Sessional_Paper_1907 — Page 652

HONGKONG.

REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF THE COLONY FOR 1906.

No. 16

1907

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government.

A partial census of the Colony was taken on the night of Tuesday, 20th November, 1906. The Census was confined to the original Colony of Hongkong and to that part of the New Territories, called New Kowloon, which lies to the South of the Kowloon Range of hills. The total civil population enumerated was 319,803. The portion of the New Terri- tories North of the Kowloon Range and not included in this Census was found at the Census of 1901 to possess a population of 85,011. The date of the Census was originally fixed for the 30th June, but was subsequently changed, on account of the prevalence of plague at that time of the year.

I was appointed Census Officer, and was able to directly control the operations of the Police, as well as those of the enumerators and clerks employed by the Registrar General's Department. This arrangement proved a success, though my own share of the work was of course very largely increased.

2. Preliminary Returns were published on the oth December, 1906. The figures were taken from the enumerators' books. There was an error of about 2,800 persons in the Chinese Boat Population, owing to certain totals having been carried forward from one book, to another by the Water Police, and another of about 2,000 in the Chinese Land Population.j The latter was due to faulty addition on the part of some of the Chinese enumerators.

3. The Census of the Chinese residing in the City of Victoria was taken, as on previous -occasions, by a staff of specially engaged enumerators, with the exception of certain areas which were done by the Police. The Chinese Boat Population of the Harbour was taken by the Water Police, while the Harbour Department enumerated the persons on board th British and Foreign merchant vessels.