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CORRESPONDENCE.
MR. OSBORNE'S SPEECH.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS.:]
Hongkong, 2nd May 1908. SIR,-I had the good fortune to be present during part of Mr. Osborne's eloquent address to the Council on the subject of the Amending Health Ordinance and in common with others present could not but be impressed by the incisive oratory of the speaker: When however I subsequently read the speech in the papers, in my own home and removed from the cons training influence of the speaker's voice, I found much in his.speech that was inconsistent and much that was based on incorrect premises, I will refer first to his statement that "the out ome of this state of affairs was the original and drastic Ordinance of 1903" described by the Commissioners 08 the work of
Mr. novice."
Osborne spoke at great length with this misquolation for a text. What the Commissioners did say was "The Public Health and Buildings Ordinance No 1 of 1903 as originally drafted was (as was pointed out in the influentially signed petition against it) the work of a novice." This is quite a different thing. In the petition referred to the following passage occurs "It reveals in the
а
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
Bill the hand of the novice in building matters and one inappreciative of the rights of property. It shows that some provisions taken bodily from the English Statute book are practical and well drawu. It shows that others have been so altered in the taking as to be deprived of their original value and it exemplifies by many further instances the circumstance that through- out the Bill (with the single exception aforesaid) all the careful provisions of the English Acts for compensation wherever private rights are infringed have been scrupulously omitted." After receiving the petition the Government made many changes in the Bill before it finally became law but did not replace all the compan- sation clauses which bad been "scrupulously omitted"—with what-result to property owners we already know.
Yet in spite of numerous changes adopted upon the suggestions of owners, architects and others, the ink on the Bill was scarcely dry before whole sections of it were found to be ncwork- able and had to be amended. This looks as if the original draft was, if not the work of a novice, some hing equally indifferent.
the
Having dealt with inconsistencies and in correct premises I will now refer to Mr. Osborne's remarks about the Commission.
He said "From the beginning to the end of the report there is not the faintest meed of praiɛs, not one word of approbation." The Com- missioners were not instructed to award praise. If Sir Matthew Nathan had considered the Sanitary Department worthy of praise, no Commission would have been appointed. All the Commissioners had to do was to décide :~ the Administration of (1) Whether
the Sanitary and Building Regulations as here carried out were satisfactory, if not, what im provements could be made.
had
(2) Whether any corruption existed or existed. The Commissioners found that effective administration was conspicuous by its absence and that bribery and corruption amongst a considerable number of subordinates were ram. pant. They also suggested certain improve ments. The charge of ineffective administra- tion receives its answer and acceptance in the appointment of a cadet as adminstrative head with no other duties. The charge of corrup- tion is endorsed by the imprisonment of one and the dismissal of several other subordinates. With regard to improvements, s me, of the Commissioners' sugggestions are being adopt- ed in whole or in part. No doubt, as Mr. Osborne points out, the conduct of some of the subordinates during the perilous times of was worthy of praise but personal bravery in 1994 was outside the scope of the Commission.
1814
enormous
sums
It is true that the health of the Colony, especially as regards malarial fever, is belter (the roads however on the lower levels are much worse) but I question very much whether the various plague spent in measures have been very successful-we have not had much plague for some years, neither has autoo. When Canton is infected and we are not I will believe, meanwhile I am inclined to concur with the Hon. Messrs. Lockhart, May and Cha ham who reported as follows: "In spite of the many workers and of the most drastic measures the epidemic though undoubtedly confined within narrower limits was not got under one day sooner than it ceased of its own accord in the neighbouring city of Canton where no steps whatever were taken to combat the plague."
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Mr. Osborne says the prosperity of Hongkong is due to shipping but as Dr. Ho Kai pertin; what is the shipping due to"? ently remarked We have only three fundamental asses in this Colony and they are
(1) A d op water basiu or harbour at the gate of the Capital of South China.
(2) Safety of Commerce and the protection of
"of an.
[May 11, 1908.
THE BILL TO AMEND THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND BUILDINGS ORDINANCE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE “DAILY PRESS."]
S18, Mr. Osborne's speech in the Legisla tive Council on Thursday last will, I believe, commend itself to most thinking men in this Colony. He dealt with a thorny subject in a broad sad statesmanlike spirit, and sit an example which, I hope, will be followed in all future discussion on the Bill. It seems to me that if only people in their criticism the Bill and on the higher officials re-
ment of the Ordinance, would assume that sponsible for the administration and amend.
all
од
are trying to do their best for the sanitation and general welfare of the Colony, their criticism would carry more weight and raise less antagonism than much of the oriticism hitherto directed against the amendments proposed by the Government.
