358
SANITARY BOARD,
was
A meeting of the Sanitary Board held on Tuesday the Board Room. Mr. R. O. Hutchison presided, and there were present Hon. Mr. W. Chatham, M.G., (Vice President), Colonel Bedford, Hon. Mr. E. A. Hewett, Hon. Mr. A. W. Brewin, Mr. A. Shelton Hooper, Dr. G. H. L. Fitzwilliams, Mr. Ho Kom Tong, Dr. F. Clark (Medical Officer of Health),. Dr. Pearse, (Assistant Medical Officer of Health), and Mr. W. Bowen Rowlands (Secretary).
ANTHRAX.
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The COLONIAL VETE INARY SURGEON re- ported that a case of anthrax had occurred at the Kennedy-town attle Depot. The sick bullock died and the thirteen others which came from Hoihow were slaughtered.
Mr. HOOPER-How is the case proceeding? The PRESIDENT-No more outbreaks. That was a fortnight ago.
PLAGUE AT SAMCHUN.
The HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT minuted that a report had been received from the District Officer at Taipo that a serious outbreak of plague had occurred at Samchun in Chinese Territory. It was stated that there had been over 100 deaths during the last few days and the last two markets had not been held owing to the outbreak. The people had been fasting and holding noisy ceremonies to drive away the sickness. The District Officer was authorised to
stop hawkers from crossing the frontier at Samchun into our territory. The Chief Super- intendent of Police was watching the launches coming to Hongkong.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
Mr. HOOPE -The action by the Government of placing a cordon on the frontier to prevent Chinese crossing our territory is very satisfac- tory.
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CHINESE BURIAL PROBLEMS.
Mr. HOOPEI couldn't quite understand the minute of Mr. Lau Chu Pak; would you mind reading it again.
The PRESIDENT read, "The poor Chinese are made to suffer "
Vr. HOOPER-How do they suffer? Mr. Ho Koм TONG-The poor Chinese have to carry the coffins to the other end of the city.
Mr. HOOFER-How far is that? The REGISTRAR-GENERAL -- About miles.
[May 1, 1909.
On the motion of the PRESIDENT, seconded by the REGISTRAR-GENER. L, a committee was appointed to consider the lighting of the markets The committee was constituted as follows:~ The President, the Registrar-General and Mr. Hooper.
Mr. HOOPER pointed out that it was proposed to recommend $2,000 on the vote for headstones as the price had risen from $43.50 to $60 a thousand. He thought the figure rather eight high.
Mr. HOOPER-Who pays for that ?· Mr. Ho Koм TONG The poor people have
T to pay themselves.
Mr. HOOPER Don't the Tung Wah Hospi- tal pay for that?
Mr. Ho Kun TONG No.
The PRESIDENT-I don't think the point is so serious as Mr. Lau Chu Pak makes out, because before people from the west went to the Mount Caroline Cemetery, which is further away.
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Mr. HOOPER- In China proper is it not à general rule rather than an exception that people have to carry their dead several miles for interment
Mr. Ho KOM TONG They have not to carry them very far, and there they pay about 3 expenses, as against from $10 to $15 here..
The REGISTRAR-GENERAL How many burials are there a week in the frée section of Mount Caroline?
to
The MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH-
The average interments from January 1st month, while from
April 1st, 1909, work out at 40 per the 1st January one "SECTION 175."
The report by the Medical Officer of Health relative to certain houses remaining to be dealt with under section 175 of the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance 1903-19.8 was con- sidered.
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fancy in some of the cases where exemptions are recommended, the houses comply. with the law already, as they were built since the passing of the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance of 1887.
The PRESIDENT moved that the modifications be granted in accordance with the report of the Medical Officer of Hea th,
A Minute by the Medical Officer of Health Mr. HOOPER minuted I quite agree with the relative to section A cf Mount Caroline Medical Officer of Health that the records Cemetery was read in which the Medical Officer should state the 1 nd lots as well as the house of Health stated that there was only room for numbers. In all cases of exemption, when thirty-nine more graves in this section. Asapproved. the owners should be notified. the Public Works Department were apparently unable to do anything towards laying out a further area as an extension until the Legislative Council had passed the Bill relative to dis- interments, and the Board had then to authorize the same, he thought the only course to adopt was to ask the Registrar General to notify all the undertakers in the City that section A would be full about the end of this month and that therefore no further interments could take place in this section after that time. Section A is the free section and the effect of this filling up at Mount Caroline will be to divert all such interments to the Kai Lung Wan Cemetery, which at present is not used as fully as it should be. Cemetery Bye-Law 13 stated that the Sections were to be of such size and arrangement as the Board might direct, and therefore this minute should be submitted to the Board, so that they might know that section A. was practically fall. The Board was already aware of the difficulties which had arisen in connection with the question of disinterment of remains from ancient graves.
Mr. HOOPER minuted-Let the plan referred to in Bye Law No 14 be produced at the next Board Meeting. For the time being Kai Lung Wan Cemetery had better be used for free burials. When are the Government going to proceed with the new Bill re exhumation ?
