The women wrought to come to be are & brought by the Brothel keepers for Registration before entering the private Brothel, & they are questioned by him as to whether they are acting voluntarily & their position as free agents in a British Colony is explained to them. You will see, however, from the Memo. annexed, that he is unable to state how many women are rescued in that way. Anyhow, very many of the 200 women, who were rescued last year, continue to be operative when Registration of Brothels is stopped.
Moreover, the net result of the system during 1892 is an increase in the number of Registered Brothels from 87 to 128, and in the number of Registered Prostitutes from 1487 to 1799, and of other Inmates of Brothels (50-e "Servants," many of whom are prostitutes) from 1092 to 1603. This increase is accounted for largely by the fact that about 40 unregistered Brothels were prosecuted & subsequently registered; but my point is that the system has had no effect, at any rate no beneficial effect, in the direction of reducing prostitution & brothel-keeping. It rather tends to support, keep, & encourage those evils. At Hongkong, (at the Straits, however, there has been some reduction in the number of Women & Brothels).
The following figures show the number of Registered Women and Brothels:
Year Brothels Prostitutes 1888 366 3846 1889 355 3673 1890 355 3442 1891 364 3137 1892 347 2931We have no knowledge as to whether Unregistered Brothels have increased or decreased in number during this period.
The Governor of the Straits asks (in 8818) for a reference to the Debates in Parliament on this subject.
In Lord Ripon's despatch on 2742, it was stated that "The system [of Brothel registration] is clearly contrary to the policy of Parliament" - and we can explain to the Governor that that statement did not so much refer to any special Debates in Parliament relating...
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References: 11516/537, 11516/43
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The women wrought to come to be are & brought by the Brothel keepers for Registration before entering the private Brothel, & they are questioned by him as to whether they are acting voluntarily & their position as free agents in a British Colony is explained to them. You will see, however, from the Memo. annexed, that he is unable to state how many women are rescued in that way. Anyhow, very many of the 200 women, who were rescued last year, continue to be operative when Registration of Brothels is stopped.
Moreover, the net result of the system during 1892 is an increase in the number of Registered Brothels from 87 to 128, and in the number of Registered Prostitutes from 1487 to 1799, and of other Inmates of Brothels (50-e "Servants," many of whom are prostitutes) from 1092 to 1603. This increase is accounted for largely by the fact that about 40 unregistered Brothels were prosecuted & subsequently registered; but my point is that the system has had no effect, at any rate no beneficial effect, in the direction of reducing prostitution & brothel-keeping. It rather tends to support, keep, & encourage those evils. At Hongkong, (at the Straits, however, there has been some reduction in the number of Women & Brothels).
The following figures show the number of Registered Women and Brothels:
Year Brothels Prostitutes 1888 366 3846 1889 355 3673 1890 355 3442 1891 364 3137 1892 347 2931We have no knowledge as to whether Unregistered Brothels have increased or decreased in number during this period.
The Governor of the Straits asks (in 8818) for a reference to the Debates in Parliament on this subject.
In Lord Ripon's despatch on 2742, it was stated that "The system [of Brothel registration] is clearly contrary to the policy of Parliament" - and we can explain to the Governor that that statement did not so much refer to any special Debates in Parliament relating...
References: GR11516/537, GR11516/43