31
Appendix I.
INDEX NUMBERS OF QUANTITIES OF COMMODITIES IMPORTED INTO HONG KONG DURING 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 AND 1938.
1931=100.
Items 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 Building Materials 10 57.9 72.4 67.3 77.5 65.9 Chemicals & Drugs 18 91.8 84.9 55.7 133.8 93.0 Dyeing Materials 5 44.2 53.4 43.6 41.8 55.2 Foodstuffs 25 91.9 90.1 85.8 110.7 107.3 Fuels 5 115.3 122.6 118.1 126.8 119.3 Manures 2 21.7 48.2 101.1 141.9 58.7 Metals 30 69.3 88.7 82.9 120.7 62.3 Minerals & Ores 3 8.2 16.5 125.8 308.6 22.8 Nuts & Seeds 7 134.7 106.3 98.0 113.7 310.9 Oils & Fats 14 99.4 99.4 99.0 129.6 145.1 Textiles 37 79.4 79.0 68.4 59.8 83.0 Sundries 29 83.4 75.4 64.2 71.6 64.7 Total Items 185 General Average 74.8 78.1 84.2 119.7 101.5Chapter VIII.
LABOUR.
A new Factories and Workshops Ordinance, No. 18 of 1937, replacing the old Ordinance, No. 27 of 1932, came into operation on the 1st of January, 1938. The Chairman, Urban Council, replaced the Secretary for Chinese Affairs as Protector of Labour, and the Factory Inspectorate was transferred from the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs to the Urban Council. The new Ordinance gives to the Urban Council power to make by-laws in respect of industrial undertakings. A Select Committee of the Council deals with applications for the registration of factories and workshops and other matters arising out of the administration of the Ordinance. The By-laws in the Schedule to the new Ordinance prohibit the employment of any child under the age of fourteen years in any industrial undertaking and the employment of women and of young persons under the age of eighteen years between the hours of 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. No new By-laws were made during the year.
The Inspectorate, consisting of an Inspector of Factories and Workshops and an Inspector of Labour, deals with new applications for registration and pays periodic visits of inspection to all factories and workshops. Special attention is given to the safety of machinery, overcrowding of workers and machinery, obstructions to exits and the ages of workers. Night visits are frequently made to guard against the employment of females and young persons during prohibited hours.
All registered factories and workshops are inspected for renewal of registration during the early part of the year. 199 new certificates of registration were issued during the year 1938, bringing the total of registered factories and workshops up to 829. There were 45 prosecutions, including 23 for the offence of employing females and young persons during prohibited hours, and 19 for the offence of operating an unregistered factory. The total number of accidents reported was 141, of which 14 were fatal. Ten of the fatal accidents occurred in shipyards.