Mr. LAU CHU PAR minuted-I don't see why the poor hinese should be made to suffer for the delay in extending this section of the cemetery. Not to say inconvenience, it will cost them more money, which they can ill afford, to send their dead from one end of the town to the other to be buried. Pending the passing of the amendment bill the other sections should be
used for free burials.
Mr. Ho Koм TONG minuted-I agree with Mr. Lau Chu Pak.
The REGISTRAR-GENE AL-Is it not possible to make use of some other sections in the meantime ?
The PRESIDENT-Section B has already been made into a free burial place, and we now have to use section C, but there is not very much space there. It might be possible, however, that without exhumation the Public Works should make some terraces down there.
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Mr. HOOPER seconded, remarking that it would be of course superfluous to grant modifications in cases where the houses already comply with the law,
The motion was agreed to.
now
THE DRAFT ESTIMATES.
The PRESIDENT said he did not think that there was much in the estimates which required any further explanation than he had already given. Under the vote Coolies, he now proposed to ask for a hundred coolies to be put on the permanent The vote Cem- staff instead of the present 78 eteries and Disinterment of dead bodies would be taken over by the Public Works, and would no longer appear in the esti- mates. As to the question of lighting the Central Market, it was obvious a saving could be effected, and he suggested that a committee should be appointed to consider the feasibility of improving the lighting of the In addition market and cheapening the rate. to these changes he thought it would be advis able that the Government should undertake the slaughtering at Mautauwai, which at present was let out to contract. At Kennedytown the Government undertook the slaughtering. He would lay a memo before the Board next meeting giving the figures:
Mr. HOOPER wished to know the reason for another disinfectant being used in place of Jeyes Fluid.
The PRESIDENT replied that it was cheaper, and it seemed to be of quite the same standard.
After other remarks the PRESIDENT agreed to place before the Board the reports and recom- mendations on which the Government had acted in adopting this new disinfectant.
Mr. HOOPER raised the question of the light. ing of the market. He understood it was contemplated introducing Kitson light, but he thought that possibly the electric light could be improved at a reduced cost.
The PRESIDENT explained that the cost last year was $1,441.
Mr. HOOPER could not see how so much was needed. There had been no plague this year, and assuming that we had plague at the same rate as last year it would not bring the amount up to $2,000.
Hon. Mr. HEWETT did not think the figures were too much.
The matter then dropped.
Mr. HOOPER said that personal emoluments represented the salaries of all the staffpof the Sanitary Department. He had nothing to find fault with in the salaries of the officers, but he thought it was a fitting occasion to call attention to the number of officers.
The
Sanitary Commission found, among many other things, that better results would be given if the districts were under the control of one man, because at present a good deal of the work was done twice over. By a proper systematising, the work could be done by a smaller number of men. The Commission recommended that the districts be increased to twelve, as experience had shown it was better to reduce the size of the district. That would mean twelve districts in Victoria and two in Kowloon, With the growth of the popu. lation in Kowloon there would probably be another change. Now, when the Govern- ment was doing everything possible in the way of retrenchment he thought it was a good time to take advantage of the suggestion made by the Commission. The suggestions were made sufficiently long ago for the Government to have digested them, and he thought they could now view the suggestions more im. partially and more favourably than at the time they were made, especially
1 ment was now forced upon them. these circumstances he suggested that Board ask the Government to divide the city of Victoria into twelve districts instead of ten, and have one inspector in charge of each. It might possibly be objected that this re-arrangement would interfere with the collection of statistics, but he thought that reasons of economy ought to outweigh that. Therefore he would move
88 retrench-
In the
that in view of so much of the adminis- tration of the Public Health and Build- ings Ordinance having been transferred to the Building Authority, and the City of Victoria being now in a far more cleanly con- dition, the Board recommend the Government in the interests of retrenchment to divide the city into twelve districts with one inspector in charge of each district, an the services of the superfluous inspectors dispensed with as soon as practicable.
Hon. Mr. HEWETT seconded, saying that they had nothing to add to what they had already put in the report of the Commission.
The PRESIDENT asked if the resolution meant that there should be only twelve inspectors.
Mr. HOOPER replied in the negative, and said that the resolution would be a guide to the Government, who could give effect to it in any way they thought proper.
On the motion of the PRESIDENT seconded by the Hon. Mr. HEWETT, the changes proposed in the draft estimates were approved.
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- IMPORTANT NOTICE OF M TION. COLONEL BEDFORD gave notice of motion, for. next meeting hat the Board appoint a committee to enquire into the malarial state of the locality srrounding Lyemoon Barracks, brought about by action not within the purview of the Military,
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The shareholders of Messrs. Hall and Holtz, Ltd, Shanghai, are to be asked to sanction the borrowing of a sum or sums not exceeding Tls 200,000 for the purposes of the company. An extraordinary general meeting of share- holders is called for May 6th.
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