HONGKONG
949
and offices east of the Artillery Barracks, and the Naval Authorities have another large establishment on the Kowloon side near to Yaumati.
CLIMATE
As intimated in earlier paragraphs, Hongkong formerly enjoyed a most unenviable notoriety for unhealthiness, and in years past the troops garrisoned here suffered grievously from malarial fevers. A great deal of the sickness in the early days of the Colony was believed to have been caused by excavating and otherwise disturbing the disintegrated granite of which the soil of the island mainly consists, and which appears to throw off malarious exhalations when upturned. At the present time, liowever, the Colony is one of the healthiest spots in the world in the same latitude. The influence of the young pine forests created by the Afforestation Department and the training of nullahs on the slopes have no doubt been beneficial in checking malaria, and the attention latterly bestowed on sanitation has not been without its due effect. The general death rate per 1,000 in 1916 was 15.08 for the non-Chinese community only as compared with 13.84 in 1915. Among the Chinese community the death rate was 24.6 per 1,000 compared with 19.00 in 1915 and 23.88 in 1914. The birth-rate was 7.9 per 1,000 among the Chinese community and 20.05 among the non-Chinese community.
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
29.628 29.719 29.874 29.989 30.055 29.844 29.873 30.009 30.192 30.311 30.444 30.509 29.083 28.876 29.089 29.575 29.752 28.762
81.4
80.4 76.2 69.2 62.7 71.7 86.4 85.3 80.8 74.3
67.7 76.4 77.6
76.6 72.5
Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Year ..30.040 30.024 29.939 29.841 29.750 29.654 29.619 .30.509 30.400 30.355 30.273 30.045 29.880 29 889 .29.605 29.421 29.527 29.488 29.330 29.284 28-762
60.0 58.4 62.8 70.2 76.8 80.9 81.9 64.5 62.9 67.0 74.5 81.4 85.3 86.7 56.3 54.9 59.5 66.9 73.6 77.6 78.3 79.3 79.1 82.1 88.6 91.5 93.6 94.0 32.0 38.4
45.9
51.8 62.0 68.9 7.21 8.2 8.0 7.5 76 83
65.1 58.5
68.1
Maximum
97.0
94.0 93.8 85.6
81.9
97.0
Minimum
7.16
65.6 57.4 46.7
40.7
32.0
Mean daily range
Mean humidity
74
Mean rain fall..
1.442
1.688
2.987
7.6 7.8 7.7
85 83 5.511 11.713 15.681
8.4
8.8
8.7
8.3
9.2
9.2
8.3
83
82
83
77
71
66
67 77
12.555
14.362
9.668
4.911
1.445
1.221 83,148
Maximum in 24 hours
3.920
2.185
3.785
Mean max. in 24 hours
0.695
Maximum in 1 hour
0.725
....
0.650 1.037 0.970 1.570 2.420 3.400 2.855 3.480
6.225 20.495 12.630 2.224 3.877 4.422
13.480 11.135 3.431 3.842 2.350
5.855 10.190
5.875
1.670 20.495
3.083
2.210 0.870 0.548 7.914
1.950
1.650 1,690 0.500 3.480
Mean max. in 1 hour
Hours of rain
Wind direction
0.230
52 E by N EbyN
0.247
70
0.444
83
0.905
1.218
1.405
1.195
1.267
1.010
0.553 03.02 0.165 2.087
79
90
87
66
68
54
35
E by N
Do. velocity mean(M. P. H.)13.6
158
E 14.7
E by S
SEbyS
SEbyS
SE
Eby N E by N
12.9
12.2 11.1
9.5
11.7
Do. Maximum
108
86
89
14.4 85
30 ENE 13.1
38 761
ENE E
12.1 13.
90
63 108
Hours of sunshine
14.5 46 53 49 47 139.0 95.5 84.1 112.5
43 48 155.1 164.5 210.2 200.5 195.2 213.5 187.0
178.5 19.291
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. In 1914 it rose to 100.21 inches, in 1915 it was 76.025 inches, in 1916, 79.85 inches and in 1917, 81,48 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 in normal times at about £50,000,000 per annum. During the year 1916 the following tonnage entered and .cleared :-
NATIONALITY
ENTERED
CLEARED
British
American
45
Vessels. Tons.
5,229 5,272,550 5,117 113,031 34
Vessels.
Tons. 5,141,211
87,140
Austrian
!Belgian
Chinese
1,267
778,930
1,261
· Chinese Junks.. 7,1 7
Danish
Dutch..
French
German
Italian
Japanese
+
$3.89 13,440 123 345,162
10,562
764,636 1,526,181
4
117
13,440 331,926
134
269,437
131
267,329
836
1,947,374 675 1,624,586
NATIONALITY
Norwegian Portuguese Russian Siamese Swedish
No Flag
....
Steamships un- der 60 tons trading to ports outside the Colony../
Vessels. Tons.
164 219 15
CLEARED
ENTERED
168, 156
64,077
Vessels. Tons.
112 224
113,204
65,919
15,970
9,984
24,582
21,582
1,187
44,664
677
81,407
A total of 16,426 vessels of 9,860,681 tons entered, and 18,931 vessels of 10,001,545 tons cleared with cargoes. There also entered in ballast 7,775 vessels of 1,201,607 tons, ani