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and the Summary Court was abolished by conferring upon the Supreme Court, under a Judge and Puisne Judge, a summary jurisdiction at law and in equity (Ordinance 14 of 1873). The effect of this reconstitution of the Hongkong Supreme Court was to assimilate it to that which had been established in Shanghai for British subjects in China and Japan under an Order in Council. The Registrar General's Department also underwent some changes. The establishment of a system of registering all births and deaths (Ordinance 7 of 1872) necessitated the addition of a new registration branch, whilst by another measure (Ordinance 2 of 1876) the Registrar General was divested of the judicial functions he had hitherto exercised in connection with the working of the Contagious Diseases Ordinance. But the powers of the Registrar General to order persons to undergo periodical medical examinations and to be subsequently detained in hospital were still reserved to that officer. The Survey Department was not considered to work satisfactorily for some time previous to the resignation of Mr. L. H. Moorsom (October 5, 1872), provisionally succeeded by Lieutenant McHardy, R.E., who was succeeded (July 21, 1873) by Mr. J. M. Price, as Surveyor General. This Department was now enlarged by constituting the Public Gardens and Afforestation office as a Sub-Department (December 15, 1873) under the Surveyor General, assisted by that Advisory Committee (thenceforth known as the Public Gardens Committee) which had been appointed in January, 1872, and by the appointment of an Assistant Surveyor General (September 9, 1874) in the person of Mr. E. Bowdler. The office of the Head of the Survey Department, the principal spending branch of the Civil Service, was enhanced in importance by appointing the Surveyor General (by warrant of 17th February, 1877) a member of both the Legislative and Executive Councils. In the Medical Department under Dr. R. W. McCoy (since May 30, 1872), succeeded, after his death, by Dr. G. Dods (April 10, 1873) and subsequently by Dr. Ph. Ayres (since November 4, 1873), there was at first some friction which culminated in the