Sessional_Paper_1931 — Page 124

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The population living in the area referred to by the Director of Medical and Sanitary Services was at most 112,510, if we include the non-Chinese living on land. If the area occupied was much the same as it is now (which is, however, somewhat unlikely), the average density would have been 281 per acre, not 400. Similarly in 1901 the density had not risen to 700 per acre. The population recorded by the Census of 1901 was 283,975, but the population of Victoria itself including the Feak was only 184,142, and the density, assuming an area of 400 acres, was 460 per acre, not 700.

It has often been stated that statistics can be made to prove anything. This is very far from the truth, but statistics must be read with an unbiassed mind and with a full appreciation of all sources of possible error.

The opinion still persists, however, that the population is now in the neighbour- hood of a million and some disappointment was expressed when the preliminary figures of the population, as disclosed by this Census, were first published. The greatly increased figure for the population of Kowloon Peninsula apparently satisfied the critics, but the much smaller increase in the City of Victoria and on Hong Kong Island generally was disbelieved.

The Monthly Water Return, issued by the Water Authority, is quoted to sup- port this idea that the whole population of the Island has not been disclosed, whatever may be the state as regards Kowloon. The return for August 1931 shows as follows:

Consumption in Million Gallons..

Hong Kong 396.22

Kowloon

180.46

Estimated Population

380,750

298,600

Consumption per head per day in Gallons..

33.6

20.1

This seems, at first sight, to furnish a very strong argument in favour of the critics, as there is no apparent reason why the residents of Kowloon should consume so much less water per head per day than the inhabitants of the Island. The follow- ing are, however, a few of the hidden reasons:

(i) There is no rider main system in Kowloon and this system is notorious-

ly wasteful.

(ii) The flush system is more extensively used on the Island than in Kowloon and a much greater proportion of the installations are on the public main.

(iii) Hong Kong is hilly, Kowloon is flat. The pressure in the mains in Hong Kong is much higher than the pressure in Kowloon and the loss from seepage at all pipe junctions must, therefore, be much greater in Hong Kong.

(iv) A considerable number of people travel from Kowloon to Hong Kong

daily and work in Hong Kong.

As is stated earlier in this report, the system of enumeration was the same on both sides of the harbour and it is unlikely, therefore, that there were more omissions in Hong Kong than in Kowloon. No reason for doubting the accuracy of the figures has so far been adduced.

It follows, therefore, that the vital statistics (death rates, birth rates &c.) publish- ed in recent years, which have been based on a greatly exaggerated population, have been false and should be corrected.

The following table is an attempt to give for each year of the intercensal period an approximate idea of the population at that time. Such a table can be a matter of guess-work only as it is impossible to guage at all accurately the effect of the strike and boycott of 1925 on the population.