HONG KONG
GÜNSIDER AL 365
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Re Propaganda (continued).
literature and propaganda material in the possession of the Commission and that euch material should be available on loan to responsible voluntary organisations. There is, however, no channel through which Chinese opinion can reach those responsible for public enlighten- ment, and we do not anticipate any thing being undertaken except through the initiation of certain unofficial residents and the Naval, Military and Church authorities.
Owing to the opposition of the Governor to the work of the Commission during the early days of the campaign, a strong body of support crystallised from among the European residents and a demand was formulated by a group, including the Vice-Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, the Chaplain of the Seamen's Institute, the Secretary of the Y.M.C. A., a representative of the Roman Catholic Archbishop, the Chairman and three members of the Committee of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, two representative Chinese women, Chinese medical practitioners, etc., that a voluntary Committee should be constituted to act as a Branch of the National Council and to urge the adoption of the Recommendations of the Commissioners.
A meeting of this body took place after the interview between the Commissioners and His Excellency the Governor. It was attended by the leading Chinese and Europeans in the Colony.
In view of the willingness expressed by His Excellency to adopt the main Recommendations and his expressed wish that no voluntary organisation should be formed, the Educational Commissioner met the members of the suggested voluntary body, gave them an account of the position and advised them to work in their individual capacities, but did not advise the constitution of a voluntary organisation at present.
Re Prostitution.
1P
His Excellency stated that he considered segregation" better than scattered clandestine promiscuity", and that none of the Naval and Military infections came from the houses. This, we found subsequently from the Commander- in-Chief was a complete error. Sir Reginald Stubbs stated that the suppression of brothels in Colombo led to disastrous resulta." When in Colombo we went very fully into the position with the Attorney-General as well as from the medical point of view.
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A special Committee of enquiry had been appointed by the Governor of Ceylon in 1918 to investigate conditions as to prostitution. That Commission did not even consider any return to the conditions in force before the brothels were suppressed, i.e. 1913, the improvement in health and conditions having been so marked. "The disastrous reaults" mentioned by Sir Reginald Stubbs refers apparently to a certain small group of boya that frequent the docks but this practice had existed before the suppression of the brothels, and has only slightly increased owing to the absence of any Borstal or reformatory accommodation being available in Ceylon.