Sessional_Paper_1908 — Page 495

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The estimated population to the middle of 1907 is as follows:-

Non-Chinese Civil Community,

Chinese:-

City of Victoria (including Peak and Stonecutters' Island).

12,700

175,740

Villages of Hongkong,

16,660

Kowloon,

71,950

Floating population,.

43,530

Mercantile Marine,

2,700

Total Chinese Civil Population,

310,580

Army (average strength),...

3,920

Navy (average strength),

2,157

Total Population of the Colony in 1907 exclusive of the New Territories (except New Kowloon),

329,357

The Chinese population of the New Territories (exclusive of New Kowloon) was 85,011 at the Census taken in 1901 but there are no data as yet on which to base an estimate of the increase in population (if any) in this portion of the Colony since that date.

The average strength of the troops in Garrison during 1907 was 98 British Officers and 1,461 British N. C. O.s and men with 36 Indian Officers and 1,833 Indian N. C. O.s and men, and 54 Chinese attached to the Royal Engineers. There was also 370 British women and children, and 68 Indian women and children, making a total of 438.

The average strength of the British fleet was as follows:-Europeans permanently in the Colony 130, Europeans occasionally in the Colony 5.5), Chinese permantly in the Colony 130, Chinese occasionally in the Colony 130-making a total of 5,950. For the purpose of estimating the population it is consid rel a fair average to include one-third only of those "occasionally" resident in the Colony; this gives 2,157 and of these 173 are Chinese.

The Chinese boat population (exclusive of the New Territories), is estimated for 1907 as 43,530 and the number of boats belonging to the Port and the villages of Hongkong, is as follows:-

Passenger boats, Cargo boats,..

Steam-launches,

Lighters,

Harbour boats,..

Fishing boats,

Trading junks,

2,555

1,764

266

186

1,415

6,935

2,666

15,787

The number enuinerated at the Census taken in November 1906 was 6,459 but this was only a month after the great Typhoon by which many of these boats were destroyed. There are in addition 9,119 boats in the New Territories.

The population of the Colony is primarily divided into Chinese and Non-Chinese. The Non-Chinese comprised at the Census of 1906 a white population of 12,925 of whom 6,085 were civilians while 4,429 belonged to the Navy and 2,411 to the Army. The coloured races (Non-Chinese) numbered 8,500 and included East Indians, Asiatic Portuguese, Japanese, Filipinos, Malays, Africans, Persians and a few others. The Table on page 12 shows a similar classification of the Non-Chinese population for the year 1907 and from this it will be seen that the total Non-Chinese population for 1907-inclusive of Army and Navy is estimated at 18,550 while the total Chinese population-inclusive of Army and Navy is estimated at 310,807.

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