I do not mean to suggest the approbation of the good intentions of the administrators of the law should blind as to their faults, but that sp. preciation of their intentions will render correo- tion of faults easier and more certain.
with
In the general interests of the Colony & Building Ordinance imposing restrictions on owners of land is necessary, but a satisfactory Ordinance should be clear and definite, so that owners should be able to calculate reasonable exactness what use they can make of their land. Building sites in the Colɔny vary between wide extremes in their desir. ability from a sanitary point of view. An area of 15ft. by 60ft, anywhere will accom- modate a fair-sized Chinese house with all the restrictions as to roofed-over area at present in force, but the house built thereon will be more or less sanitary according to its position relative to neighbouring open spaces. It is obvious that a house built, say, facing a road on the sea front, or with a reasonably wide lane at the back, will be more sanitary
bouse similar
facing back street or with only a 6ft, scavenging lane at the back. But under the Bill the same main requirements are laid down for houses everywhere, and a power given to various authorities to grant exemption from the pre- scribed requirements in meritorious cases. The but powers of exemption are almost qulimited; no principles are laid down to guide the exempt- ing authority-
-uo regulations to guide an owner in estimating what ase be can put land to in an exceptionally open locality in the event, say, of his desiring to replace old houses with new. The consequence is entire uncertainty in any given case as to what will be permitted and what will not, and uncertainty which under the
than
a
built
present system cannot be ended until the owner has gone to the expense of having plans pre- pared and sent in to the Building Authority, and after many weeks' delay bas succeeded in getting various exemptions granted.
It surely would not be au excessively difficult task to lay down certain general principles and Mr. Osborne does not seem to have much
to frame a statutory scale of requirements in sympathy with landowners, but it is difficult to typical instances; e.g., for corner houses, for understand why individual property owners and
houses with lanes at the b ok open at both ends, not the Colony as a whole should be saddled with
with lanes open at one end, with lanes exceeding a certain width, for houses in streets exceeding the cost entailed by fifty-three years atmosphere of drift" especially as a responsible a certain width, for houses less than a certain This could be done by by-laws with Government Official admitted before the Com- depth. mission that there ought to have been more
some few alterations of the Ordinance, and roads and wider roads and that the ground until this or something of the kind is done, so which should have been reserved for such had long will there be general dissatisfaction with The beau sold by the Government and was bringing the administration of the Ordinance, in a considerable revenue in the shape of taxes unfettered discretion of any official or body of and Crown Rent, in other words the Govern-officials however eminent applied to building ment were profiting by the insanitary condition of the Colony.
Mr. Osborne was inconsistent in several ways. He commenced his speech by an unqualified condemnation of official admininistration. To use his own words from 1841-1844 the Colony was "neglected unguided and maturing in an the lives and liberties of individuals. atmosphere of drift
not till (3) Abundant cheap labour. 1894 did official apathy beedless of warnings
Where these conditions exist shipping and yield to a sense of its obvious duty." After industries will follow. The Health Ordinance virtually accusing
Government of and the Guilds have done much to make cheap maladministration for over half a century he, labour a thing of the past, but plague except in in a later part of his speech, goes од so far as it produced the Health Ordinance, his to say: "To change this system (i.e. Crownnot increased the cost of labour. Colony Government) for that of Government by an Elected Assembly would be fraught with injury to the Colony." His glowing eulogy of the Crown Colony system of Government loses much of its value following after his previous denuncia tion. His praise of officials as a whole (though I will not say they are undeserved) is somewhat. counterbalanced by such expressions as doless the high officials protect the public against the misplaced zeal, stupidity and arrogance of subordinates there will continue to be irritation antagonism and trouble.' This sounds almost like an echo of the Commission as also the expression "there should be some simple form of appeal.' Mr. Osborne objects (inter alia) to a Municipality because civilians are "here to-day and gone to-morrow." If this is so are not officials here this morning and gone this afternoon? If this argument means anything it means that those who own control supp rt and operate the commerce of the Colony, who possess practically all the property in it are more likely to ruin the Colony than those who would not be seriously affected by any calamity to the Port. It may be sound but it is not logic. However I agree with Mr. Osborne in not desiring a Municipal Council, not for bis very inconsistent reasons but for the same reason I do not desire the moon.
17
In conclusion I would only say that as the Bill of 1903 was begotten of panic, so there was bound to be (as there has been a strong reaction against it. But the mischief is for the most part done and it would not be wise to make any radical changes now such as largely increasing the number of persons that can be accommodated in a given space. When Chinese by the thousand were being ejected for overcrowding, houses by the hundred were ran up for them by the local land companies and private owners. Are these Some are already.— all to become. vacant? Yours truly,
HENRY HUMPHREYS.
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problems necessarily leads to uncertainty, and it is largely uncertainty as to what will be permitted, or what will rot, in the future that is strangling building enterprise in this Colony.
The power of granting exemptions is conferred in most cases upon the Building Authority with an ultimate appeal against the exercise of his discretion to the Governor in Council. The principal objections to this scheme are that the personal element has undue weight, there is no guarantee of continuity of policy, there is no record of decisions kept in an available form for the guidance of owners, no principles are formulated in accordance with which applica tions will be refused or granted, and the
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Private notes are available after approval.