Men - do in the balance, when weighed against such a monstrous iniquity the Public recognition and licensing of trade in the bodies of living women.
We have exactly the same objection to that form of trade in the bodies of living women which is at present carried on under State authority and supervision in Hong Kong, in a less developed stage, in some of our garrison towns.
More than our own, the principle for which we are contending has been virtually recognised by one of your Lordship's colleagues, speaking on behalf of Her Majesty's Government; for they have affirmed that the subject is one which cannot be dealt with by local option.
We venture to urge that the freedom to do wrong which cannot be permitted to Portsmouth or Chatham, by their own local officials, cannot be permitted to Hong Kong, by British state officials.
While admitting probably to as great an extent as your Lordship would advise, the right of the native Chinese to choose the laws under which they live, we claim for our countrymen equal liberty - liberty to withhold their countenance and aid from a system which their conscience abhors and their representatives have condemned.
Furthermore, we beg most respectfully but most firmly, to express the opinion that the sentiment of the general Chinese population of Hong Kong is not favourable to the licensing and supervision of brothels by the British Government, and that this system tends rather to aggravate than to alleviate the general practice of kidnapping girls, and what is known as brothel slavery.
The late Governor of Hong Kong, Sir J. Pope Hennessey, wrote to Sir Michael Hicks Beach, on March 17, 1879, that the system is disliked by the whole Chinese community, and is "open to the gravest misconception". The Commission appointed to inquire into the system in Hong Kong, reported in December 1878, that by it, "Government places itself in antagonism to the feelings of the Chinese Community".
The evidence of Mr. Lister, Dr. Wells, and other witnesses proves this; and if your Lordship desires further evidence on this point, we suggest that the only trustworthy source of information as to how State licensing and regulation of prostitution by the British Government are regarded by the Chinese is the Chinese people themselves, and not the British officials employed in the carrying out of the Contagious Diseases Ordinances.
With regard to "brothel slavery", we would beg to refer your Lordship to a despatch from Sir J. Pope Hennessey to Lord Kimberley, dated June 23, 1880, which although not printed among the papers presented to the House of Commons is of course accessible at the Colonial Office.
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