122 tJlE BRITISH EMPIRE: — HONG KOKCl The births and deaths for the last five years were as follows : —
Year Births Deaths Births per 1,000 Deaths per 1,000 1893 . 1894 . 1895 . 1896 . 1897 . 1,801 1,455 1,427 1,233 1,368 5,422 7,407 5,400 5,860 4,688 7-54 5-91 5-63 5-15 5-50 22-71 30-11 j 21-31 1 24 48 i 18-85
There is a constant flow of emigration and immigration from and to China passing through Hong Kong. In 1896 the number of Chinese emigrants was 66,822, and of immigrants 119,468 ; and in 1897, 62,831 and 115,207 respectively. Instruction. In 1897 there were 109 schools subject to Government supervision, as com- pared with 111 in 1896. Attending these schools in 1897 were 6,787 pupils, as compared with 6,313 in 1896 ; the total expenditure in 1897 being 66,214 dollars, as compared with 68,108 dollars in 1896. There are also many private schools, with over 2,000 pupils, a police school (with nearly 400 scholars) and a reformatory industrial school (with about 100 scholars). Justice and Crime. There is a supreme court, a police magistrate's court, and a marine magistrate's court. The number of criminal convictions before the supreme court in 1894 was 21 ; 1895, 21 ; 1896, 27 ; 1897, 39 ; before the police magistrate's court, 1894, 10,477 ; 1895, 17,016 ; 1896, 17,707 ; 1897, 11,185. The total number of prisoners in gaol at the end of 1896 was 425, of whom 37 were Europeans. There is a police force in the colony numbering 661 men, of whom 122 are British, 210 Sikhs, and the remainder Chinese. Finance. The colony has paid its local establishments since 1855, since which year it has held generally a surplus of revenue over and above its fixed expenditure. The public revenue and expenditure of the colony were as follows in each of the last five years : —
Tear
1893 1894 1895 1896 1897
Revenue
Ordinary
Dollars 1,940,260 2,138,228 2,275,577 2,250,179 3,352,366
Premiums from Land and Water Account
Dollars 137,874 148,974 210,650 359,698 334 548
Expenditure
Ordinary
Dollars 1,903,695 2,286,592 2,134,530 2,405,399 2,513,693
Extraordinary, in- cluding Defensive Works and Water Account
Dollars 355,144 350,818 1,024,812 300,130 127,716
