1110
HONGKONG
Chinese community only (including the Army and Navy) as compared with 10.04 in 1910. Among the Chinese community the death rate was 21.13 per 1,000 compared with
22.50 in 1910.
The following table shows fifteen years' means of the annual and monthly values of the principal meteorological elements:-
Bar. Mean pressure Do. Maximum Do. Minimum .. Mean temperature
Do. maximum
Do. minimum
Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Year .30.040 30.024 29.930 29.844 29.750 29.054 29.619 29.623 29.719 29.874 27.989 30,055 29.844 30.509 30.400 30.355 30.273 30.045 29.880 29 889 29.873 30.009 30.192 30.311 30.444 30 609 29.605 29.421 29.527 29.488 29.330 29.284 28-762 29,083 28.976 20.089 29.575 29.752 28.762 60.0 58.4 62.8 70.2 76.8 80.9 81.9 31.4 $0.4 76.2 69.2 02.7 71.7 64.5 82.9 07.0 74.5 81.+ 85.3 88.7 86.4 85.3 80.8 74.3 67.7 76.4 56.3 54.9 59.5 66.9 73.0 77.8 78.3 77.6 76.6 72.5 65.1 79.3 79.1 82.1 88.6
93.8 85.6 32.0 38.4 45.9
8.2 8.0
58.5 68.1
Maximum
91.5 93.6
94.0
97.0 94.0
81.9
97.0
Minimum
51.8
62.0
68.0
7.21
7.16
05.8
57.4
18.7 40.7
32.0
Mean daily range
7.5
7.6
7.9
7.7
8.4
8.8
8.7
8.3
9.2
9.2
8.3
Mean humidity
74
76
83
85
83
83
82
83
77
71
66
67
77
Mean rain fall.
1.442
1.888
2.987
5.511 11.713 15.681 12.555 14.362
0.069
4.011
1.445
1.221 83.148
Maximum in 24 hours
3,920
2.135
3.785
Mean max. in 24 hour:
0.695
0.650
1.037
6.225 20.495 12.630 13.480 11.135 2.224 3.877 4.422 3.431 3.842
5.855 10.190
5.875 1.070 20.495
3.083
2.210
0.870 0.548 7.914
Maximum in 1 hour
0.725
0.970
1.570
Mean max. in
hour
0.230
0.247
0.444
Hours of rain
52
ΤΟ
83
79
00
Wind direction
E by N EbyN
Do. velocity mean(M.P.H.)13.6
Do. Maximum
46
14.5 53
139.0 95.5
E by N 158 49 84.1
E 14.7
2.420 3.400 2.855 3.480 2.350 0.005 1.213 1.405 1.195
87 E by 8 SEbyS SEbyS
1.950
1.850
1,890 0.500 3.480
1.267
1.010
0.553
03.02
0.165
2.087
60
68
54
35
SE
47
112.5
12.9 12.2 11.1 43 48 108
86 89 155.1 164.5 210.2 200.5 195.2
9.5
Eby N E by N
11.7 14.4
85 90 63 108 213.5 187,0 178,5 1929.1
30 ENE
ENE
38 761
E 13.1 12.1 13.0
Hours of sunshine
Four successive years of comparative drought, 1898-1901, led to the assumption that the rainfall of Hongkong is decreasing. But such is not the case; the mean annual rainfall for the period 1902-11 was 84.21 inches against 68.29 inches for the period 1895- 1901. The rainfall has never been so heavy as in the period 1888-1894, however, when the mean annual fall was 101-08 inches.
TRADE
Hongkong is a free port, and there is no complete official return of the imports and exports compiled, but the value of its trade is estimated at about £50,000,000 per annum. During the year 1912 the following tonnage entered and cleared :-
NATIONALITY
ENTERED
CLEARED
NATIONALITY
KNTERED
CLEARED
Vessels. Tons. Vessels. Tons.
Vessels. Tons.
Vessels. Tons.
American
70 260,597
72
261,174
Austrian
45
British
5,483
125,624 5,995,012
Chinese
618
378,254
.Chinese Junks.. 13,183
1,364,499
46 5,461 620 12,459
153,624
No Flag Norwegian
1,785
168
173,145
170
175,050
5,982.702
Portuguese
233
70,878
233
70,933
378,240
Russian
35
103,998
35
103,998
1,290,906
Swedish
14
37,262
H
37,262
Danish
11
28,927
11
28,927
Steamshipsun-)
Dutch..
112
246,352
112
246,352
French
498
551,318
497
552,439
der 60 tons trading to
1,076
73,518 2,005
77,094
German
037
1,129,654
037
1,130,829
ports outside
Italian
13
31,403
13
81,403
Japanese
592 1,372,194 595
1,577,585
the Colony..)
A total of 18,831 vessels of 11,149,191 tons entered, and 19,233 vessels of 10,862,911 tons cleared with cargoes.
There also entered in ballast 4,834 vessels of 1,020,844 tons, and 3,754 vessels of 1,237,454 tons cleared in ballast. A Parliamentary paper issued in August, 1905, showed Hongkong to be, in respect of tonnage, the largest shipping port in the world. The trade chiefly consists opiuin, cotton, sugar, salt, flour, oil, cotton and woollen goods, cotton yarn, matches, metals, earthenware, amber, ivory, sandalwood, betel, vegetables, granite, &c., &c. There is an extensive Chinese passenger trade, chiefly restricted, however, to the Straits Settlements, Netherlands India, Borneo, the Philippines, Siam, and Indo-China.
Hongkong possesses unrivalled steam communication. The P. & O. S. N. Co. and the M. M. Co. convey European mails weekly, the Norddeutscher Lloyd Co. maintain a regular fortnightly mail service between Bremen and Hongkong, the P. M. S. S. Co.,
·O.&O. S. S. Co. and the Toyo Kisen Kaisha maintain a mail service with San Francisco, the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. a regular mail service with Vancouver, B.C.; a regular line has been established by the Bank Line to Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle and to Tacoma, and the same line maintains regular services to New York and Africa; the Eastern and Australian S.S.Co., the Australian Oriental Line and the Norddeutscher Lloyd keep up a regular monthly service with the Australian Colonies, and the Nippon Yusen Kaisha maintain services to Europe, Australia, and the United States (Seattle). In addition to all these, several great lines of merchant steamers run between_ports_in Great Britain and Hongkong, of which the China Mutual S. S. Co., Ocean S. 8. Co., and the Glen, Bank, Mogul, Ben, Royal Mail, Shire, Barber, and Shell lines are the