5
purely administrative departments are the Secretariat, Treasury, Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, Post Office, Harbour, the Imports and Exports, Police and Prisons Departments. There are seven legal departments, including the Supreme Court and the Magistracies. Two departments, Medical and Sanitary, deal with public health, one, Education, with education; and one, the largest of all the Government departments, Public Works, is concerned with roads, buildings, waterworks, piers and analogous matters.
6. An important change in the system of Government during 1937, was the creation of the post of Financial Secretary in place of the former Colonial Treasurer, with a view to reorganizing the financial administration of the Colony generally.
Chapter III.
POPULATION AND BIRTHS AND DEATHS.
The estimated civilian population at mid-year 1937, based upon the arithmetical increase in population between the Census periods of 1921 and 1931, amounted to 1,006,982. Of this figure 984,400 or ninety-eight per centum were Chinese. Excluding Chinese, who do not register, 6,444 aliens were registered in the Colony at the end of the year and it is therefore estimated that there are approximately 16,138 Non-Chinese British subjects. Forty-eight per centum of the estimated Non-Chinese population resides in Kowloon and New Kowloon, the latter being primarily a residential area. In view of the Sino-Japanese conflict which has driven a large number of refugees to Hong Kong the estimate of 1,006,982 is considered to be within the region of thirty per centum below the actual population. The population distributed into the main districts of the Colony is shown in the following table:
Island of Hong Kong. Non-Chinese 9,847 Chinese 437,982 Kowloon Peninsula. Non-Chinese 10,887 Chinese 339,366 New Territories. Maritime. Non-Chinese 1,372 476 Chinese 100,000 107,052 Total Non-Chinese 22,582 Total Chinese 984,400 Totals 1,006,982