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SANITARY BOARD.
A meeting of the Sanitary Board was held on Sept. 28 at the Board Room. Mr. F. D. C. Wolfe presided, and there were present: Hon. Mr. P. N. H. Jones (Vice-President), Colonel Bedford, Hon. Mr. A. W. Brewin (Registrar General) Dr. Fitzwilliams, Mr. Shelton Hooper, Dr. F. Clark (Medical Officer of Health), Dr. Pearse (Assistant Medical Officer of Health), and Mr. W. Bowen Rowlands (Secretary).
REMOVAL OF CEILINGS:
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
arrange all details in connection with this work.
The resolution was carried, and the President, Vice-President and Mr. Lau Chu Pak were appointed a committee.
MOSQUITO BREEDING. Correspondence was submitted relative to the byelaw for the prevention of mosquito breeding.
The MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH wrote- As the consideration of this question was left over for a fuller attendance of members I may The HD OF THE DEPARTMENT circulated take the opportunity of replying to the ques- for the opinion of the Board the following questions raised by the Registrar-General. Filari- tions: (1) Whether the non-plague season asis is not a notifiable disease, and I am November-March is not the best for enforcing therefore unable to state how many cases occur the byelaws in regard to the removal of ceilings. annually in Hongkong, but the number will be (2) Whether the district selected by the Medical quite small. Yellow fever, I am glad to say, is Officer of Health and Assistant Medical Officer unknown in Hongkong; were it otherwise the of Health, namely, Staunton Street, Elgin Sanitary Board would have a far more serious Street, Peel Street, Shelley Street, is the best task on hand than any they have yet had to deal in which to start this work. (3) Whether the with. Filariasis is, however, indemic in southern work of removal of ceilings should be carried China, while yellow fever is endemic in the out by contract or by the Sanitary Department's West Indies and in Panama, and it is very staff under the direction of an inspector. (4) At generally feared that when the Panama Canal what rate per square yard compensation shall is open to traffic this disease may be imported be paid to the owners of the houses. I think to the Far East. I learn that, at the present eight cents per square yard would be. adequate, time, a special mosquito survey of India is as it is compensation for present value and being made to ascertain in which localities the not-
owners to replace the stegomyia mosquito is to be found this being ce to enable the
by a new one. If the Board concurs the one that conveys yellow fever and that in applying these byelaws now it will be special steps will be taken to deal with these necessary to define the district to be dealt with areas before there is any possibility of the and to give one month's notice to the infection reaching that country. As stated in owners of the property concerned. There is a my previous minate these two diseases have vote available for compensation which amounts been definitely proved to be conveyed to to $800 approximately.
man by mosquitoes which do not belong to the sub-family anophelinae, and although they do not prevail to any extent in Hongkong at the present. time I hope the Board will not adopt the policy of waiting until they have become endemic here before taking the necessary steps for their prevention. There are, nioreover, other diseases which are most probably conveyed by mosquitoes, and one of them is dengue fever the facts in regard to the conveyance of the infection in this disease are not yet absolu- tely decided, but there is enough evidence to induce Professor Ronald Ross to claim recently that the extermination of the mosquito from Port Said and Ismailia has resulted in these towns being absolutely free of dengue while the disease has been raging in other parts of Egypt, and a similar theory has been put forward by Professor Andrew Balfour in regard to Khartoum. Dengue prevails here and is re- sponsible for a considerable amount of sickness among all classes of the community. All biting flies, among which the mosquitoos are included, are capable of conveying septic infection to man, and may thereby induce death from blood-pois oning, while the general impairment of health brought about, especially in women and children, by the bites of mosquitoes is an important factor in considering the healthiness or otherwise of the Colony. In view of these considerations, I would urge that the limitation contained in this byelaw be deleted so that steps may be taken, as a case arises, to prevent the breeding of mos- quitoes on private premises.
Mr. SHELTON HOOPER -Compensation should be assessed in each case, as sometimes it will amount to more than eight cents and others perhaps less.
Mr. LAU CHU PAK-I think the best months are from July to November. The month be- fore and after Chinese New Year should not be included in the period. In view of the many objections that will be met with I suggest that a sub-committee be appointed to arrange details. Every step should be taken to avoid friction. As regards Number 3 the owners of the occupiers, as the case may be, should be given the option of removing the ceiling at the expense of the Board.
The PRESIDENT said in this connection that he wished to bring forward four resolutions which he read.
The first resolution was that the byelaws relating to the removal of ceilings and stair linings made by the Board on 10th November, 1908, be applied at once in No. 4 Health District, and the first block of houses to be dealt be that comprised in Elgin Street, Staunton Street, Peel Street and Shelley Street.
The PRESIDENT explained that they thought of doing the work from now on to Chinese New Year, that being the most suitable time for removal.
Mr. HOOPER asked how many houses were in that block P
The MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH replied that there were about 30.
The PRYSIDENT said it was contemplated going as far as the amount for compensation at their disposal would allow them.
The VICE-PRESIDENT seconded and the resolution was carried.
