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respectable gentlemen of the colony have come to complain to me, that the priest leaving the communion on coming down the steps bas been beckoned to by these women. My hon. friend is aware that when I received a petition on the subject I called for the papers of his de- partment relating to it. I have found these complaints were made long before my arrival in the colony. I found the character of that street was notorious, that petitions had come before the Government, but that nothing had really been done to stop the nuisance. After sorae petitions had boou sout in and many in- quiries made, Bishop Raimondi was told that he had his remedy in the Courts of Law. I entirely differ with my hon. friend the Registrar-General in thinking that this class of women cannot be dealt with by our own Ordinances. And as I have tonched upon the matter, I may men- tion to the Conueil that in the very last letter of complaint on the subject I received areference was made to a similar and equally painful subject. That letter to which I now refer thanked me for having put an end to another scandal which for some years had been allowed in this colony When it becomes known-particularly out of this Colouy-it will hardly be credited that it could have existed here. A number vď ladies who came out from France to attend in this Colony to the educational and charitable wants of little children, who have their school in one of the principal thoroughfares of this Colony-what did I find on visiting this institu-
tion? The whole of the front of the bouse was closed up; none of these nuus could come to the front of the house. Why? BecauSS the Registrar-General bad licensed opposite to that house a room for the examination of prostitutes. The room faced on to the street. Nobody passing could avoid seeing it, and a gigantic mirror there, everybody knowing its 1190. Through that door groups of women passed in and out under the provisions of this Ordinance. Well, I was able to put a stop to that, but I have no hesitation in say ing it was a disgrace to this Colony that such a room should have been allowed to exist, not merely opposite to a convent, but opposite to any educational institution. And when I gave instructions to bave it removed elsewhere, I ordered that it should not be opposite to any educational institution. I refer to this because I find that in the last letter to me on the Wel-. lington-stroot nuisance this matter has been re- ferred to. We must not shut our eyes to the fact that Hongkong is in a very extraordinary position with regard to those women. They are licensed. We have great power dealing with them, and 011 going through the papers I find there was a time when ther could not come to Wellington-street--when they were all confined to a certain part of the town. But then there came from the Registrar- Genoral a recommendation that they should be allowed to make their appearance nearer this end of the town, because, he said, it was necessary to accommodate the gentlemen at this end of the town, and hence it was that the rules, originally established--the sound and salutary rules were so far broken through that Wellington-street, which is undoubtedly one of the main arteries of the colony, and which ought to be a very respectable street, which contains the Roman Catholic Cathedral aud
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number of respootable houses that it should be allowed to remain what it is ut this moment, or was very recently, a scandal and disgrace to the Colony. It is clear it will be a serious thing for us if we endeavour now to check i the expression of public opinion, I say the sound. healthy, just expression of public opinion, on a subject of this kind, particularly without notice before the Council, a subject of the utmost moment to the character of this Colony. Are we, forsooth, to check it by a side wind? and say that because Mr. Machado prints and pub. lishes this newspaper at the Reformatory we are not to continue our grant? Que of the trades tanght at that Reformatory is the trade of printing. When I visited that institution I found the little juvenile prisoners were gaged in printing school books only, and. as I this is the first time I have seen this
say, newspaper, and, not having had time to cop- sider the matter, I do not speak perhaps with that same amount of determination that I other- wise should. I say that we should pause before we attempt to interfere with the freedom of the Press wherever it is published and get any department to punish this institution because it publishes this paper which is called attention to. and which refers to a serious scandal in reference to which the department concerned must be made to do its duty. I can only promise yon this, a38 long as I have the honour to be the head of the : Government here there is no department I shall more carefully watch than the Registrar-Gene. ral's department. It has been my duty, upon its! being brought to my notice by the jury on a
Coroner's inquest, to také cognisance of the fact that the departinent in question was employing men upon an illegal and immoral duty. The illegality is worse than mere negligence. What is alleged here is mere negligerion. The charge of illegality bas been made by a Coroner's jury; that charge I thought it proper to refer to a Royal Commission composed of three repre. sentative men, one the managing partner in the leading bouse, another a leading member of the bar, and the third a gentleman who knows perhaps more about Chinese subjects that any other foreigner in the colony. Those three gentlemen will investigato that, and I would venture to recommend members of this Council, my officers, every gentleman in the colony, if they read criticisms upon their conduct published in the publie prints not to resolve that such criticisms must be resented. Let thom see if there is some ground of truth in them and see if there are no lessons to be derived ia that way.
I myself since I arrived in the Colony have not been subjected entirely to praise; Bow and then I have road pretty sharp criticisms upon my proceedings and policy. I should not have referred to it but for this matter being brought before us now; but I will say this much ---I have not read, however streng, and, in my opinion, however unjust some may have been-I have not read a single article upon the policy I was pursuing which did not give me soine food for consideration, and which was not, to some extent, a benefit to me and to the community We most deal tenderly with the public Press. If we want to shut up the public Press let us do it by the ordinary engine of the law. Wo baro the Chief-Justice and an intelligent jury. But because it happens that in performing the busi- ness of printing, a newspaper should be published which, while vindicating public morality should speak of a Department in the Colony as guilty of carelessness and indifference, and using some strong language, too, that we shoald enrtail the vote, I could not consent to, and I think on re- consideration my hon. friend on the right (Mr. Lowcock), who was fully justified in calling attention to the matter, will see that as long as we allow the trade of printing to be carried on at that institution and books and pamphlets issued from it to be circulated, we ought not to interfere.
Hon. II. LowoOCK-Your Excellency is under a slight misapprehension. I did not propose to out down the vote I said I should be the last to cut it down; but I wished that an intima- tion should be conveyed to the Reformatory that it was scarcely docent that, in a newspaper issued there such a remark as the following “If such people had shown themselves auywhere in the vicinity of St. John's Cathedral the Registrar- General and his frspectors would long since have exercised their very summary powers to remedy the uuisance"--should appear. I have no wish to interfere with the public Press, and I regret, perhaps, bringing forward this matter on the present occasion, but I have no doubt it will have a good effect.
The GOVERNOR-I have no doubt the discus- sion that has takon place will be seen by the newspaper and Reformatory, and I shall have much pleasure in conveying to the gentlemen connected with the Reformatory what has been said with reference to the remarks--perfectly unfounded--with reference to the Registrar- General. A statement of that kind is most improper: there can be no foundation for it, and I shall have much satisfaction in conveying the seuse of the Conncil on the subject.
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The ActrNG COLONIAL. SECRETARY-Per- haps I may be permitted to observe, with refer- once to the action of the Registrar-General as regarls women living under the protection of foreigners, that he has been guided in that matter by the very highest legal advice obtainable in the Colony, but not that of the present Attorney- General As regards the houses in question, the action of the Department has been guided in every possible way by the instructions received from the Government. The Department is not respou- sible--I state it with the greatest possible assur- ance for the Wellington-stroef affair. bands are tied by the ordinance and in- structions
Colonial received through the Secretary. I assort that the Registrar-General's Department cannot deal with houses kept by women living under the protection of foreigners. If they are to be dealt with it must be by in- creased powers granted by this Legislature, and until the Legislature thinks proper to give those increased powers it is an exceedingly bad practice for people to charge the Registrar-General with scandals or nuisances arising from the absence of those powers. There is only one other point- that in reference to the examination roba at Wauchai. The Registrar General had thing to do with the selection of that house for the purpose required. It was sected by the Colonial Surgeon; it was authorised to be
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