98
CARL T SMITH
girls asked for the same kind of food and clothing they had had in their former homes, the authorities were pestered by girls asking them to arrange marriages, and, in addition, poor parents wanted to hand over their daughters to the care of the Commissioner.
The speaker answered the question of ill-treatment as follows: Girls sold to wealthy families are usually well off, doing little work, of those sold to the middle class some have to work fairly hard and some do little work, it is more or less a question of luck. In wealthy families the girls act as companions to their master's children, wait on their mistresses, go on errands, do a little serving and attend to the wants of female visitors. In middle class families, they help in cooking, sewing, washing, cleansing and sweeping, carry light loads, marketing and such general work as the master's daughters would have to do. The percentage of cases in which the mistresses are exacting, bad-tempered or cruel-hearted is infinitesimal. These would treat their own daughters no better if daughters were as naughty, lazy and disobedient as some of the servant girls are... Parents are in constant touch with the girl, who can report bad treatment. Masters usually check mistresses' and concubines' bad treatment of girls, as they care too much for their good name. Neighbours and other servants are bound to learn of harsh treatment. Cruelty when reported is investigated by local authorities (in China) and punished.
The girls were generally bought between the ages of four to thirteen. They cannot be expected to do anything but odds and ends until they are ten or twelve. Their actual period of service is from twelve to eighteen. After eighteen they begin to assert their rights and so arrangements must be taken for their marriage.
Mr. Lau Chu-pak went on at some length to comment on other aspects of the system. His remarks suggest that he viewed it in a favourable light and was not in favour of its abolition, even though he expressly said, “It is of no material importance to me whether the system be abolished or not." What was to be considered was "how far will its abolition affect the welfare of the poor, and whether its abolition alone will improve the conditions of the girls and their parents.
The Hon. Mr. Ho Fook began his remarks by suggesting that Mrs. Haselwood, as chief critic of the system, was not in a good position to judge the manner in which it worked. If the system was so rife with