L 87
Annexe P.
HEALTH OFFICE OF THE PORT.
REPORT BY DR. G. P. Jordan, Health Officer of the Port.
During the year the work of the Department was carried on by Dr. Jordan, Dr. Keyt, Dr. Forsyth and Dr. Gröne.
Dr Gröne returned to the Colony after a year's leave of absence on September 25th and resumed duty the following day.
The work of this Department may be described under three separate headings, viz. :-
(a.) The Daily Inspection of Shipping on Arrival. (b) The Inspection of Emigrants.
(c.) Quarantine Duty.
(a.)-THE DAILY INSPECTION OF SHIPPING ON ARRIVAL.
This duty consists in regularly boarding all ships as they arrive in port between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
According to the Quarantine Rules and Regulations under Section 23 of Ordinance 10 of 1899, all "Infected" and "Suspected" ships, from ports which are declared to be infected, are not allowed to enter the port after 6 p.m. but are permitted to come into the Quarantine Anchorage the following morning at 6 o'clock, and their crews and passengers are then inspected. "Healthy" ships, however, are exempted from these restrictions provided they have a duly qualified surgeon on the ship's articles.
During the year there were 4,042 arrivals in port, of which 1,952 were British, and 2,090 Foreign ships, these figures do not include the river steamers from Macao, Canton and West River ports, which are only dealt with when cases of an epidemic nature are reported to us.
(b.)-INSPECTION OF EMIGRANTS.
During the year there has been a marked increase in Emigration as compared with last year's figures, being 136,895 in 1911, and 111,371 in 1910.
Of these 136,895 emigrants, the largest numbers left for Singapore and Straits Settlements, viz., 100,658, while from the remainder, less than half, 36,237, were for the other ports of destination, such as San Francisco, British Columbia, Java, etc.
There were 1,330 through passengers, recruited from various ports other than Hongkong, and mainly being Filipinos from Manila for Honolulu.