C 3
20. The regulation requiring the registration and photographing of all assisted emigrants again proved of practical utility in enabling the relatives of missing men who had emigrated under contract to trace them through this Office. 12 applications for the redemption and repatriation of such men were received during the year, and of the 12 men concerned 4 had gone to Singapore, 1 to British North Borneo, 6 to Banka and 1 to Sumatra. 4 returned and were restored to their relatives, 1 was reported to have returned home himself, 1 returning with other repatriates, 1 has committed suicide, 3 (who were all free emigrants to Singapore) could not be traced, while 2 cases were still under enquiry at the end of the year.
21. It is worth noting that the direct emigrant traffic between Swatow and Deli, Sumatra, which was formerly carried by German vessels, was brought to a standstill by the war.
22. The monthly returns furnished by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, Singapore, of the number of contracts signed by Hongkong assisted passengers to labour in the different localities give the following figures for the six months, January to June :-
Straits Settlements 84 British North Borneo 28 Federated Malay States 112 Brunei - Sarawak 405 Malay Peninsula (Johore and New States) 1,486 Dutch Possessions 2,115 Total 4,23023. Classification of assisted emigrants by the language spoken (Table V shows the number of labourers recruited from each particular locality) gives the following figures :-
Cantonese 5,741 Hakka 5,220 Hoklo 74 Hainanese 199 Southern Mandarin (mostly from Kwong Si and Hunan) 1,038 Total 12,27224. Among the total of 8,278 assisteds examined and passed for labour abroad is included a batch of 101 coolies who were recruited in March by a well-known firm of ricksha manufacturers in Hongkong to proceed to France to pull rickshas at the Lyons International Exhibition. These men were technically assisted emigrants as defined by the Emigration Ordinance but as a special concession were allowed to proceed without the usual formalities, on the understanding that no contract was signed in Hongkong. Unfortunately