302
CERTIFICATES OF IDENTITY ISSUED TO CHINESE PROCEEDING TO THE UNITed States.
The issue of these certificates has entailed a great deal of work on this department. The pro- spect of going to the United States was so inviting that people were willing to pay large sums to get there. Frauds of all kinds were attempted and a syndicate was formed which guaranteed to pass applicants through safely on payment of $400. Independent brokers made as much as $100 on each certificate, and sureties received thirty or forty dollars.
On taking over the work of Registrar General, I found that applicants were only required to shew that they were "other than labourers." I thought that more was necessary and required that they should also prove that they were what they alleged themselves to be. It quickly followed that appli- cants, who had until then been posing as merchants, now appeared as accountants. When that device failed, they sank to the position of shroffs, and when this proved untenable, they called themselves salesmen or shop-assistants. It has now been laid down that only those who belong to the specifically named exempt classes, viz. officials, teachers, students, merchants, or travellers for curiosity or pleasure, can claim a right of entry. This has relieved this office of a great deal of work and the only difficulty remaining is the interpretation of the terms.
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In order that the Registrar General may have an opportunity of testing the truth of their state- ments, applicants have to reside six months in the Colony before their applications will be entertained. A bond for $500 is still demanded, but is of no practical use, as the Registrar General has never received the authoritative information necessary to enable him to enforce it, although it is known that several persons in possession of certificates issued by the Registrar General have been refused admission.
506 certificates were issued during the year as against 705 in 1897. The number issued in the first quarter was 246, in the second, 103, in the third, 120, and in the last, 37.
POPULATION.
The following is the estimate of the population of the Colony on the 30th June, 1898 :--
British and Foreign Community.
15,190
MARRIAGES.
Chinese.
239,210
(Ordinance No. 14 of 1875.)
Total.
254,400
The number of Marriages solemnized during the year was 86 as compared with 93 in 1897 and 71 in 1896.
One Civil Marriage celebrated by the Registrar is worthy of notice. Both parties were non- Christian Chinese. The husband had been naturalized as a British subject in one of the Australian Colonies, and the marriage was celebrated to enable his wife to accompany him on his return there.
The number of marriages between Chinese in Victoria on the occasion of which permits to fire crackers were issued, was 265 as compared with 251 in 1897, and 207 in 1896.
BIRTHS AND Deaths. (Ordinance No. 16 of 1896.)
Table IV gives the number of Births and Deaths registered during the year.
The death-rates at various ages and the causes of death will be found in Tables IV B. and IVC. The Births among the British and Foreign Community were exactly the same in number as in 1897, viz., 243, though the same proportion as regards the sexes was not maintained, the number of boys born being ten more than in 1897.
The Births registered as having occurred in the Chinese Community were 963 as against 1,125 in 1897, and 978 in 1896.
There were 21 prosecutions under the Ordinance in 1898, under the following headings
Unlawful removal of dead bodies, ....
Death, failing to report,
....19 cases.
2 ""
The number of Deaths in the British and Foreign Community was 291 as compared with 204 in 1897. Of these 49 died from Plague. The number of deaths among the Chinese was 5,383 as compared with 4,484 in 1897. 1,120 died from Plague. 255 of the deaths among the British and Foreign Community and 1,753 among the Chinese were certified to by a registered Medical Practitioner or were the subject of a Coroner's Enquiry. The following table shows the number of deaths and the death-rate per 1,000 during the last eight years :-
1891
Estimated Population.
1895
1896
1892 1893
1894
1897 1898 British and Foreign,. 10,494 10,590 10,686 10,782
10,828 12,709 13,700 15,190 Chinese,....... 214,320 221,072 228,038 235,224 237,670 226,710 235,010 239,210 Total,. ..........224,814 231,662 238,724 246,006 248,498 239,419 248,710 254,400
5,374 4,906
British and Foreign,...
18.20
17.37
Chinese,
24.18
21.30
Total,
23.90
21.18
22.71
Deaths. 5,442 7.407 Death-rate per 1,000.
17.97 23.28 17.64 19.91 14.89 19.15 22.93 30.42 21.92
24.75 19.08 22.50 30.11 21.73 24.49 18.85 22.30
5,400 5,860 4,688
5,674
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