BIB,
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 18th April, 1901.
Referring to your letters of the 19th nltimo and 11th instant concerning regulations for controlling and directing the navigation of sailing craft within the narrow waters of the Colony, I am directed to inform you that this Government is in communication with the Government of the Straits Settlements on the subject.
I have the honour to be, sir,
Your most obedient servant,
T. SERCOMBE SMITH, Acting Colonial Secretary,
The SECELTARY,
Chamber of Commerce.
THE PUBLICATION OF QUARANTINE NOTICES. Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 2nd April, 1901.
STE,
In continuation of my letter No. 350 of the 14th of last February, I am directed by His Excellency the Governor to transmit for the information of your Committee the enclosed copy of a letter from the Acting Colonial Se gretary of the Straits Settlements respecting the publication of quarantine regulations.
I have the honour to be, sir,
Your most obedient servant,
The SECRETARY,
HT. SERCOMBE SMITH, Acting Colonial Secretary.
Chamber of Commerce.
SIE,
Colonial Secretary's Office,
́Singapore, 24th March, 1901.
鹹
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
GAOL ADMINISTRATION IN HONGKONG.
A man
[April 27, 1901.
where they must necessarily have to use dan- gerous weapons, such as knives, &o. Some of them complained that the food was not cooked properly, and they wanted the old convicts placed in the kitchens again. Of course their requests were unheeded.
THE HEALTH OF HONGKONG IN 1900.
The Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the year 1900 is now ptblished. We make the following extracts :
AREA.
The island of Hongkong has an area of rather more than 29 square miles and the City of Victoria is situated upon its northern shore, extending along the sea front for a distance of four-and-a-half miles and up the hillside to the city limit of 600 feet above high- water mark.
The trial of the three convicts concerned in the recent outbreak at the Gaol has drawn public attention to the present gaol administra-
The whole of the regulations were introduced tion, and opened up a subject of all-absorbing without any trouble whatever, and thediet scales interest to residents within the Colony. Apart being rather in favour of the prisoner than from the mere statement of facts as presented otherwise matters went off very smoothly in the at the trial, issues of a far more important Gaol till the three prisoners mentioned ran character arose, and it was evident that under-amuk. Having regard to the "divinity that doth lying the mutinous acts of the rebellious trio were hedge" A superintendent of Government personal motives over which a curtain had prisons, and the difficulties which an Assistant been drawn up to the moment they were placed must necessarily meet with in introducing new in the dock. His Lordship the Chief Justice rules, and following them up with caution and took the initial step in withdrawing the veil diligence, compatible with the requirements of and opening to public view the main reasons discipline, it says much for Mr. Craig that which led to the outbreak. It was not the the charges brought him have entirely and ab- harsh manner in which Mr. Craig had treated solutely failed. The regulations were drawn up the prisoners placed under his care, for, as the by the Hon. F. H. May, as Gaol Superintendent; Captain Superintendent stated, that gentleman they were approved by the Governor in Coun- was "a most humane officer "it was, as His cil; then submitted to the Secretary of State Lordship said, an attack against the now re- for the Colonies and sanctioned. Taken as a gulations, drawn up in March of last year.
whole they are said by those best able to judge Prior to these rules being enforced the whole
to be the most modern set of rules in existence in system of gaol administration went by "rule of English prisons as well as in British Colonies. thumb." It was seen by those who had the direct control that a revision was needed in the dist scales, labour tasks, and the procedure generally, and that something must be done to modernise, so to speak, the whole system under which the Gaol was conducted. Therefore, in 1899, the pre- sent regulations were revised by Capt.the Hon. F. H. May, C.M.G., the Superintendent of the Gaol, and were entirely recast by him and Dr. Thompson. All the regulations and diet scales for European, Chinese, and Indian pri- soners were drawn to conform as near as possible to those in force in English prisons. The principal alteration made in the diet scales is that convicts at the beginning of their sentences get slightly less than they received before the new regulations, but after a certain period of The domestic building of the City of Viotoria confinement they were given a diet up number 8,600 (exclusive of Barracks and Police to an equally generous scale as what they Stations) of which 738 are European dwellings, had under the old rules.
