Sessional_Paper_1921 — Page 45

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HONGKONG.

PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE CENSUS OF HONGKONG, 1921.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor, 23rd June, 1921.

No. 1921

5

The Census of the Colony was taken in the City of Victoria, Shaukiwan and the Kowloon Peninsula (except Kowloon City) on April 24th; in the New Territories and Hongkong Villages between March 24th and April 24th; in the Harbour from April 23rd to April 26th.

2. The figures given in the annexed tables were gathered from the totals given in the enumerators' books, the casting of which has been carefully checked.

3. The taking of the Census gave rise to an abundant crop of puerile rumours, which gained wide currency and caused no little alarm especially among the families of lower and middle class Chinese; a discussion of overcrowling by the Sanitary Board shortly before the date of the Census without doubt gravely affected the accuracy of the returns made by householders in the congested areas.

4. The date fixed for the Census proved to be very unfortunate :--

(a.) In the New Territories the majority of the inhabitants were found to be absent from their houses the whole day long, being busily engaged in preparations for planting the first crop of paddy, and the enumerators experienced considerable difficulty in obtaining the requisite information. (b.) In the Island of Hongkong and the Mainland, large numbers of the Chinese adult male population were absent in their native villages, the date being the middle of the Ching Ming Festival; thus in several middle class residential sections the females were found to equal or exceed the males. The enumerators also reported difficulty in many cases, where all the adult males in a family were absent, in obtaining the necessary informa- tion from the females left behind.

5. The Ching Ming Festival also caused great difficulties in holding together a sufficient number of enumerators, many enumerators who had been appointed and care- fully trained resigned or left the Colony without notice just as the schedules were ready for distribution, and others had to be found and receive hasty instructions at the last moment.

6. The factors mentioned in paragraphs 3 and 4 undoubtedly reduced the numbers reported in the case of the land population, but it is as yet impossible to form any estimate of what percentage should be aded to the figures reported to arrive at the true total of the normal population of the Colony.

I consider however that the figures found for the floating population are very near the truth, and give an accurate idea of the normal average floating population, which at times is abnormally increased for short periods by the presence of the deep sea fishing fleet, for which the Colony cannot be said to be the home port: this fleet was absent at the time the Census was taken.

J. D. LLOYD,

Census Officer.

CENSUS OFFICE,

12th May, 1921.

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