove which have been abandoned this year had died to the people that cremation will stop dumping, from infectious disease. You must recollect then I might change my mind. This is a thing that the Chinese are not capable of diagnosing | very much against the Chinese, plague, even though they may b able to diag. J. Government done for them? The President What has the nose smallpox, and I am satisfied that this says they have given every concession to the practice is simply due to the sanitary laws Chinese. I admit certain concessions have been and the way in which they are administered. | given but the Government has not done any That has been the unvarying and unanimous work. The Chinese have been doing the work. opinion with any Chinese with whom I have I would suggest that more branch hospitals. spoken and my knowledge of the feeling of the Chinese towards the Sanitary Board, and my
be opened to give inducement to the Chines o If you can start cremation and carry it on knowledge of Chinese families with whom I effectually all right, but I don't think you can. am acquainted satisfies me that the opinion is The amendment was carried. a correct one. These figures (quotes) ought to satisfy any nabiassed person that the practice is due to what I suggest. Nothing can account for the large increase in dumping except the plague and the oppressive measures enforced to suppress it. It wa are the origin of the practice it seems to us satisfied this is
quite vatural that the Government should refer the question to us, beosuse as a Sanitary Board-we are to a certain extent responsible for the laws being obnoxious to the sentimente of the Chiness community. I am sure we do not detect more than 50 per cent. of the cases of infection disease which occur in the Colony. Smallpox cases are smuggled out of the Colony, therefore we must have 遮 law obnoxious and ineffective. It should be our intention to render the law more effec ive and in consonance with local conditions. Cremation would be equally ineffective. The only way the practice can be stopped is to obtain the coopera- tion of the leading members of the Chinese com- manity, and that cooperation can only be obtained on certain conditions. The Chiuese have lost all confidence in us, they don't know what to expect in the way of sanitary measures, We must try to restore that confidence by showing them that
we will display the same respect for their social and religious feeling as we would have to display for the social and religious feelings of people in a town in England if we had the same trouble there
to the Sanitary Board No. 70 of the 4th inst., With referenc to the letter of the Secretary I am directed to transmit to you for the information of the Board the enclosed copy of a report by the Police Magistrate who heard the snmmon against Chan Pui-owner of tha Gough Street latrine-together with the original depositions in the case.
Mr. Melbourne's report read :-Mr. Nolan,
preted the interpreter attached to the Court, inter. the charges to the defendant, who plead d guilty to both. Defendant the fault of his fokis. I informed him that he stated that it was not his fault, but that it was
and flued him $30, was responsible for the faults of his servante
The President-It appears from the police report that last year there were no less than 1,447 bodies dumped in the streets or precincts of the Colopy. his year the number in the first three months was 377, and of these only 183 were cases of infectious disease, leaving 244 not suffering from infectious disease. It is impossible not to conclude that the scheme propounded by the Registrar General, Messrs. Lau Chu-pak, and Fung Wa-chuo, in 1904, has proved ineffectual in stopping this dumping. I move that the Board recommend the Government to adopt cremation as the method of disposal of these bodies and my object in doing so is not that this action should be taken as a deterrent. If it were taken for that purpose I think it would be sure to fail. My reason in making this recommendation is that I think it is the most sanitary and the most reverent method of disposing of these bodies.
