259
Question 21.-Is it customary among the Chinese for the younger daughters of a house to participate in the duties ordinarily performed by domestic servants such as the sweeping of floors, the cleaning of spittoons, dusting of rooms and the like?
Answer:-Yes. Not only the younger ones but all daughters. Unless the family employs many servants daughters do perform household duties. It is considered by the Chinese to be a virtue in their daughters to do household duties.
Question 22.—Has the parent of a mui-tsai a right to redeem his child and if so upon what terms?
Answer:-Yes. The Chinese have the greatest respect for the natural affection between parents and children. If parents desire the return of their daughter after being presented to another family as a mui-tsai for a reunion of their family, a Court of Justice would order the return of the daughter subject to payment of compensation. But in most cases the natural feeling among Chinese in such cases would not oppose the return of the girl provided it is a bona fide case of reunion. Compensation would be paid for the up-keep of the girl calculated in a nominal sum upon the number of years she has been in the Master's or Mistress' family.