7
92
might yet claim 20 years' residence. This possibility must not be overlooked, and, although the enumerators were instructed to make their enquiries as explicit as possible, too great reliance must not be placed on the Length of Residence figures. Nevertheless, the information obtained from this enquiry provides some test of the prevailing familiarity with conditions in Hong Kong among the population, and also shows whether the fluctuation of the population is as great as it is usually said to be. The returns themselves do not suggest that there has been any great exaggeration of the period of residence in the Colony.
In 1911 questions were asked on Personal Occupation and on the Industry or Service with which the worker is connected. In 1921 an enquiry on occupation only was made. Great stress has been laid in recent years by all statistical authorities on the importance of obtaining a proper classification of industries and of occupations, and, in preparation for this Census, a complete classification has been compiled. This has required some modification to meet local conditions but the standard classification has been followed as closely as possible. The separate en- quiry regarding industry is imperative if we are to find out in which industries the largest numbers of people are employed, the occupational classification being in many cases totally different. Thus, a Chartered Accountant may be engaged in auditing the accounts of public companies or he may be employed as the accountant of a shipping firm, an insurance company or in a business dealing in oil; a car- penter may be employed in a dockyard, by a building contractor, or by a cabinet- maker, or even in making packing cases for a cigarette manufacturer. In these two examples, the occupation remains the same throughout, as Chartered Accountant or carpenter, but the industry or service, with which the worker is connected, changes. Both questions were, therefore, included on this occasion.
No enquiry was made, however, regarding subsidiary occupations as distinct from a principal occupation nor on unemployment. The division of the population into "Earners" and "Dependents" would also have been of interest. It would undoubtedly be surprising to many to find out to what extent a family of the lower classes is dependent on the earnings of a wife or daughter or on child labour generally. The salary obtainable by the head of the household is in some cases quite insufficient and it is solely due to the few dollars earned monthly by the wife or daughter as a carrying coolie in the lowest class or by sewing or washing in the next grade that the family budget is made to balance. In Ceylon in 1921 such an enquiry was made, and the report shows that, in somewhat similar circum- stances, the average throughout the population gave two earners at least in a family of five persons.
But it is possible to militate against the success of the census by asking too much, and such enquiries were, therefore, regretfully omitted.
In the last two censuses enquiry was made regarding ability to read and write any language. On this occasion the question has been expanded and enquiry was made regarding () Ability to read and write one's "mother tongue", (i) Ability to speak English and (2) Ability to read and write English. While the information obtained in 1931 may be of little value and the accuracy of the replies somewhat doubtful, a comparison with 1931 when subsequent censuses come to be taken may be of great interest.
No enquiry was made on this occasion regarding Religion and the old heading dealing with Infirmities was also omitted. Both were included in 1911, and both were excluded in 1921. A classification according to religions is no longer carried out in the United Kingdom and in Hong Kong such a question would have been misunderstood by a large portion of the Chinese population. The replies to an enquiry regarding infirmities have frequently been found to be unsatisfactory; there are "border line" cases where only a qualified medical opinion could decide the reply to be given.
Such are some of the considerations from which the Schedule or Census Form was finally evolved.