Chinese.
Non-Chinese,
Estimate of Population to middle of 1896.
353
Hongkong, Kowloon,...
Mercantile Marine,
7,000
~ 430 440
Total Non-Chinese population,
*
7,870
City of Victoria including Peak and Stonecutter's Island,
156,000.
Land
Villages
in
Population. Hongkong. Stanley,
Shaukiwan, Aberdeen,....
7,350
3,160
850
British Kowloon,....................
26,200.
Total Chinese land population,
193,560
Victoria Harbour,
17,540
Kowloon,
6,000
Floating
Shaukiwan,
3,950
Population.
Aberdeen,
4,900
Stanley,
760
Total Chinese floating population,........
33,150
Total Chinese population,
226,710
Total Civil population of Colony,
234,580
Army, Navy,
2,739
2,100
Total population,...........
239,419
It is noteworthy that the estimate for the non-Chinese civil community was about 2 per cent below the actual number counted at the census, so that the check put upon the steady increase of the popu- lation by the "Plague," and by the measures adopted to abate it, including the demolition of Taiping- shan has affected the Chinese community alone.
.
It will be seen that the population is divided primarily into Chinese and non-Chinese; these latter comprise Europeans, Americans and Portuguese, and the non-Chinese Asiatics such as Indians, Japanese and natives of Malaya, Manila, etc.
The total population is further classified for statistical purposes into civil, military, naval and mercantile marine, while the Chinese community is divisible into the land and the boat population.
The total strength of troops in garrison on June 30th, 1896, was, 80 British Officers and 1,443 British Warrant Officers, N. C. O.'s and men, with 20 Indian Officers and 1,196 Indian Warrant Officers, N. C. O.'s and men making a total strength of 2,739, sixty per cent of whom reside in the City of Victoria, and the remainder either at Kowloon, the Hospital Ship "Meeanee," the Sanitarium at the Peak or at the various out-stations.
Of the 7,870 persons who comprise the non-Chinese civil population, only a sinall proportion, estimated at 3,180 are Europeans; of these some 2,160 are British while the remainder consist of Americans, Germans, French, Swiss, etc.; the Portuguese number 2,250 and the remainder of the civil population consists as already stated, of Indians 1,310, Japanese, Negroes and natives of Malaya and Manila; the Indians being numerically the most important element.
The number of occupied houses in the city of Victoria on June 30th, 1896, was as follows:-
European, Chinese,....
Total,..........
490 6,538
7,028
Allowing that about 2,000 Chinese servants live in the European houses, this will give an average of 23,5 persons to every Chinese house; the figure given in my annual report for 1895 was 26.3 but this was based upon an estimated Chinese population of the City of Victoria of 167,500 whereas the recent census has shown that this was far too high an estimate.