241
DISTRICT WATCHMEN. (ORDINANCE 13 OF 1888, Chap. IV.)
There is no change to report regarding the District Watchmen for the year 1891. The accounts of the Watchmen's Fund have already been published. (See Government Gazette, Notification No. 123.) The number of cases brought before the Magistrate by District Watchmen during the year amounted to 324, in all of which convictions were obtained.
On my recommendation, General BARKER, when administering the Government, appointed the following gentlemen, at the end of last year, as a Committee to co-operate with this Department in the administration of the District Watchmen's Fund:-
Honourable Ho KAI.
Mr. CH'AN PAN-PÓ.
CHOY CHEE-BEE.
""
Ho Fook.
IP CHUK-K'AI.
22
LAU WAI-CH'ÜN.
27
Mr. LAU YAM-TS'ÜN.
LI SHING.
>>
-POON PONG.
99
SHAM CH'EUK-TONG.
17
TSEUNG SZ-KÁI.
1)
WAI YUK.
17
It is hoped that with the aid of this Committee the efficiency of the District Watchmen will be increased, and that the advice of the gentlemen forming this Committee will be of great assistance to this Office in dealing with the affairs of the Chinese community.
LEGISLATION AFFECTING THE CHINESE.
Out of the 26 Ordinances passed by the Legislative Council during the year 1891, the following are those which more particularly affect the Chinese:----
1. Ordinances Nos. 1, 2, 5 naturalising as British subjects within the Colony three Chinese.
2. The Sunday Cargo-Working Ordinance (No. 6).
3. The Gambling Ordinance (No. 7).
4. The Latrine Ordinance (No. 11).
5. Public Health Amendment Ordinance (especially the section dealing with the regulation
of cemeteries and disposal of the dead).` (No. 12.)
6. Arms Consolidation Ordinance (No. 17).
7. Bankruptcy Ordinance (No. 20).
8. Opium Ordinances (Nos. 21 and 22).
TRANSLATION WORK.
The fact of this Office being the medium of communication between the Government and the Chinese community entails upon it a considerable amount of work in the translating from Chinese into English of documents presented by the Chinese residents, who, being as a rule quite ignorant of English, can only express their views or their wants in their own language. Such expression generally assumes the form of a Chinese petition. Many of these petitions are of a purely formal nature, such as applications for licences, &c., of which a précis is quite sufficient; some are on subjects of more general interest, and, in addition to requiring to be translated in full, have to be enquired into and reported on before being submitted, through the Colonial Secretary, to the Governor for decision; while some concern other Departments, to which they are referred with a translation. A return, showing the number and subject of the Chinese Petitions presented during 1891, will be found in Table X.
In addition to this translation work, this Department has also to revise the Chinese translations of other Departments, to supervise the Chinese edition of the Government Gazette, to issue in Chinese Government notices and proclamations, and to translate from English into Chinese regulations. &c., which affect the Chinese community. It has also to carry on a correspondence in Chinese with the Pó Leung Kuk and Tung Wa Hospital, which last year amounted to 796 letters.
THE CHINESE RECREATION GROUND.
The question of the improvement of the piece of ground at Possession Point, known as the Chinese Recreation Ground, had been under my consideration before I went home on leave at the beginning of 1889, and at the end of that year, Mr. MITCHELL-INNES, who was acting for me during my absence, submitted a definite scheme.. The scheme included the levelling and planting of the ground and the erection of stalls for the sale of miscellaneous articles. The scheme was carried out at an expense of $6,000 and completed in December, 1890. The number of stalls, &c., on the ground is 125. Of these 81 are built round three sides of the ground. These are of brick and are rented by vendors of ready-made clothes, matches, cigarettes, drugs, and miscellaneous articles. Fifty-one of them are let at present. Twenty-four situated in the centre of the ground are used as cooking-stalls, and as a rule only 3 or 4 are vacant; 20, consisting of a table and seat and provided with a wooden-shelter, are near the road. These are let to fortune-tellers and letter-writers.
The revenue derived from the stalls for 1891 was $2,325.95, and the expenditure $986.67.