M 5
ANNUAL MEDICAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31st DECEMBER, 1928.
INTRODUCTION.
1. In order to give a clear impression of the Public Health conditions obtaining in Hong Kong, it is necessary first to describe the situation of the Colony, its geographical features, its climate, the nature of the population, and the bearing old Chinese traditions, beliefs, and customs have on the question of co-operation with the authorities in the promotion and preservation of the Public Health. It is also desirable to indicate the various organisations which together make up the Public Health machinery.
2. The Territory under British jurisdiction includes the Colony Proper, namely, the Island of Hong Kong with the Peninsula of Kowloon and the Leased Territory or New Territory as it is so often called. In this Report, the term Colony means the Colony Proper.
3. Situated between 22°-9′ and 22°-37′ North Latitude, the area under discussion is just within the northern limits of the tropics. It is in fact practically on the same level as Calcutta. It may be said to form the lower extremity of the left bank of the estuary of the Canton River, at the head of which is the city of Canton and on an island in which stands the Portuguese Colony of Macao.
4. Topographically, the Island of Hong Kong and the Peninsula of Kowloon may be described as a series of granite ridges separated by narrow valleys and having here and there flat areas facing the sea. The New Territory is of similar formation with some fairly wide valleys towards the north and west.
5. The Climate—From May until October, the climate is hot, muggy, and enervating, with the air more or less saturated with moisture. From November to the end of March, the weather is dry, cool, and invigorating, necessitating for comfort the wearing of warm clothes and the provision of fires in the houses. Frost is unknown.
6. With regard to population, there are no accurate statistical figures, the great movement to and from the Colony and the facility with which the border is crossed preventing accurate checking. Hong Kong being the principal entrepôt for South China and its harbour one of the busiest in the world, every day on an average 3,000 to 4,000 individuals pass to or from China by river steamer and by rail, and there are others who arrive and depart by junks or smaller vessels. During times of political unrest in China, many thousands from the mainland sojourn in the Colony, some of whom return to their homes when conditions are more settled, others remaining attracted