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A MEMBER: That was the man's main ides.
Mr. WELLB stated that he did not know what the moral consequences of such an act might be. But no one seemed to know anything about morality in this part of the world. Probably the girt would be taken ori, later, as a subsidiary wife.
A MEMBER: The difficulty I wished cleared is how is the Government to know whether or no she is a slave-girl! They would not be able to tell the degree of relationship. It would be quite a simple matter for the man and his wives to treat the adopted girl in precisely the same manner as a slave. I think the Govern- ment would be in an awful fix to know when to step in.
Mr. WELLS replied that registration would remove nine-tenths of the present evil. When a child was to be adopted it would be well if the parties were brought up before the Secretary for Chinese Affairs. Then the people would know that there would always be some one who would come to visit the child. They would, therefore, stop any attempts at cruelty which they would otherwise inflict. That would soon lead to the eradication of the avil in Hongkong.
The CHAIRMAN said that in a leter to the Press some time ago it was stated that the sale of children in China had ceased. In days gone by children were kidnapped from Hongkong and sold in China; now it was the other way about.
Mr. WELLS replied that that was due to China, at one time a despotic country, becoming a republic. China had gone further than Britain on the equality of the subject. The Chinese were citizens:| they were not subjects. The Chinese had very high ideals, but they were unable to control everything. They tried to stop gambling but it was being continued; they tried to stop opium and had not succeed- ed entirely. Blavery was the same, but a great deal of trouble would ensue in China if it were discovered that a child was a slave.
A MEMBER stated that he had recently board of a case of an amah who gave birth to a girl at 4 a.m., had sold it at 8 a.m, and was at her ordinary work by then. What would happen to the baby
Mr. Wala said that probably a bar gain had been made that if it was a girl It should be sold
A ME; Is it your opinion that the large proportion of slavery to-day is due to the desire of obtaining labour cheaply t
Mr. Was I think so.
A MEMBER: That seems to me to be the emonoe of slavery; depriving a person of liberty and taking advantage of it.
Mr. WELLS: Girls have no right in China as yet. They hardly have the right to live. People do not trouble much | about a woman's point of view. I know
la case of a man in the New Territories
who had two girls he was unable to sup-| port. The girts were taken into different) families and treated as servants. The reason is that a mistress does not want A whole-time servant about the place. There is probably enough room only for a stall girl. She gets nothing except food and clothing, and for this she has to run little errands and look after the baby.
!
The girls, I am glad to say, arc both being sent to school. Those girls have no real rights to property. They are what is commonly called "nourish. ing daughters." Later on they will he married. They stand a better chance as servants than they would, any as a fisher- man's daughter, always on the verge of starvation. The taking of such girls has not become absolutely taboo among Chris- tian Chinese. The other kind of sleve- |
girl is absolutely taboved.
The Rev. C. B. BHAUN: Is their any responsibility on the owners to see about getting the girla married, etc. I
Mr. Wais: Yes. That is so; a Chinees girl is not born for anything else except marriage. When the time comes she muahi be married. I do not think there are many cases where a girl is sold for im moral purposes, but there are sometimes cases of adultery in a house and then the girl becomes a concubine,
The Rev. C. B. SHAUN wished to know whether after, say, ten years a girl obj tains her freedom, so far as a married woman in China has freedom.
Mr. WELLA: Yes.
The CHAIRMAN: The husband pays so much for her!
Mr. WELLS replied in the affirmative. As a rule, said, the people do not make much out of the transaction as they spend. it in preparations for the wedding.
A MEMBER: Are they not allowed to choose their own husbands?
Mr WELLS replied: Not many of them. In the case of Christian girls there were!
fow allowed to do so, but as a role, the husbands were chosen for them. The binese wished to follow the old custom. The Rev. O. UPSDELL: Where do the girls at West Point come from?
Mr. Watts: A great many are brought from the country; some from the Netg Territories from Kwongsi, and fromk Annam. There is real White Slave trade going on. I think the Chinese are as cunning at that as the British are.
The Rev. G. UrsDELL: Could not the girls lay information! Cannot the Gov.
rnment stop it?
Mr. WELLS: These traders could take the girls to America, England or any- where they like. The Chinese know how to manage such matters.
Mr. J. W1TCHELL: I think the Govern ment have put up notices in regard to girls being detained against their will.
Mr. WALLS: I think all prostitutes go before a Registrar; some get away by
spnealing to the Po Leung Kok.
Mr. WiTCALL remarked that some in- form the Police and the house gets cloerd. Mr. G. W. C. BURNETT thought that the girls, when brought down, were frighten. ed by the traders. If there were less fear there would be less prostitution.
A MEMBER Suggested that the only way
to prevent it would be to catch the pro- curer and give him "the cat.”
Mr. WITCHELL remarked that in most
Chees it was the " go between,'
who was responsible.
A MEMBER: Then deport her.
a woman,