REPORT
ON
· CHINESE EMIGRATION.
697
HONG KONG.
I MAY class Emigration from China under three heads :- Firstly.-Emigrants under contracts to labor for a term of years whose passages are paid by the Governments for which they are engaged.
Secondly.-Those paying their own passages, and under no contracts to labor, composed chiefly of artizans, and the better of the working classes.
Thirdly.-Those who are enabled to emigrate by advances made by Chinese contractors or speculators accompanying them on the voyage, who look for their reimbursement and remuneration to the produce of the labor of the Emigrants for a certain term after arrival at their destination.
2. For many years past there has been a constant and large Emigration from China direct, or through the British Colony of Hong Kong, of Chinese of the two latter classes, to the Australian Colonies, California, British Columbia, and the Straits Settlements; but I found it quite impossible to obtain any very accurate data of its extent.
3. Captain Thomsett, R. N., the Harbour Master and Emigration Officer at Hong Kong, to whom I am greatly indebted for much information, was good enough to furnish me with the return, (See Appendix A.), showing that from 1855 to the end of 1867, 129,692 Chinese, not under contract, emigrated from Hong Kong; at the same time informing me that this number did not include the whole, as many left the Colony without reporting their departure at the Emigration Office; and he had but recently discovered that Masters of Vessels bound to Singapore and Bangkok, after clearing in the usual manner with twenty passengers, dropped out of the Harbour, and when beyond Green Island took on board large numbers of additional passengers.
4. I learnt on my visits to Canton, Swatow, and Amoy that from 6 to 8,000 left annually each of those ports for the Countries above mentioned.
5. A remarkable feature in the free Emigration is the very small proportion of females to males; as it appears by the return, that out of the 129,692 Emigrants from Hong Kong in 13 years, 2,740 only were females.
REPORT
ON
· CHINESE EMIGRATION.
697
HONG KONG.
I MAY class Emigration from China under three heads :- Firstly.-Emigrants under contracts to labor for a term of years whose passages are paid by the Governments for which they are engaged.
Secondly.-Those paying their own passages, and under no contracts to labor, composed chiefly of artizans, and the better of the working classes.
Thirdly.-Those who are enabled to emigrate by advances made by Chinese contractors or speculators accompanying them on the voyage, who look for their reimbursement and remuneration to the produce of the labor of the Emigrants for a certain term after arrival at their destination.
2. For many years past there has been a constant and large Emigration from China direct, or through the British Colony of Hong Kong, of Chinese of the two latter classes, to the Australian Colonies, California, British Columbia, and the Straits Settlements; but I found it quite impossible to obtain any very accurate data of its extent.
3. Captain Thomsett, R. N., the Harbour Master and Emigration Officer at Hong Kong, to whom I am greatly indebted for much information, was good enough to furnish me with the return, (See Appendix A.), showing that from 1855 to the end of 1867, 129,692 Chinese, not under contract, emigrated from Hong Kong; at the same time informing me that this number did not in- clude the whole, as many left the Colony without reporting their departure at the Emigration Office; and he had but recently discovered that Masters of Vessels bound to Singapore and Bangkok, after clearing in the usual manner with twenty passengers, dropped out of the Harbour, and when be- yond Green Island took on board large numbers of additional passengers.
4.
I learnt on my visits to Canton, Swatow, and Amoy that from 6 to 8,000 left annually each of those ports for the Countries above mentioned.
5. A remarkable feature in the free Emigration is the very small pro- portion of females to males; as it appears by the return, that out of the 129,692 Emigrants from Hong Kong in 13 years, 2,740 only were females.
A
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