think
you will
agree that it is the most sanitary and I think I can prove it is vala a reverent practice by mentioning that cremation has been adopted in Chiun since the introduction of Buddhism. Throughout China I understand the bodies of priests are cremated. This can he seen at Canton on the Honam side. The elaboratorites of Taoism do not preclude cremation provided that the bones are collected and buried with due formality. In view of the fact also that there may not be sufficient land in the future for the burial of Chinese this method of treating the dead bodies found in the streets ought to be introduced. If it were adopted by the Government it might become as popular it JB in other countries. In order that
this result should be- achieved it would be necessary to issue a proclama. tion to the Chinese pointing out that this is not done with object of hurting the feelings of the Chinese and that after the bodies have been burned the ashes will be placed in urns and the relatives will be able to take them to what- ever part of China they wish in order to bury them so that it would no interfere with the national ancestral worship. With regard to dumped bodies the urns would have to be interred in a place selected by the Government, The Hon. Mr. CHATHAM seconded. Mr. LAU CHU PAK-I
am sorry I must Toppose this motion Th dumping of
bodies is
В problem which cannot be solved by siting down and writting things off every moment. The Government does not want to knew how to dispose of the dead bodies but how to stop dumping. If the Government is troubled with the disposal of the dead bodies the Tung Wa Hospital is always ready to undertake to bury them and there are ;Chinese gentlemen perfectly willing to contri
bute to a fund for the burial of these bodies, The suggestion of cremation is in my opinion useless and harmful inasmuch as it will not stop dumping but will intensify the alarm of the poor labouring class of Chinese in the Colony. The problem can be solved in this way. We should investigate the conditions under which this class lives. The better class feel much concern about damping as anybody else and I am convinced the people who dump
SANITARY SURTETOR'S REPOET. bodies are those of the labouring class. The Registrar General
The Sanitary Surveyor's report for the doing his utmost, with the
quarter showed that plans had been deposited help of a Chinese committee which has since been largely increased to pacify the minds of
and passed for the drainage of eight housse, The PRESIDENT-With reference to the and that plans for 110 bonses were carried the Chinese and to encourage them by giving remarks of the Registrar General, more especial-forward from 1906. The drainage of 17 houses them facilities for treating their sick and ly dealing with the extract concerning plague had been completed, leaving 101 to carry forward. burying their dead. I
am certain that if measures in India, I think our experience here Not ces for repairs or alterations to the drains greater facilities were given the Chiuese to certainly justifies the steps we have taken. In | of 72 houses had been received, and 74 were treat their own people at home and to bury India they have practically stopped all plague | carried forward from 1906, making a total of their dead, damping will be gradually measures with the result that plague is as rife 116 in band. Of these 17 had been completed stopped. As regards cremation, the section 18 it has ever been if not worse. They have leaving 129 to carry forward. The drains of 25 of people in China who have emboed Budd-girea in to the natives and practically stopped houses had been inspected and reported on. hism is very small, and only a few of these all methods for prevention. Our experience in these six required reconstructing, fourteen are-oremated. Even the Buddhist priests are Hongkong is otherwise, as plague has distinctly amending, and fire were found to be in good ¦ not always oremated. It is against the diminished within the last twelve years. After 1order. In addition 1,918 houses bad been Chinese religion to have bodies cremated. I'quoting figures in support of this statement he inspected by the drainage inspectors with the
If you are willing to do that you will obtain the hearty co-operation of the leaders of the Chinese. Until you are you must expect them to remain indifferent and hostile. Mr. Fang Wa chun was in my offloe the other day, and I read to bim the principles which comend themselves to the Government of India and which I ask the Board here to adopt. If we do I am satisfied that in time without a great deal of trouble we will obtain the co- operation
of the Chinese and render the
law more effectire than it is .t present without any friction. You cannot expect to gain that confidence at once or in one year to wipe out in emories of what they have suffered during the last twelve years. If once we adopt these principles we will take the first step to put a stop to a dreadful scandal which is a blot on the fame of Hongkong and, as the Chinese admit, a disgrace to the Chinese community.
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Mr. HOOPER minuted-Why W&S the notice to the re-idence as required by Section 37 ? As the owner not delivered at his
Secretary admits B clerical error in the inspectors' report, and in the Board's letter of 2nd February I think that portion of the fine on the first charge should b› remitted. It would be well for the Medical Officer of Health to inspect these latrines to sacertain if they are really in a dirty condition.
The CAPTAIN SUPERINTENDENT OF POL CE -T'he clerical error appears to me unimportant, and I don't think it is a oss, for remission.
The President-The clerical error was to replace it instead of repair it?
The Secretary-Yai.
The President-No other sotion is necessary. There is the other point.
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The Secretary-The reason why the summons was left at the latrine instead of at the owner's residence was becsuse the owner was seldom found at his house and the Inspector thought that if he handed it to the keeper of the latrine the latter would give it to the son who went to the latrine every day.
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