M(1)55
During the strike, which paralysed the shipping of the port, from mid-January till 6th March only nine ships were examined, with 1,843 emigrants, while in April the number increased to 16,779, and kept at a high level, with a drop in August and September. These are the months of the rice harvest, which affords sufficient inducement to keep labourers at home, for field work.
Asiatic steerage passengers may be classified under three headings:-
1. Free emigrants.
2. Assisted emigrants.
3. Women and children.
1. Free emigrants are passengers who are not under any contract of service, they pay their own passages, and are at liberty to return where they choose. They earn a living as shop keepers and petty traders, in preference to manual labour.
2. Assisted emigrants are engaged to labour for hire, by contract, and their passages are paid by their employers. The period of engagement varies from one to three years, and they find work in the tin mines and rubber plantations of the Straits Settlements, Java, and Sumatra, in the oil fields of Borneo, and the phosphate deposits of Nairung and Christmas Island.
3. Women and children—these are the wives and families of both free and assisted emigrants, some women, however, travel independently, and find work as domestic servants, seamstresses, and field labourers.
During the year there were:
72,876 Free emigrants.
4,963 Assisted emigrants.
20,571 Women and children.
Table I gives the numbers of emigrants passed and rejected, and their ports of destination.
Table II shows the numbers of emigrants and of the crews, dealt with month by month.
Table III gives the causes of rejection.
Table IV shows the number of ships detained in quarantine, with the causes, dates, and periods of detention.
Table V gives the total number of ships examined in quarantine, and the numbers of their passengers and crews.
There were no changes on the staff during the year. I was assisted by Dr. B. H. Mellon, the second Health Officer of the Port.
F. T. KEYT, Health Officer of the Port.