Enclosure 1.
421
Report by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs on Secretary of State's confidential despatch of 16th April, 1920, & enclosures.
I. It is a pity that when asked for evidence Lieut.- Commander Haslewood confines himself to saying that he has evidence which he cannot produce, and to insinuations dealing with the integrity or the apathy of the Goverment Service. He has heard (apparently from European outside sources) of some of the troubles we have to meet troubles inseparable from the class of person dealt with: they are no secret and need no detective ability to discover them and if only he would give us the details it would not improbably be found that each case that has any real foundation has already been investigated and dealt with.
II.
-
The more general charges cover precisely the troubles that we have to combat: and for which no better scheme than the present one has yet been evolved. The unfortunate and incorrect title "Slavery" seems with some people to occasion a complete loss of perspective, and to cause them to give undue weight to sentiment in a difficult matter requiring the most carefully balanced judgment. The general charges are fully dealt with in the two despatches (Governor's confidential despatch of 9th August, 1918, and 0. A. G.'s confidential despatch of 20th March, 1919) and in the interviews with Mr. Leu Chu Pak and Rev. Dr. Pearce (Enclosure No.2 of this despatch).
III.
1.
To take the letter in detail as far as possible:-
Interport trading of girls for imoral purposes. ("Interport" presumably meaning between Hongkong and Singapore).
This undoubtedly exists: but is detested as much by the Chinese Community as by the European, and assistance is readily given towards the suppression of the trade. Chinese customs however