Mr. Graham White, sur, yester-doy asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, if, in view fof the great interest in the Report of the Governor of Hongkong, dated Sune 25, 1990 on the working of the mui tsai regulations, he would range for this Report to be issued White Paper.
Dr. Shields replied, Yes, Sir. We shall be glad to have this report Printeg and published.
Subsequently Dr. Shields sent to Mr. Graham White the following extract At the beginning of April less than 900 registrations had been effected. With the loyal assistance fof the District Watch Committee ud the distribution of thousands of "regulars, the number reached 1,000 by the end of April and 4,188 bythe
satisfactory res cos ay. X consider th estimate of 10,000 of the total nur ber of mul tsai resident in the colony was only a guess and it pear probably tat Ht was too Any diminution of the number of mui tsai that may have been formerly supposed to exist in the colony may be accounted for by the action of employers in returning mul tsai to their parents either voluntarily or by request. Within six months 52 such cases have been brought to the notice of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs. Apart from these eases, the Governor is informed on }good authority that many restorations have been privately made and also that mui tsai have been sent to the country homes in China of employers of the middle and upper classes, In the cases of which the cognizance the return of mui tsai is not made without inquiry.
claims by parents to recover their daughters have been disallowed and 6 out of 8 cases the girl, at her own request, has been allowed to. remain registered with her employ ex. For example, Tsou Kuk, a girl of 10, resisted most strongly her natural mother's attempt to recover her from her employer. She was very happy where she was and well-treated, whereas she feared her natural mother would only sell her elsewhere. As for her father, at the Sight of him she burst into tears fand flatly refused to go to him, Cheung Hing, age 15, contented and welleated for at her employer's home, declined to go to her mother who, she said, would try to take her Jabread. These cases are mentioned to show that the lot of mui tsai by mo means an unhappy one. The mien and general appearance many mui tsai, whom the Secretary for Chinese Affairs has observed of late being registered in his Depart ment, go far to refute such hasty generalizations that go on cruelty and ill-treatment which from time to time do come to light and are unfortunately only too true.
Tt has been and always. will be the policy of this Government to deal faiely with euch cases, Since December' 1, 1929, 11 convictions have been obtained on charges of cruelty, though it was not found that in every case the girl was a mui tsai. Tu one case gross cruelty was found by the magistrate who Imposed a sentence of_six months' imprisonment without the option of a fine. In another ease, when the Victim was not a mui tsai, a sentence of three months without the option of a fine was imposed. three cases the fine was $100, in one it was $500, in three $50 and in one 25. In one case a bail of $500 was: estreated and a warrant for arrest Tu the eleventh case the rate imposed a caution. been brought up for registration, in some cases by bdat women who pleaded ignorance; in others of employers who stated that they returned to the colony too late" to register by June 1. The Secretary for Chinese Affairs, being satisfied with the bona fides and absence of undesirable features in these cases, caused the girls to be registered 38 Thad authorized him to use his di cretion during the first week or two after June J. The situation will be-carefully watched and it has Seen made clear by proclamation, adver-fisement and pamphlet that it is the firm intention of this Government to enforce the law with reference to mui tsai, Should eases be found of unregistered mui tsai the employers will be prosecuted. There has been one case under Section 2 of Ordin-unregistered mui tsai Into the colony and the defendant was fined $25.
The present position may be regarded as not unsatisfactory, and T do not consider that any further measures are at present required to promote the policy expressed under the existing law,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.