12
12
if he had possessed it - I can have no hesitation in saying that in what he had stated in regard to the "Frederick" the writer of the Memorandum has been misinformed.
7.
At the same time it is not to be denied that the system of conducting emigration from Macao has been much improved since the appointment of the present Governor vice Adml da Souza.
Formerly no control was attempted over the crimps employed to collect Emigrants, and the frauds and violence with which their operations were carried out led to outbreaks and to repeated conflicts among the Chinese in which the crimps and those connected with them were put to death with circumstances of revolting cruelty.
In 1865 Adml. da Souza, who had recently been appointed to the Government of Macao, issued a set of regulations by which the depots, the agents, and the brokers employed to collect Emigrants were brought under the supervision of the Government.
The depots between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. were inspected; corporal punishment was prohibited; and emigrants before embarkation were transferred each day for 4 days to a government building in which they were examined in the presence of public officers as to their willingness to emigrate, with full opportunity to refuse if they chose to do so.
During that time, moreover, they were...