1841-1886
121
STATE OF HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL POSSESSIONS. 111
tended to civil cases where the amount in dispute may not exceed 500 dollars, and for the convenience of parties who might wish to employ legal advisers, a table of fees chargeable by attorneys in such cases was drawn up and revised by the Attorney-General. This measure seemed necessary for the protection of suitors, because attorneys and solicitors, who, from the absence of barristers, act here as advocates, are not subject to that control and surveillance to which they are liable in England. For a more detailed exposition of the motives which led to the framing of this enactment, I must refer your Lordship to my Despatch (No. 39) of 21st April, 1849.
Much inconvenience having been experienced in the empanelling of juries, on account of the limited European population of the colony, I was induced, in order to remedy this evil, to pass Ordinance, No. 4, which reduces the property qualification of common jurors from 1,000 dollars to 500 dollars.
Ordinance No. 5 empowers the Chief Justice to grant an order for the attendance of witnesses in suits pending before the Consular Courts, before Commissioners appointed by the consuls to receive in the colony the depositions of witnesses, who may be residing in Hong Kong.
By rule of court (since approved by your Lordship), the sittings of the Supreme Court at nisi prius were increased from four to six in each year. This provision, which was concurred in by the Chief Justice, has, in conjunction with the enlarged summary jurisdiction granted to the Supreme Court by Ordinance No. 3, of 1849, materially obviated the delay which was formerly experienced in the disposal of civil suits and actions.
6. The return for 1848 showed 21,514 souls, exclusive of troops, and that for Population. 1849 exhibits 29,507; whence it appears that there is an increase in the population of 7,993. I have before had occasion to remind your Lordship, that a great proportion of the Chinese who frequent Hong Kong are of very migratory habits, and this influx which it will be seen by the table at the end of this paragraph is composed almost entirely of that description of people, is to be accounted for partly by the unsettled state of Macao, in consequence of the murder of Governor Amaral, from whence some of the inhabitants have migrated to this colony, but principally by the stimulus afforded to commerce and industrial pursuits by the accession of trade with California, a vast number of wooden houses and various other articles of Chinese manufacture having been constructed here and shipped in no less than 23 vessels to that territory direct from this port, thus affording employment to a very considerable number of carpenters and other artificers. From the Return at page 145 of the Blue Book, it will be seen that there are only 77 Chinese houses unoccupied in Victoria, whereas the table for 1848 showed 123. In reality, however, the decrease of unoccupied houses is still more considerable, for in addition to a few European residences, numerous Chinese shops have been constructed during the year. This affords satisfactory evidence of an addition to the stable and respectable classes of our Chinese population.
COMPARATIVE Abstract of Population in 1848 and 1849.
1848 1849 Increase Europeans 642 656 14 Portuguesa 321 331 10 Indians and Malays 213 223 10 Chinese 20,338 28,297 7,959 Total 21,514 29,507 7,993I beg to append separate returns of the census for 1849, viz., a general table, and two others, one detailing the distribution of the Chinese throughout Victoria, and the villages in the island, and the other showing the boat population of the colony.
7. I am happy to state that the experience of the last year has fully borne out Climate. the views I expressed when transmitting the Blue Book for 1848, respecting the general salubrity of this climate, and of its being, in my opinion, as well adapted to European constitutions as other places similarly situated within the tropics. The total white population for 1849, including Americans and Portuguese (but exclusive of troops), was 987, and the deaths amounted to 65; showing a mortality of 6.58 per cent, being 2.03 less than in 1848.
The sanitary state of the gaols is particularly satisfactory. In 1848, the deaths
Page 140
Page 141
1841-1886
121
STATE OF HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL POSSESSIONS. 111
tended to civil cases where the amount in dispute may not exceed 500 dollars, and for the convenience of parties who might wish to employ legal advisers, a table of fees chargeable by attorneys in such cases was drawn up and revised by the Attorney-General. This measure seemed necessary for the protection of suitors, because attorneys and solicitors, who, from the absence of barristers, act here as advocates, are not subject to that control and surveillance to which they are liable in England. For a more detailed exposition of the motives which led to the framing of this enactment, I must refer your Lordship to my Despatch (No. 39) of 21st April, 1849.
Much inconvenience having been experienced in the empanelling of juries, on account of the limited European population of the colony, I was induced, in order to remedy this evil, to pass Ordinance, No. 4, which reduces the property qualifi- cation of common jurors from 1,000 dollars to 500 dollars.
Ordinance No. 5 empowers the Chief Justice to grant an order for the attend- ance of witnesses in suits pending before the Consular Courts, before Commissioners appointed by the consuls to receive in the colony the depositions of witnesses, who may be residing in Hong Kong.
By rule of court (since approved by your Lordship), the sittings of the Supreme Court at nisi prius were increased from four to six in each year. This provision, which was concurred in by the Chief Justice, has, in conjunction with the enlarged summary jurisdiction granted to the Supreme Court by Ordinance No. 3, of 1849, materially obviated the delay which was formerly experienced in the disposal of
civil suits and actions.
X
6. The return for 1848 showed 21,514 souls, exclusive of troops, and that for Population. 1849 exhibits 29,507; whence it appears that there is an increase in the population of 7,993. I have before had occasion to remind your Lordship, that a great pro- portion of the Chinese who frequent Hong Kong are of very migratory habits, and this influx which it will be seen by the table at the end of this paragraph is com- posed almost entirely of that description of people, is to be accounted for partly by the unsettled state of Macao, in consequence of the murder of Governor Amaral, from whence some of the inhabitants have migrated to this colony, but principally by the stimulus afforded to commerce and industrial pursuits by the accession of trade with California, a vast number of wooden houses and various other articles of Chinese manufacture having been constructed here and shipped in no less than 23 vessels to that territory direct from this port, thus affording employment to a very considerable number of carpenters and other artificers. From the Return at page 145 of the Blue Book, it will be seen that there are only 77 Chinese houses unoccupied in Victoria, whereas the table for 1848 showed 123. In reality, however, the decrease of unoccupied houses is still more considerable, for in addition to a few European residences, numerous Chinese shops have been con- structed during the year. This affords satisfactory evidence of an addition to the stable and respectable classes of our Chinese population.
+
COMPARATIVE Abstract of Population in 1848 and 1849.
1848
1840
Increase.
Europeans Portuguesa
642
656
14
321
331
10
Indians and Malays Chinese
213
223
10.
20,338
28,297
7,959
Total
21,514
29,507
7,993
I beg to append separate returns of the census for 1849, viz., a general table, and two others, one detailing the distribution of the Chinese throughout Victoria, and the villages in the island, and the other showing the bont population of the colony.
7. I am happy to state that the experience of the last year has fully borne out Climate. the views I expressed when transmitting the Blue Book for 1848, respecting the general salubrity of this climate, and of its being, in my opinion, as well adapted to European constitutions as other places similarly situated within the tropics. The total white population for 1849, including Americans and Portuguese (but exclusive of troops), was 987, and the deaths amounted to 65; showing a mortality of 6-58 per cent, being 2·03 less than in 1848.
The sanitary state of the gaols is particularly satisfactory. In 1848, the deaths
3.
4.
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