22
Enclosure.
Minute by the Registrar General on Mr. Justice Russell's Report on Child Adoption and Domestic Service among Hongkong Chinese.
Having made independent enquiries into the subject of this Report, and having, in the course of its preparation, discussed its contents with Mr. RUSSELL, I am in a position to say that His Honour's statement of the facts connected with Adoption and Service is correct, and that the method he proposes of dealing in future with this difficult question is the one least free from objection that I think it possible to devise.
When I laid the proposal before the representatives of the Chinese Communi- ty, they accepted it at once, as the best possible method of dealing with suspicious persons who have young girls in their houses either as adopted daughters or as domestic servants; and they further intimated their perfect willingness to assist the Registrar General in his investigation of such cases.
I need hardly say that, personally, I shall be glad to do my best to give effect to the scheme, in the event of its receiving, as I trust it may, the sanction of the Secretary of State.
FREDERICK STEWART,
Registrar General.
(Signed)
Hongkong, 14th August, 1883.
(4)
(C.S.O. 41)
2152
Registrar General to Colonial Secretary.
REGISTRAR GENERAL'S OFFICE,
HONGKONG, 31st August, 1883.
No. 73.
SIR,
I have the honour to inform you that it was reported to me, last week, that WONG A-HO, keeper of Registered Brothel No. 80, had a number of young girls in her private house, No. 233, Hollywood Road, right opposite the brothel. I accordingly sent one of the Inspectors under the "Contagious Diseases Ordinances to the house to ask that the children might be brought to see me. He returned with 17, of whom 14 were girls and 3 were boys.
17
2. Following the course.recommended by Mr. Justice RUSSELL in his recent report on Child Adoption and Domestic Service, I requested Mr. LEUNG A-ON and Mr. C'HAN KWAN-1, of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children, to sit with me in investigating the case. They were good enough to attend at once, and the result was that we were unanimously of opinion that 11 of the girls, ranging in age from 16 to 7, whom WANG A-HO claimed, had come into her posses- sion by purchase. The other three girls were claimed by servants in the brothel as their own children, and we had no proof that this was not the case.
3. At the close of the investigation I ordered WANG A-HO to find security in $500 for each of the eleven girls that she claimed; and the claimants of the other three security in $200 each. I also directed that the photographs of all the 14 should be brought to me in the course of this week, and I am able to report that that has now been done. I have also directed that the girls shall be brought to this office once a quarter, in order that I may see how they are being treated, and have an opportunity of repeating to them that in this Colony no one can under any circumstances arising out of Adoption or Service deprive them of their personal liberty.
4. I have acted in this matter in my capacity as Protector of Chinese, and probably the urgency of the case sufficiently justifies the course I have taken. I think, however, that it would be well to have legislative authority for such pro- ceedings, and I am at present sketching out a draft of an Ordinance to invest the Registrar General with all necessary powers, and to give persons who may consider themselves aggrieved the right of appeal from his decisions.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
The Honourable W. H., MARSH, C.M.G.,
FREDERICK STEWART, Registrar General.
See (2.)
&c.,
Colonial Secretary, &C.
&c.