from hospital direct to the nearest Welfare Centre, where they were given advice and help. The only exception to this rule was made in cases where the victims had attempted suicide because they suffered from some real or imaginary sickness; such cases were taken over by the almoners on discharge, and a short report only was sent to the Social Welfare Officer.
64. Statistical tables are given in Appendix 9.
CHAPTER XIV
SQUATTERS
65. In 1948 Government started to clear the more crowded urban areas of an estimated 30,000 squatters who had put up ramshackle tin, wooden, or matting huts on almost every avail- able piece of land and on many rooftops. In 1950 this plan was extended to include the resettlement of rather more than 300,000 squatters in and near the urban areas. This put very heavy demands on the Urban Council, the Sanitary Department, the Public Works Department, and the Social Welfare Office.
The main part played by the Social Welfare Office was to screen individually every squatter family in areas scheduled for clearance, and to assist in their resettlement elsewhere.
66. In late 1948 the Social Welfare Office established its Squatter Screening Squad. The information gathered by this squad in due course contained a great deal of factual material about a large minority of Hong Kong's population. In addition, certain special screening operations in connexion with selected tenement houses brought in useful cross-checks, as well as other information. In March 1954 plans were in hand to transfer the Squatter Screening Squad to the newly-formed temporary Department of Resettlement.
CHAPTER XV
INDUSTRIAL, SEAMEN'S, AND RURAL WELFARE
67. Industrial welfare was primarily the concern of the Labour Department, and the Social Welfare Office did not to any great extent take a part in this social work. The Commis-
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