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With reference to Part III. of the Ordinance and the Regulations made under Part IV., section 33, dealing with the registration and regulation of Brothels, returns are given in Table III. shewing the number of prostitutes registered every month and the total number of registered Brothels and inmates during each month of the year. From these returns it will be seen that 512 prostitutes were registered during 1891. The system, introduced by one of my predecessors in office, Mr. (now Sir) JAMES RUSSELL, of orally examining each woman as to her willingness to enter a brothel and explaining to her that she is a free agent, is still continued, and no woman is allowed to enter a brothel until she has stated in my presence that she is doing so of her own free will. There can be no doubt that this system of registration acts as a great check on those persons who carry on a traffic in girls, and prevents them from taking into brothels unwilling victims, which they would most certainly attempt to do, were the system of registration removed. In almost every case, if not in all, applicants for registra- tion have been in brothels before they come to Hongkong. If there is the least ground for suspicion regarding any applicant, she is detained in order to allow further enquiries to be made. In a few cases such detention results in the girl abandoning her former mode of life, but the fact that, in the majority of instances, those who are detained and who are thus afforded every opportunity of giving up their mode of life, declare they are not acting under duress or compulsion and insist on being registered, shews that applicants for registration in Hongkong are as a rule persons who have been accustomed to the life they are leading, and are not entering upon it for the first time when they come to Hongkong.
Seeing that there is no registration fee or charge of any kind in the case of registered houses, it may seem strange that unregistered houses should continue in almost as large numbers as when fees were charged for registration. But the reason is not far to seek. The inmates of unregistered brothels have not to undergo any enquiries regarding their freedom, and it is undoubtedly mainly to avoid these enquiries that application for registration is not made. It is, therefore, most important, in the interests of the woinen who inhabit them, to strictly suppress unregistered houses. When the new Ordinance came into force, a difficulty was experienced in this respect, for, while it gave powers to enter any house reasonably suspected of being a brothel, there was no express power to break into a house or to arrest the person in charge of it. Attention having been called to this, Ordinance 14 of 1891 was passed giving the requisite powers. Since the date of the passing of that Ordinance, there have been 35 prosecutions against unregistered houses, in 31 of which there were convictions, the other 4 cases having been dismissed (see Table II.). In these houses 21 girls were found, many of whom availed themselves of the opportunity afforded them of giving up their occupation.
Female Emigration.
Hongkong being one of the chief centres for Chinese emigration, precautions have to be taken to prevent persons being brought into this Colony for purposes of emigration under false pretences. To prevent this all intending emigrants are passed by the Emigration Officer, and, at the passing of female emigrants, an Officer of this Department is always present in order to assist the Emigration Officer in enquiring whether the female emigrants are emigrating of their own free will. In Table IV. a return. is given showing the number of women, girls, and boys passed in this way in 1890 and 1891. The total number in the former year was 5,009 and in the latter, 6,227. Those who were found to be un- willing emigrants, and who on that account were detained last year, were very few in number, which shows that the attempts made to get unwilling female emigrants passed are not so frequent as formerly or, what is not at all improbable, that those who are engaged in this business succeed in so coaching the emigrants that they are able to assume an appearance of freedom which they do not really possess, which prevents their unwillingness to enigrate being detected.
Besides the female emigrants passed at the Emigration Office, this Office, through the aid of the Inspectors attached to it and of the Pó Leung Kuk, was able to rescue a good many girls who had been brought to the Colony for the purposes of emigration, and who were either being smuggled out of the Colony without passing the examination before the Emigration Officer, or who on their arrival in the Colony were found to have been brought here under false pretences.
Home for Girls.
The wonen and girls rescued under the Ordinance have found a home in a portion of the Tung Wa Hospital. The accommodation there is both insufficient and unsuitable. The Pó Leung Kuk Committee is anxious to have a proper Home for housing rescued wonen and girls, and a subscription, which amounts to $30,000, has been raised among the Chinese community in aid of the building and maintenance of such an institution. The Society has also applied for a Government grant. Their application together with a report which I drew upon the working of the Society has been laid before. the Legislative Council for its consideration.
Re-organisation of P8 Léung Kuk.
The Committee of the Pó Léung Kuk, in addition to applying for a grant from the Government, has requested that the Society may be placed on a more satisfactory basis. And this, I think, is very desirable. At present the Committee is elected annually, and, though the Committees of this and former years have worked zealously and successfully, there have been occasions when this has not been the case. To obviate this, I think the constitution of the Society should be altered. Instead of the Committee being chauged annually as at present, I would suggest that a permanent Committee consist- ing of eight members, who are interested in the work of the Society and who have already worked hard in connection with it, should be appointed, their appointment to be subject to the approval of the