Sessional_Paper_1899 — Page 257

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most densely populated metropolitan districts of the city of London are St. James's, Westminster, White- chapel and St. George's in the East, but none of these had a population of more than 200 persons to the acre in 1891.

BIRTHS.

The births registered during the year were as follows:---

Chinese,

Non-Chinese,

{

White, Coloured,

Males.

Females.

592

371

963

100

78

178

40

25

65

1,206

This is equal to a general birth-rate of 4.7 per 1,000 as compared with 5.5 per 1,000 during the previous year. The birth-rate among the Non-Chinese community alone was 15.9 per 1,000 as compared with 17.7 during the previous year, so that it is apparent that the year 1898 was not favour- able to any great increase of the population from this cause. The nationalities of the Non-Chinese parents were as follows: -British 85, Portuguese 72, German 11, French 4, Spanish 1, American 1, Pole 1, Jew 3, Indian 58, Malay 5, Japanese 2. The most remarkable feature, however, about the birth- rate of this Colony is the great preponderance of male over female births; in Great Britain and in tem- perate climates generally the proportion is 104 male births to every 100 female births, but in this Colony the proportion is, among the white races, no less than 128 male births to 100 female births.

The number of Chinese births registered does not, however, give an accurate record of the number of births which have occurred in the Colony for many of the infants that die during the first month or so of life remain unregistered, although their deaths must be registered to obtain the necessary burial orders. It is customary therefore to add to the registered births the number of infants of one month old and under that die in the various Convents or are found by the Police in the streets or in the Harbour. This number during 1898 was 214 males and 317 females and 11 sex unrecorded, and thus the total births among the Chinese are estimated at 1,605 which makes the Chinese birth-rate 6.3 per 1,000 and the general birth-rate of the Colony 6.8 per 1,000 as compared with 7.3 during the previous year.

The preponderance of male births over female births is not nearly so marked among the Chinese as among the white inhabitants, but yet the ratio stands at 117 to 100, which is greatly in excess of what obtains in Europe.

DEATHS.

The total number of deaths registered during the year was 5,674 as compared with 4,688 during 1897 and 5,860 during 1896. The death-rate for 1898 was therefore 22.3 per 1,000, as compared with 18.85 during the previous year and an average of 23 per 1,000 during the preceding five years (exclusive of 1894). These deaths, however, include no less than 1,175 from Bubonie Fever (Plague), and if these are omitted the death-rate appears at 17.7 per 1,000. The total number of deaths among the Chinese was 5,383, which is equal to a death-rate of 22.5 per 1,000.

The deaths registered among the Non-Chinese community were 291, of which 200 were among the white races and 91 among the coloured. The deaths among Non-Chinese include 49 deaths from Bubonic Fever, and the total death-rate among the white races was 16.2 per 1,000 and among the coloured races was 33.6 per 1,000.

DISTRIBUTION OF DEATHS.

The 291 deaths among the Non-Chinese population were distributed as follows:-British 117, Por- tuguese 59, German 10, Spanish 5, French 5, Italian 2, Norwegian 1, Austrian 1; Indian 62, Japanese 13, Malay 9, South American (coloured) 6, Siamese 1.

The number of deaths occurring in the Army was 32 of which 23 were British, the remainder being Indians. The average age at death of the British soldier was 23.6 years, and the causes of death were as follows:-

Soldiers.

Remittent Fever,.

Intermittent Fever,

Enteric Fever,

Bubonic Fever (Plague),

Acute Rheumatism,..

Hepatic Abscess,

Concussion of Brain,

BRITISH.

Wives and Children.

11

Dysentery,

1

1

Diarrhoea,

.1

2

Convulsions,

.1

1

Debility,.

1

1

1

INDIAN.

Soldiers.

Wives and Children.

.2

Phthisis,.

1

Remittent Fever,

2

Premature Birth,

.1

Bubonic Fever (Plague),

Arsenic Poisoning,...

.་.........

Hydrocephalus,