CO129-389 - Governor Sir Lugard Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1912 [3-4] — Page 411

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Enclosure!

161.

C. O.

15454

20 MAY 12

101

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG, 26th. April, 1912.

Sir,

I have the honour to inform you that the Cap-

-tain Superintendent of Police has applied for an increase in the

·European Police Force, and I enclose a copy of his minute from which you will see that the increase asked for amounts to twenty men, and means that the places of the twenty men from the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry who were lent last December for special duty will be taken by permanent members of the Force.

2.

I discussed the matter with Mr. F. J. Badeley

and subsequently brought it before the Executive Council, who were unanimously of opinion that such an increase in the numbers of the European Police Force was required, while the Registrar-General considered that a still larger increase was desirable.

3.

I enclose a statement showing the strength of

the Police Force compared with the population of the Colony from the year 1891 down to the present year, from which it will be seen that although the numbers of the Indian and Chinese Police have been increased by about 67 per centum, the numbers of the European Police have practically not been increased at all, although the population has doubled in the meantime. I may add that in the opinion of those best able to judge there has been since last October a further increase in the population of something like 50,000 persons, mainly from the Kwangtung Province, and of an

undesirable character.

Enclosure 2.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

LEIS HARCOURT, M.P..

&C..

80..

&C...

4.

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