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HONGKONG
The headquarters of the administration are at Taipohu. The principal islands and their populations are as follows:-Lantao, 7,940; Cheung Chau, 2.734; Lamma, 1,134. The islands to the west of Hongkong contained 1,925; those to the east, 1,169. The total population of the New Territory in 1901 was 102,254.
Of the islands and islets in the waters of the Colony (exclusive of the recent acquisitions) the most important is Stonecutter's Island, formerly known as Wong Chune-chow, opposite to and about three-quarters of a mile from the north-western extremity of the Kowloon peninsula. The island is an irregular ridge about a mile in length, and a little over a quarter of a mile broad. The Gunpowder Depôt is on the eastern end, near the wharf; the principal eminences are occupied by batteries more or less formidable, and no one is allowed to land without a permit. The Quarantine Sta- tion is also located here. After the great typhoon of September, 1874, two or three thousand bodies of the victims found afloat were interred on Stonecutter's Island. Kellet's Island is a small rock near East Point, on which a fort formerly stood, but which has been replaced by a small magazine. Green Island, at the western entrance of the harbour, has been planted with trees and now justifies its name all the year round. A lighthouse has been placed on its south-western extremity. One Tree Island is a tiny rock near the entrance to Aberdeen. A Dynamite Depôt has been erected on it. Aplichau, a considerably island opposite Aberdeen, of which harbour it forms part, has a populous fishing village on its northern shore facing Aberdeen. Lantao and Lamma Islands were brought under British jurisdiction by the Kowloon Convention of 1898. The former has a considerably larger area than Hongkong, but both this island and Lamnia are sparsely populated by agriculturists and fishermen.
POPULATION, GARRISON, AND DEFENCES
The total population of the Colony, according to the census taken in January, 1901, numbered 283,975, compared with 221,441 in May, 1891, and 160,402 in 1881. The resident civil population was composed as follows:-Europeans and Americans other than Portuguese 3,860, Portuguese 1,956, Indians 1,453; Eurasians 267, other races *903, Chinese 274,543. The mercantile marine numbered 2,181, of whom 1,002 were British and Foreign and 1,180 Chinese. The Chinese floating population numbered 40,100. The army numbered 7,640, and the Navy 5,597. Of the resident population and mercantile marine 3,007 were natives of the British Isles, 351 Americans, 103 French, 445 German, 165 Jewish, and 126 Spanish, the balance being spread over various other nationalities. The population of Victoria is 181,918. The population of the New Territory is 102,254.
The Garrison, according to the Estimates for 1899-1900, consists of three companies of Garrison Artillery, 657 of all ranks; Engineers, 11 officers and 179 men; Infantry, Six-eighths of a battalion, 779 of all ranks; Army Service Corps; 7 Colonial Corps Eleven companies of Infantry, four of Local Artillery, one of Local Engineers, 1,921 of all ranks; Departinental Corps, Nine officers and 33 men of the Royal Army Medical Corps, 5 of the Army Ordnance Department, 18 of the Army Ordnance Corps, and 6 of the Army Pay Corps. Total of all ranks, 3,625. In 1901 two battalions of Indian infantry were added to this establishment. There is also a Volunteer Corps consisting of two companies of Garrison Artillery, one Company Engineers, and a Band.
The approaches to the harbour are strongly fortified, the batteries consisting of well constructed earthworks. The western entrance is protected by three batteries on Stonecutters' Island and two forts on Belcher and Fly Points, from which a tremendous converging fire could be maintained, completely commanding the Sulphur Channel. Another small battery, on the hill above and west of Richmond Terrace, has a wide range of fire. The Ly-ee-mùn Pass is defended by two forts on the Hongkong side and another on Devil's Peak on the mainland, and if vessels survived that fire they would then have to face the batteries at North Point and Hunghom which completely command the eastern entrance. Another battery on the bluff at Tsim-tsa Tsui, Kowloon, commands the whole of the centre of the harbour. The batteries are armed with the latest breech-loading ordnance.
In addition to the fortifications the Colony possesses a small squadron for harbour defence. This consists of the obsolete turret ironclad Wivern, 2,750 tons, now dismantled and being used as a distilling ship, and six torpedo boats. The crews of these vessels are borne in the receiving ship Tamar, which is also the headquarters of the Commodore and his staff. The Naval Yard is an extensive range of workshops and offices east of the Artillery Barracks, and the Naval Authorities have another large establishment on the Kowloon side near to Yau-ma-Ti.
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