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Higher education is represented by the Technical Institute, where instruction is given in the evening in Mathematics, Machine Drawing, Building Construction, Field Surveying and allied subjects; in Chemistry and Physics; in the English and French languages, Book-keeping and Shorthand. There is also a Teachers' Class, at which the junior Chinese masters of Government schools are expected to attend. The Institute is furnished with a well equipped laboratory. The lecturers are chiefly Civil Servants recruited from the Euro- pean staffs of Queen's College and the Public Works Department. These officers receive
fees for their services.
Hongkong is fortunate in including among its schools two limited to children of British parentage. Both these schools (one for boys, the other for girls) are under the Government. In 1908 the combined average attendance at them was 87. As might be expected they have a strong patriotic bias: they are supporters of the Empire League, and the boys' school provides a small but efficient cadet corps.
V.-PUBLIC WORKS.
The principal public works in progress during the year, exclusive of the Railway, were the Kowloon Waterworks and the Typhoon Refuge for small craft opposite Mongkoktsui. The former was completed with the exception of the contract for the main dam, &c. and a few trifling details, but, as mentioned in last year's report, the works are in such a forward state that the reservoir is fully capable of supplying the whole Peninsula with water. Work on the Typhoon Refuge was begun by dredging a trench to form the base for the breakwater, the hopper dredger St. Enoch being purchased locally for this purpose. The Tytam Tuk Waterworks referred to in previous years' reports were fully completed.
The New Law Courts and New Government Offices were still under construction, whilst the following works were completed :-Land Office at Tai Po; Market at Sai Wan Ho; Extension of Staff Quarters at Government Civil Hospital for Nursing Institute; Extension of Wanchai and Saiyingpun District Schools; Extension of Mount Gough Police Station; Animal Depôts and Slaughter Houses at Ma Tau Kok; four houses at Tai Po for the native clerical staff and the service reservoir at West l'oint (750' level) for supplying the High Levels of the City. The lease of One Tree Island to Messrs. Jardine. Matheson & Company for the storage of dynamite having expired, it was decided to require this explosive to be stored in the Government Depôt on Green Island and arrangements were made accordingly, a small building for the storage of detonators being erected. The works of reconstruction of gullies and extension of nullah training were continued, $10,000 being spent on the former and $18,150 on the latter.
The prolongation of Robinson Road, Kowloon, mentioned in last year's report was completed and a further section from Waterloo Road to near Soy Street was undertaken. The extension of the road past Kowloon City to its junction with the Chin Lan Chu Road was completed and new roads from Kowloon City to Shatin Pass and from Castle Peak Bay to Ping Shan were begun. Great improvements in the alignment and grading of several portions of the Shaukiwan Road adjoining the Taikoo Sugar Refinery and Shipyard were in progress and a substantial improvement was made in the portion of Kennedy Road im- mediately west of the Public Laundries.
Works in progress included a new market at Kowloon Point, the deepening of Causeway Bay to enable small craft to gain access to all parts of the Typhoon Shelter at low water, a roof over Blake Pier, an extension of Government Offices for the accommodation of the Public Works Department, the raising of Des Voeux Road, Kowloon, on account of the railway reclamation, and several other works of smaller magnitude.
The extension and reconstruction of the Albany Filter Beds was continued, and good progress was made.
The total amount expended on Public Works Extraordinary, was $1,000,935 and on Works Annually Recurrent, $512,336.
The typhoon of July 27th caused great damage and this together with repairs still being executed on account of the typhoon of September, 1906, formed a very heavy charge on the recurrent votes.
During the year 1908 considerable progress was made in the British Section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway. About forty per cent. of the reclamation for a site for Kowloon Station Yard was completed and a very large amount of earthwork was done North of the Kowloon Hills.
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About 3,500 feet of heading was driven in Beacon Hill Tunuel making a total of 5,600 feet out of 7,212 feet and a total of 2,700 feet of tunnel was lined complete and an extra 700 feet excavated to full section ready for lining. The other four tunnels made good progress, the three short ones being almost completed. The larger one at Taipo had 572 feet of heading driven leaving 350 feet to complete.
Nearly all the bridges were completed with the exception of the iron-work which however is all in the Colony. Only three bridges remain on which no work has been done.
Indents have been sent Home for rails, sleepers and rolling stock. C
Malarin, Beri-beri, Dysentery and other diseases were much less prevalent among the railway employés due to better organization.
The expenditure during the year was $3,372,832 making a total of $6,251,639 up to
the end of 1908.
The large amount of rock-blasting with high explosives especially in the long tunnel, where moreover drilling is carried on with very powerful compressed air rock-drills, cou- pled with the proverbial carelessness of the Chinese coolie, would lead to the expectation that a large number of accidents would occur among the 3,000 odd coolics employed on the works. It is therefore very satisfactory to record the fact that from the inception of the Railway in 1906 to the end of the year 1903 there were only 19 fatal accidents (1 in 1906, 9 in 1907, and 9 in 1908) and 13 other serious ones (8 in 1907 and 5 in 1908),
The Chinese Section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway made considerable progress dur- ing 1908 under the able direction of Mr. GROVE, C.R.E., who has stated that there is every prospect of opening a length from Canton of 30 miles by April, 1910, and anticipates that he will be able to run through trains for traffic with the British Section on or before July 1st, 1911. Negotiations carried on at Peking for a Construction Loan for the Northern portion of the Canton-Hankow line had not resulted in any Loan Agreement by the end of the year.
The Southern Section from Canton Northwards made some progress under a Chinese Chief Engineer, and with Chinese Capital. By the end of the year about 40 miles were open to traffic.
VI-GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS.
(*) -HOSPITALS.
Government Hospitals consist of the Civil Hospital to which is attached an isolated Maternity Hospital, the Victoria Hospital for Women and Children, the Kennedy Town Infectious Diseases Hospital, and the hulk "Hygeia" used mainly for the treatinent of Small-pox cases.
The Civil Hospital contains 150 beds in 29 wards. 2,527 in-patients and 18,207 out- patients were treated during the year 1908. 279 cases of Malarial Fever were admitted as against 243 in 1907 and 239 in 1906. The Maternity Hospital contains 6 beds for Eu- ropeans and 4 for Asiatics. 60 confinements occurred during the year. The Victoria Hospital at the Peak contains 41 beds. During 1908 234 patients were under treatment. Kennedy Town Hospital contains 26 beds. In 1908 59 cases were treated, of which 3 were Plague. On the "Hygeia" 150 cases were treated, of which 86 were Small-pox.
LUNATIC ASFLUM.
The Asylum is under the direction of the Superintendent of the Civil Hospital. European and Chinese patients are separated, the European portion containing 8 beds in separate wards and the Chinese portion 16 beds. 212 patients of all races were treated during 1908, and there were 11 deaths.
(c) THE TUNG WAN AND OTHER CHINESE HOSPITALS.
This Hospital, opened in 1872, is mainly supported by the voluntary subscriptions of Chinese, but receives an annual grant of $8,000 from the Government. Only Chinese are treated in this institution. Various other services not appertaining to a Hospital are per- formed by the Institution such as the free burial of the poor, the repatriation of destitutes, and the organisation of charitable relief in emergencies. Chinese as well as European methods of treatment are employed in accordance with the wishes expressed by the patients or their friends. About half the number are now treated by Western methods. The Hospital is managed by a Committee of Chinese gentlemen annually elected, their appointment being aubmitted to the Governor for confirmation, and is under the supervision of a Visiting Physician who is a member of the Medical Department, whilst a Chinese Surgeon trained in European medicine is a member of the Hospital Staff.