rvices being rendered to the public by the greatly over- burdened Maternal and Child Health Services of the Medical Department.
27. The Society for the Protection of Children receives a substantial Government subvention through the Social Welfare Officer, which helps it to carry on the work, at its six centres, of educating mothers of poor families in infant hygiene and feeding, as well as distributing milk, cod-liver oil, etc., to the babies, and congee "fortified" with multi-purpose food to pregnant women and nursing mothers.
28. As mentioned in earlier reports, the serious social problems raised by mothers abandoning their babies continue to be met by the Foundling Homes, the Police, and the Social Welfare Office working together in the closest co-operation.
29. There are seven voluntary homes which admit abandoned babies, and whenever possible suitable arrangements for adop- tion are made in conjunction with the Child Welfare Section of the Social Welfare Office.
30. Protection of infants against ill-treatment, trafficking, and other offences of a like nature is covered by the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance No. 1 of 1951, which is dealt with more fully in the next chapter.
CHAPTER V
CHILD WELFARE
31. The Child Welfare Section has a long history reaching back to 1932, when it was established as the Muitsai Inspec- torate of the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, with the special task of dealing with the muitsai problem. In 1948 it was transferred to the newly-established Social Welfare Office.
32. Nowadays, of course, the muitsai evil has become largely a thing of the past-although the occasional case still does occur. In 1956 only one authentic muitsai case, in which, however, there was no question of ill-treatment, came before the courts. The main duties of the Child Welfare Section at present are to carry out, on behalf of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, the provisions of the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance No. 1 of 1951. The statutory authority under the ordinance is the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, but he has delegated his
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