introduced an element of difficulty, for whereas the English custom is to reckon a year from the date of birth, the Chinese born on the 30th of a moon would be considered a year old, so that a Chinese may be 17 or 18 years old according to Chinese counting, but only 16 according to English style. People born and bred in hot climates readily attain to maturity, hence Chinamen reach manhood at 16, i.e., 14 or 15 according to English computation, and Chinese women are capable of bearing children at 14, which explains the practice of early marriages. Women who marry at 17 or 18 have passed the appointed time; therefore if the limit of age under which they may marry is fixed at 16 according to English computation, a great divergence from Chinese customs will be initiated. Again Chinese look forward to several generations living under the same roof, and parents marry their children when they arrive at manhood and womanhood.
When the daughters of poor families and the maidservants of wealthy families become concubines, it is at the age of 14 or 15: if they delay till 17 or 18, there is prejudice to taking them at so advanced an age. Anyone however who takes a concubine aged 14 or 15 is liable to be punished with imprisonment with hard labour. Accordingly when the Ordinance in question was considered in Council, an Honourable Member Ho Kai explained clearly the whole bearing of the subject and enquired what was the meaning of the expression marriage according to proper rites: Surely it did not initiate Chinese customs.