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The District Watchmen Force, numbering 100, to which the Government contributes $2,000 per annun, was well supported by Me Chinese during the year. These watchmen patrol the streets in the Chinese quarter of the City. They are placed on police beats and are supervised by the European police on section, patrol.
The total number of persons committed to Victoria Gaol was 5,153 as compared with 5,212 in 1919. Of those 1,099 were committed for criminal offences against 2,552 in 1919. Of committals for non- criminal offences there were 64 more for hawking without a licence, and 5 more for unlawfully boarding steamers, than in 1919.
The daily average of prisoners confined in the Gaol was 755, the average for 1919 being 756, and the highest previous average being 726 in 1904 The perceptage of prisoners to population, according to the daily average of the former and the estimated number of the latter, was 12. The average percentage for the last ten years was 013. Øwhg, however, to the large floating population, which is constantly moving between the Colony and Canton, the percentage of crime to population does not convey an accurate idea of the comparative criminality of the residents of the Colony. The Victoria Gaol has accommodation for 707 prisoners. The Branch Prison at Laichikok has pommodation for 200 prisoners.
The prison discipline was satisfactory, the average of punish- mente per priecnner being 0'09 as compared with 96 in 1919 and 1:05 in 1918.-
Long sentença prisoners serving two years and awards are taught useful trades, including, printing, book-binding, tin-smithing, mai-making, tailoring, carpentering, etc. The profit on the work done was $64,014 as against $67,735 in 1919. A sum of $3,598 was received and credited to Government for non-Government work as against $3,303 in 1919.
VHF
-VITAL STATISTICS.
()-POPULATION.
The civil population of the Colony, according to the Census taken on May 20th, 1911, was 456,739, of whom 104,287 reside in the New Territories and in New Kowloon; at the Ceusus taken in 1906 it was 301,067 exclusive of the New Territories and of Naw Kowloon. The estimated total population at the middle of the year under review was 848,150, but this includes the New Territories; and, as the birth and death figures given below do not include those from this area (with the exception of New Kowloon), the population for the purposes of calculating these rates is estimated at 547,350, of whom 14,000 were Non-Chinese.
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The distribution of population estimated to the middle of 1920
was as follows:--
Non-Chinese Civil Community....
14,000
City of Victoria (including Peak),...
342,000
Villages of Hongkong.
18,050
Kowloon (including New Kowloon),
104,000
New Territories.
100,800
Population afloat,
69,300
634,150
648,150
Chinese
Population.
Total Chinese Population,
Total Civil Population,
(b) PUBLIC HEALTH AND SANITATION.
The activity in building operations, which has been so notice- able a feature since 1912, has not abated, and the demand for housing accommodation by the Chinese continued to be greatly in excess of the supply, as many of those who fled with their families to Hongkong during 1911, 1012, and 1913 elected to remain in the Colony,
The birth-rate for the year was 306* per 1,000 among the Chinese community and 219 per 1,000 among the Non-Chinese community, as compared with 3'9 and 2016 for 1919.
The death-rate for the year was 22.78 per 1,000 among the Chinese community and 179 among the Non-Chinese civil com- munity, as compared with 23:3 and 219 for 1919.
The number of deaths from Malaria (332) shows an increase on the previous year (310). The deaths of Chinese from this cause in the City of Victoris numbered 124 out of a population of 342,000 or a rate of 36 per 1,000 per annum.
The deaths from Plague numbered 120 as compared with 426 in 1919.
Small-pax deathe numbered 21, all Chinese.
There were 3,834 deaths from respiratory diseases other than Pulmonary Tuberculosis as compared with 3,049 in 1918, and 45 of these were among the Non-Chinese community. Pulmonary Tuber- culosis claimed 1,380 Chinese and 21 Non-Chinese victims whilst other forms of Tuberculosis represent an additional 681 deaths making a total of 2,082 or 167 per cent of the total deaths among the community.
Beri-beri was responsible for 361 deaths, as compared with 555 during 1919 and 804 in 1918. During the past few years circulars have been distributed to all large employers of coolie labour calling their attention to the fact that Beri-heri is produced -by the consumption of white rice as the staple article of diet with- out a sufficiency of other foods, and advising that beans should be supplied with the rice, when fresh meat or fresh fish cannot be afforded.
A tabular statement of the principal causes of death is appended. This fleure la wholly misleading as it is impossible to register more than a portion of the births,
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