CO129-328 - Governor Nathan - 1905 [1-6] — Page 279

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Hongkong.

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{

Government House,

Hongkong, 1st. April, 1905.

sir.

1500

04

Referring to Mr. May's Despatch No. 96 of

the 10th. of March, 1904, I have the honour to transit six

copies of the Report of the Superintendent of Victoria Gaol

for the year 1904.

2.

The total number of persons committed to

prison was 7,464 as compared with 7,273 in the previous year,

but of these only 4,027 were committed for criminal offences

against 4,644 in 1903, Of committals for non-criminal offences

there were 439 more under the Prepared Opium Ordinance and

133 more for infringement of Sanitary Byelaws.

3.

The percentage of prisoners to population

according to the daily average of the former and the estimated

number of the latter was .201 compared with .189, the average

percentage for the last 10 years.

4.

The Prison Discipline was satisfactory,

there being 798 punishments in this respect as compared with

1,530 in the preceding year and 1,971 in 1902. This decrease

from an average of 3.42 offences per prisoner in 1902 to 2.34

in 1903 and 1.1 in 1904 is noteworthy..

5

Though there has been a considerable

decrease

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

ALFRED LYTTELTON, K.C., M.P..

&C...

&C..

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