The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-06-02
THE PLAGUE
IN HONGK0NG'
How 1t Should Be Dealt
With.
A STUDY OF PROCESSES
Interesting Paper Read Before a
Society at the Great Anglo
Chinese Seaport.

The Hongkong Weekly Press reports
discussion in that city OF serious local
problems, in the course OF which Mr..
H. E. Pollock offered the following
views about the plague:
To take these three questions In their
order-the plague question is one OF
supreme impol tanoe. 1t eau e5 not only
considerable annually recurrent ex-
pendltuIe to the government of the COL
ony and to property owners, but it also
involves severe commercial restrictions
upon this port by the imposition of
quarantine on vessels journeying from
here to adjacent places. III
No doubt the legislation passed. last
year was step in the right d,i ectlOn in
| that it increased the size OF cubicles,
and also the ventilation coming into
houses, but, in view of the fact that the
plague has become an annually recur-
rent disease here, 1t is obvious that no
reia. alton OF sanitary precautions
should be tolerated for a moment. but
that on the contrary it behoove3 us
most earnestly to enquire into, discuss
and examine every suggestion for the
Improvement Of the sanitary conditions
+, o. this city and for the prevention Of
4 y
| The Sanitary Board has done much
good work In taking steps to close
houses which are unit for human habi-
ta.ion, but it is becoming serious
| question whether a condemnation OF
/ certain streets is not requn ed in order
! to secure greater circulation of air in
the overcroW ded quarters of our city.
| Even, however, If you consider the
causes OF plague to be at present too OBJ
scuse TO Justify any such Wholesale
remedy as demolition and reconstruc-
ton, | should like to araw your atten-
tion to TWO causes at work in our midst
which the mere ordinary man in the
street would imagine must form very
important factors IN propagaing and
] ltinuing this epidemic in our midst
The first is the presence of night soil
+ in our drains, and ths second Is the
presence of decaying vegetable refuse
! IN our drains. The presence OF night
! Soil IN considerable quantities in our
drains is attested by the last report of
the sanitary surveyor, Mr.. Drury, in
which he says:
! Under clause No of his contract,
the conser-arcy contractor is supposed
to remove all night soil from the pri-
vate houses in the Hill district, but in
the city this is done by various ire
sponslble coolies in places every night
or every other night, according to the
class of person dealt with; these COO. .es
receive small payment from the house
| occupants, but none for delivery at the
! conservancy beat The. e is no sanitary
staff for the supervision of the removal
OF night SOIL during the night thus rem
dering the provisions OF the contract
useless. There being no staff for the
supervision of the regular removal OF
tight soil from private nous es. to en-
Iorce the provisions of the contract. the
result is from evidence and OBJ serya-
| tons that in the case of the Hill dis
trict soil it is tmptied into nu.lahs. and
IN tne city 1 lind that much OF il ia
empt.ed down the storm gullies and
d1alns, and 1t is not to be expected that
Chlnese coolie will trouble to remove
the soil to the boat If he can safely
empty 1t into convenient gu:Iy-aad
this after the government have expend-
ed s275,600 to divert sewage and sullage
from the storm drains. I would noint
out that storm gullIes are not trapped.
and that the gases from the s.orm
drains escape at these points, which are
situated generally ten feet from some
shop or house front; also that this
small flow of sewage in the storm
drains IN the dry season is more harm
ful than the original Gall flow which
they used to get, and which naturally
poss essed better self-cleansing power.
u 'thermorc. the sub"soil in the focalf-
ty OF these old storm drains still con
tinues being polluted, and. IA Mr. Chad
WICK prophesied lin his 1882 re7ort en-
sapitati'n q In this colony has now
dc'nt, tecome "hotbed for oisea and
epidemic" fFor further particulars as
TO misuse of storm drains vide the Hon.
orahle Dfrectc- IF Public Works An
nuai Report. 1S9S).
That is what the sanitary surveyor
sisys in his official report, dated the 5th
Auyust last
The presence Of large quantities of
vegetable refuse in our drains is a new
terror which has been revealed to US
by the recent report of the colonial vet
erinary surgeon. Mr. Ladds in which
he says. urder the heading Hawkers:
Consequent upon the crowded state
OF the markets. and the increased de-
r'aud. the number of so-caFed hawkers
Of veget7hles has been laree.y argment-
ed. espec'allv during the past ten years
80 much 50 that many Of the bye streets
OF the city are often bIoc.ed M COM
nletely by them. These peonle who
y q