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other it is in my fondness for anything connected with the military”.
Francis was involved with a number of organisations founded for the benefit of the Chinese. In 1878 a number of Chinese, concerned about the traffic in women and girls, petitioned the Governor for permission to form an Anti-kidnapping Association. The Governor appointed a committee of four, including Francis, to investigate the matter. The committee met in 1878 and 1879 and Francis put forward “Suggestions for the organisation of the proposed Chinese Society for the Protection of Women and Children". He proposed that a company limited by guarantee be formed with a management committee of seven, two to retire annually and their successors to be elected by the shareholders, the Governor having a right of veto. The objects were to be the protection of women and children by detecting and suppressing kidnapping, the restoration of women and children to their homes (if that were not possible making provision for their future), providing temporary accommodation and a refuge for the homeless and raising funds. He also proposed that the Society should employ detectives to be sworn in as special constables with powers to act against kidnappers. (The activities of these detectives led to a number of cases in the courts in some of which Francis was engaged). In the result the Po Leung Kuk, or Society for the Protection of the Innocent, was formed in 1880. Francis drafted rules and regulations for the running of the Society. They stood the test of time as was affirmed by Governor William Robinson when he laid the foundation stone of a new home for women and girls in 1896. After reviewing the history of the Society he said “And let me say here that the rules and regulations under which the Society has so long and successfully worked were drawn up by our eminent Q.C. Mr. Francis. The society has proved itself worthy of confidence and I ask you to concur with me in the hope I now express that its future success may be greater still". That hope has been fully confirmed. The Society still flourishes and provides many services in the fields of health, education and welfare for children, women and the elderly.
Francis was also a member of the Finance Committee of the Alice Memorial Hospital founded by a prominent Chinese, Ho