ENG-1964 — Page 190

LAW, ORDER AND RECORDS

163

traditional forms prescribed by Chinese custom, but in supposed conformity with Articles 980 to 988 of the pre-war civil code of China. This unsatisfactory situation and the best means of remedying it are still under consideration by Government.

The registration of births and deaths is compulsory. Facilities are provided at 18 registries while, in the outlying areas and islands, births are registered at local rural committee offices by District Registrars during regular visits, and deaths are registered at local police stations.

A birth which has not been registered within one year after the date of birth may be post-registered with the consent of the Registrar. Most of these post-registration cases are in respect of adults and older children born in the New Territories where facilities for registration were not available until 1932, and, when provided, were not fully used until recent years. Since a birth certificate is now essential for many purposes including entering into a school and obtaining a passport for overseas employment, there was a constant flow of some 500 applications each month, mostly from villagers in the New Territories, where four mobile post-registration teams were in operation.

The Births and Deaths Registry is responsible for the compilation of the Colony's vital statistics. There were only 16 illegitimate children registered without the name of the father in the birth entry.

An Adopted Children Register is maintained at the General Register Office under the Adoption Ordinance, 1956. During the year 111 adoptions were registered as compared with 145 in 1963.