1841-1886
STATE OF HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL POSSESSIONS. 497
1847 1848 Increase Decrease Europeans 603 642 32 Portuguese 264 321 57 * 539 Indians and Malays 213 326 22 Chinese 22,466 20,333 2,128 Total 23,872 21,514 89 2,454I have already had occasion to observe to your Lordship, that a large proportion of the Chinese residing in Hong Kong are migratory, and that they resort to the colony in proportion to the amount of labour that is required to be performed for the erection of buildings, the construction of roads, and other works, public and private. The decrease, therefore, of 2128 Chinese in 1848, is to be attributed to the gradual completion of these works having thrown a number of men out of employment, who have in consequence left Hong Kong to seek a livelihood elsewhere. That this explanation is the true one is proved by the fact of the number of Chinese traders and shopkeepers being, if anything, rather more than in 1847, and the shops built for their reception being as fully occupied. The stonemasons and other common labourers, composing the migratory population of the colony, have no fixed residences, but construct mat-houses in which they pass the nights and cook their food near to the works upon which they are employed.
Climate.
8. Notwithstanding the great mortality amongst the troops last year, and particularly in the 95th Regiment, to which it was mainly confined, I consider that Hong Kong is as healthy as other colonies and settlements situated within the same degree of latitude, and the fact of the comparatively small number of deaths in the civil, mercantile, and other classes, who refrain from exposure to the sun, leads me to view this climate as congenial to the European constitution, where common precautions are observed.
The fixed white or European population of the colony (including Americans and Portuguese, but exclusive of troops), amounted in 1848 to 639 males and 274 females, or taken together, to 913 souls; and the mortality during the year has been 83 in number or 8.61 per cent. The Blue Book shows a mortality of 125 persons under this head, but I must remark that 42 seamen are included there in the number of deaths who cannot be considered as forming a part of our fixed population. The white population in 1847 amounted to 603 males and 264 females, making a total of 867 souls; and the mortality during the year (excluding 26 seamen) was 55 or 6.34 per cent. From this comparative view your Lordship will perceive that the year 1848 exhibits an increase in mortality over the preceding one of 2.27 per cent. The following statement shows the average number of prisoners in the gaol during the years 1847 and 1848, with the deaths that occurred during the respective periods, four-fifths of whom were Chinese:
Year Number of Prisoners Number of Deaths Percentage of Deaths to Prisoners 1847 201 12 5.97 1848 158 8 5.06A full Report has no doubt been made by the Major-General commanding in China to the proper authorities in England on the subject of the mortality among the troops during the year, but for easy reference I append a memorandum which will briefly show the number of deaths that have occurred, which, with reference to the strength of the force, shows that the deaths in the European branch amounted to 20.43 per cent, and in the native to 5.14 per cent, being an average of about 12.30 per cent. on the whole force, which may be taken at 1390.
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