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5. The bill was read a third time and passed on the 15th of February and it is therefore now clearly established that no more mui-tsai are to be engaged and that no em- ployer of a girl previously taken as a mui-tsai can exercise any proprietory rights over her.
The only question remaining is with regard to Part III of the Ordinance which deals mainly with the question of registration and the payment of wages. The Ordinance provides that this Part is not to come into operation until such date as may be fixed by proclamation by the Governor in Council.
6. After very careful consideration I am convinced that the introduction of a sys- tem of registration should not be attempted at present. The Chinese have accepted with, on the whole, a very good grace the abolition of a system which has for many generations formed an integral part of their family life, but if registration is imposed upon them I fear that they will take a very different view. Like most Asiatics, the Chinese have a deep-rooted objection to any form of interference with the privacy of their domestic life and I know that the idea of registration which they consider, probably rightly, will even- tually involve some system of inspection, is most repugnant to them. The enforcement of such a measure would therefore be most unpopular.
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7. It may, of course, prove to be essential to insist on registration in order to secure the observance of the law. In that case the consequences must be faced but at present the spirit in which the decision to abolish the system has been received leads me to hope that it will not be necessary. I ask at least that the introduction may be deferred till it is shown to be unavoidable. If the Secretary for Chinese Affairs lets it be known that the introduction of a system of registration depends largely upon the spirit in which the law is observed I have little doubt that the Chinese community will co-operate to make it work successfully. Attempts to evade it by employing new mui-tsai will be discouraged by public opinion, information will be given to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs and one or two successful prosecutions will probably settle the question for good and all.
8. As stated in my public despatch, no mui-tsai have yet expressed the wish to leave their employers and no employers have yet turned their mui-tsai adrift. At present there- fore it looks as if it will not be necessary to take any special steps to provide for girls who have ceased to be employed and that we shall in the future as in the past only have to deal with girls who have been taken from the custody of their employers owing to ill-treatment. For such cases the existing methods and machinery will suffice.
If, however, a system of registration is enforced it is quite possible that employers will deliberately dispense with the services of a large number of girls in order to embar- rass the Government and it would probably be desirable to meet such a move by requir- ing the employers to provide for the maintenance of such girls until they reach a stated age or can be provided for otherwise Obviously, however, it would be undesirable to impose this liability until it is proved to be necessary.
9. The question of the payment of wages which is dealt with in the same part of the Ordinance should also, I now think, be left in abeyance. Now that the girls know that they are at liberty to leave their employers they can if they wish make their own terms for remaining and demand the payment of wages as a condition of doing so. Probably, how- ever, the acceptance of wages would be regarded as reducing them to the status of a paid servant, which they would consider lower than that which they hold at present, and as relieving the employer of the necessity of providing for their marriage so that it is to be anticipated that in the great majority of cases they will prefer to stay where they are on their present footing.
10. The remaining clause of Part III deals with the power of making regulations. Apart from the questions of registration and wages I do not think that any regulations are needed at the present moment since the parts of the Ordinance which are now in opera- tion seem to afford ample protection to the mui-tsai. I suggest therefore that the best course will be to defer bringing Part III of the Ordinance into operation unless and until it is shown to be necessary to do so.
I have, etc.,
*Not printed.
R. E. STUBBS.
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