on light while there are also some 130 European dwell- labour did not get so much food as a man on ings in the hill district. This shows a de- hard labour. Under the old regulations there crease of 14 non-Chinese dwellings as com was no difference between the diets of those cn
pared with the previous year and an increase hard or light labour, and the result was that of 693 Chinese dwellings. The plans of the regulations had not been in force twenty- 1,319 new buildings, and of alterations to four hours before there were gangs of prisoners 3,186 existing buildings have passed through complaining to the doctor with a view to be placed my hands during the year, with a view to on lighter labour, and as they would not lose any seeing that they complied strictly with the food thereby they were virtually the gainers. Public Health Ordinances of the colony. Dur In English prisons a sliding scale is adopting the previous year plans of 634 new build- ed, and has been found to work very favourably.ings, and of alterations to 772 existing buildings After a convict is put on the lighter labour he were received, so that the records of the past does not require so much food, and the luxury year show great activity in building operations of pork which was formerly given to every throughout the colony, which has been occa long-sentence prisoner-that is a prisoner sioned in part by the alterations required by with a term of two years and upwards after Ordina nce 34 of 1899. he has served six months' imprisonment, is now, under the new regulations, not given until the prisoner has been three years in the Gaol. With this and other modifications in the dietary to long-sentence prisoners an advantage is gained. Indeed, a convict is a great deal better off ander the new regime than he was under the old. Again with respect to the privileges as to visits and communications, a convicted prisoner sen- teuced to imprisonment for a period of two years and upwards is now allowed after six months Incarceration to write a lettor to his relatives and friends, and receive one from Chinese Population { Villages of Hong- them, as well as be visited by them, and sub- sequently is allowed the same privileges at intervals to be determined according to the class he has attained by his conduct and in- dustry. A third class prisoner can receive a letter and a visit from his relative every four months, and a second and first class prisoner Army It was reported amongst the local mandarins can receive a communication and a similar visit | Navy...
hanghai last Friday that Prince Ch'un, once in every three months and two months Special Ambassador to Germany, may probably respectively. Then events of importance to here from the North in about a month prisoners can be communicated to them at any weeks from hence, en route to Europe. time by authority of the Assistant Superinten- rent, the N.-C. Daily New mys, dant. One of the three prisoners who assaulted Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Craig had his amount of pork increased
Club on the Bubbling | from 4 os. to 6 os., so that although he had to The total strength of troops in garri selected for the Prince's wait longer he got more diet in the end. There June 30th, 1900, was 53 British
pace to be properly | was another change effected when the new re- 1,143 British warrant oflcers, N. 0, 0's and
Prince Ch'un will alatians put in force, which some long- men, with 11 Indian office tion of being the first
did not look favourably | warrant officers, N. C. O “dynasty who has ever
ago, made in not put- I total of 2,116 no viets to work in the kitchens, previous year.
In reply to your letter No. 349 of the 14th altimo, transmitting copy of correspondence between the Government of Hongkong and the Hongkong Chamber of Commerce regarding the publication of information regarding quar antine restrictions and inquiring what are the views of this Government on the question, I am directed to inform you that it does not appear reasonable to expect this Government to take such steps for the publication in Singa- pore of restrictions imposed elsewhere as those suggested by the Hongkong Chamber of Com- meros, though it has been arranged that in the event of quarantine restrictions being again imposed on this port in consequence of another outbreak of plague or cholera here, notices giving the required information will be posted up in the premises of the Tanjong Pagar Dock company, for general information.
2. I am, however, to point out that through out the recent outbreak such a notice was posted in the Singapore Shipping Office in front of the deek at which Agents and Masters clear their vessels, and that the information was also given to all Masters of vessels by the Clerk in charge. A Gazette Notification to the same effect was published, and the local Press was informed.
view of these facts it would appear that the Masters of ships have little reason to com- plain of the difficulty of obtaining information as to the existence of quarantine restrictions at their port of destination.
I have the honour, &c.,
C. W. 8. KYN^ ERSLEY,
Acting Colonial Secretary.
The HONOURABLE -
The COLONIAL SECRETARY,
Hongkong.
得你
a tem upom. It ting the
POPULATION.
The population of the Colony at the Census taken in Jannary, 1897, was 248,880, while at the Census taken in January, 1901, it was 283,955, exclusive of the Army and Navy.
The following is the estimated population to the middle of 1900:- Non-Chinese Population,
9,130
(City of Victoria, including Peak Bud Stonecut- ters' Island... 174,910
kong and Kow- Іоод Floating Popula.
tion
53,520
40,180
268,810
2,588
3,110
Total Chinese Population
Total Population of the Colony ... 283,418 Neither the Census returns, nor the estimates given above, include that portion of Kowloon to which the jurisdiction of the Sanitary Board was extended at the end of last year.
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