216
SEAMEN.
19. 10,061 seamen were shipped and 10,807 were discharged at the shipping office and on board ships during the year.
MARINE SURVEYOR'S SUB-DEPARTMENT.
20. I append a Return showing the Surveys, &c., carried out in the Government Marine Surveyor's Branch. This Return illustrates the constantly increasing importance of that Branch of this Depart-
ment.
LIGHT HOUSES.
21. No special remarks are called for under this heading. The three Lighthouse Stations have been maintained during the year as usual, some minor changes taking place in the staff. The proposal to dispense with the red shades on the seaward face of the Green Island Light is under consideration, this plan, if adopted, will, in my opinion, increase the efficiency of the light.
GOVERNMENT GUNPOWDER DEPÔT.
22. On the 31st December, 1888, there was stored in the Magazine at Stone Cutter's Island, as under:
No. of Cases,
&c.
Approximate Weight.
tbs.
Gunpowder, Privately owned,
Government owned,
336
19,070
632
63,200
Cartridges, Privately owned,
387
31,102
Government owned,
67
8,700
Dynamite, Gun-cotton, Fuze, &c., Pri-
vately owned,
149
4,890
Dynamite, Gun-cotton, Fuze, &c. Go-
655
vernment owned,
Total,..
1,580
127,617
23. This is a smaller amount than has been in the Magazine for some years, probably owing to the fact of the market being glutted with the very large amount of explosive material which arrived during and immediately after the period of hostilities between France and China.
24. The Agents of Nobel's Explosives Company have during the past year established, with the permission of the Government, a private magazine for storing Dynamite, &c., at One Tree Island, thus relieving the Stone Cutters' Magazine of the storage. There is of course a corresponding loss to the Government of rent for storage, but there was no fit special place for keeping it at Stone Cutters, and on the whole I think the present arrangement the better of the two.
IMPORTS AND Exports (OPIUM) OFFICE.
25. This is the first complete year of the establishment of this Branch, and I have to report that it is working satisfactorily. Monthly statistics are rendered, it will therefore not be necessary to go into details here, a table is added to this report which shows that the total amount of opium reported through the office during the year was as follows:-
Imported, Exported,
40
27 71,512 7 chests. 71,139 27 1/ 40
(Exclusive of through cargo.)
The fraction is explained by the fact that one "broached" chest was landed here containing 27 instead of 40 balls, and was exported in the same condition, 21,310 permits were issued from the office being 384 Landing, 10,958 Removal, 9,498 Export, and 470 to Chinese Customs hulk.
26. In addition to these, a Memo: of Exports for the day is sent for the convenience of the Chinese Customs' Commissioner to the Kowloon Customs' Office.
27. From the summary of Exports it appears that apart from the through cargo, Shanghai took from the Colony 37 per cent., viz., 26,673 chests, Canton came next with 16 per cent., and then Amoy and Swatow.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
The Honourable FREDERICK STEWART, LL.D.,
&G.,
Colonial Secretary,
&C.,
&c.
R. MURRAY RUMSEY, R.N., Harbour Master, &c.