200 



TRINIDAD. 



January, 1850, to 31st of December, 1854, not more than 300 

 were committed for the ordinary criminal offences. The Chinese 

 particularly have proved very insubordinate in regard to the 

 immigration regulations, a fact which, I think, is amply warranted 

 by the great increase of offences since their arrival in the colony, 

 viz., from a yearly average of 124 to 233. Matters, however, 

 have improved since they were made more fully to understand 

 the nature of their obligations. 



Of the grand total of 5,784 offenders, 522 were females, and 

 5,262 males ; giving the proportion of 9'92 of the former to 100 

 of the latter : of the 522 females, 149 were committed for debt. 



The following Table shows the age of the offenders : 



The by far greater number of offences is between the ages of 

 25 and 30 : it is to the grand total as 37 to 100. Next comes 

 that of 20 to 25, so that the number of offenders between 20 and 

 30 years of age is to the same standard as 54 to 100. The number 

 is also large between 15 and 20 ; but there is at once a great 

 decrease from 40 to above. 



As regards the mental cultivation or other training of the 

 prisoners, at their commitment and discharge, I find that for the 

 years 1850, 1851, and 1854, 607 could read and write, which 

 gives the proportion of 17*50 educated to 100 uneducated : 169 

 also learned to read and write during their confinement, and 79 

 were discharged after having acquired a trade during that period. 



The mortality among the prisoners, as might have been an- 

 ticipated, has been very small. In addition to 33 deaths caused 

 by cholera, the mortality was, during the five years, 76, or 16 