The second resolution was that owners of property be given the option of undertaking the work themselves within a fixed period and that compensation be paid at the rate of eight cents per square yard.
The PRESIDENT, in accordance with Mr. Hooper's minute, suggested that the amount of compensation be left to the committee.
The resolution was amended in that sense and carried.
The third resolution was that where the Board undertakes the carrying out of this work a contractor be engaged who shall be paid at the rate of so many cents per square yard, and that tenders be called for accordingly. The contract- or's duty to consist of (1) removing ceilings and stair linings, including the taking out of all nails and removal of debris and to generally making good; (2) the limewashing of the exposed beams and planks.
This resolution was approved.
The fourth resolution was "that a committee appointed consisting of three members to
1
The
REGISTRAR-GENERAL How many notices have been issued under the original byelaw?
The HEAD OF THE DEPASTMENT - For the information of the Registrar-General no notices have been issued.
[October 2, 1909.
to diseases spread by mosquitoes, he said that the Board would be justified in amending the byelaw as suggested, and pointed out that there would be no harshness in its application, because in the first place the matter would come before the Board,
Dr. FITZWILLIAMS Seconded.
Mr. HOOPER, while in agreement with the principle that the Board should endeavour to limit the breeding of mosquitoes, thought the resolution was unnecessary, inasmuch as the section of the principal Ordinance relating to the prevention of nuisances could be applied. He thought the opinion of the Crown Solicitor should be ascertained as to whether the section to which he referred did not cover such a case as that in view. If it did not, then, the byelaw might be amended as suggested, but he did not think it wise, to multiply legislation.
The MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH re- plied that the matter came under the notice of the Crown Solicitor before it was drafted..
Mr. HOOPER thought his attention should be drawn to it. He was not opposed to the resolution.
:
The resolution was carried. Mr. Hooper did not vote, but wished his observations to be recorded. YOUTH CHARGED WITH STEALING BILLS OF EXCHANGE.
WOMAN ACCUSED OF OBSTRUCTING THE POLICE.
Before Mr. J. R. Wood at the Magistracy on Thursday a youth named Tam Pak was indicted on charges of forging and uttering two bills of exchange, one on the Hongkong and Shanghai on the Deutsche- Bank for $100, and one Asiatische Bank for $1,265; with stealing the said bills by pretending to the banks mentioned that he was a person authorised to endorse them on behalf of the firm to which they were pay- able;
and with false pretences in that he secured the bills by the use of a chop which was not the chop of the Chung Shan Wo firm.
was
The second defendant, who was described as a prostitute, residing at No. 9, Wanchai Road, charged with obstructing Detective- Sergeant Appleton in the execution of his duty with intent to prevent the lawful apprehension of Tam Pak, and with receiving $700, well knowing the same to have been feloniously obtained.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty.
Mr. M. Reador Harris (of Messrs. Wilkinson and Grist) appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Otto Kong Sing appeared for the defence®
Mr. Harris stated that the complainant was the managing partner of the Chung Shun Wo firm of Californian merchants. About the middle of May this year some agents of that firm in merica seut two bills of ex- change which arrived in Hongkong in the mid- dle of June. About that time the complainant sent a foki to the Post Office to get his letters. On his return to the firm the foki was stopped by the first defendant, who asked to be shown the letters. After being shown the bundle he took one which he said was addressed to him from relatives in the country, and told the foki not to tell his master that he had taken it. Nothing more happened until last month, when another letter was received from the agents in American enclosing two duplicate drafts, and in- quiring whether the first had been received. Iu consequence of that letter the complainant sent The MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH then his manager, who was the father of the first moved that the words "of the sub-family of defendant, to the Hongkong and Shanghai anophelinae" be deleted from the byelaw made Bank, and to the Deutsche-Asiatische Bank, to by the Board in October last, and in reply to cash the two drafts. On the arrival of the the Registrar-General explained that no notices manager at these establishments he was informed had been issued under the byelaw because they that the drafts had been cashed on June 3rd. had been able to do by persuasion what He was shown the originals, which bore a forged
sought they
and the power
defendant's name, enforce chop and the under the byelaw. A great many pools father would state in evidence that the had been
the dealt with, and Chinese signature was his son's. As soon as it was themselves were taking a considerable interest discovered that these two bills had been cashed, in the matter. Apparently they were becoming the police were instructed to arrest the defend- educated to the knowledge that mosquitoes ant. The accused was subsequently apprehend- conveyed disease, and only two or three days ed, and in his room $700 in cash were found ago he had been informed that the Chinese and a great number of receipts, all of which gardeners at West Point were no longer able dated after June. These were for jewellery and As the book in which the money to sell lilies in pots of water because their other articles. patrons realised that mosquitoes were bred was found belonged to the woman, she was in the houses from those pots containing charged with receiving. stagnant water. This was a striking illustration of the spread of knowledge among the Chinese of the better class. After a further reference
now
to
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After evidence was heard the defendants were committed for trial, Mr. Kong Sing reserving. his defence.
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