146. Of the 12,700 marriages registered 12,406 were between parties of Chinese race; 109 marriages were between non-Chinese males and Chinese females, and 10 between Chinese males and non-Chinese females; the remaining 175 were between non-Chinese. 237 widowers and 76 widows remarried. 294 of the parties married were divorced persons, and in accordance with the normal practice of the Registry the divorce documents were carefully scrutinized before the marriage was permitted to proceed.
147. In 24 cases the Registrar in the exercise of the discretion conferred on him by the proviso to Section 9 of the Ordinance issued his certificate allowing the marriage to proceed before the expiry of the prescribed fifteen days' notice. The Registrar exercises this discretion only when he is satisfied that there are special circumstances justifying his doing so, and that the parties are free to marry.
Work done and Fees collected
148. Table XXVII gives particulars of work done during the year and the fees charged therefor. The total of fees, $154,116, which was $19,000 up on the 1962-63 total, constituted a new record total, exceeding the previous record in 1961-62 by $13,500.
PART IX
BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRY
General
149. The registration of births and deaths is compulsory under the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Cap. 174). With the opening of the three new Registries mentioned in the following paragraphs there are now in addition to the General Register Office at Li Po Chun Cham- bers, 92-97 Connaught Road Central, ten District Registries on Hong Kong Island, six in Kowloon, one at Tai Po, which also serves Sai Kung North, one at Tsuen Wan, and one at Yuen Long. In the New Territories births are, with the exception of those in Tai Po and Sai Kung (North), Tsuen Wan District and Yuen Long District, registered by District Registrars who call at the Rural Committee Offices in the various districts according to a regular programme, and deaths are reported to local police stations. In addition to the above, three mobile teams operate in the New Territories dealing with applications for post-registration of births. Table XXVIII shows the present organization of the Registry.
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