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residences on occasions of marriage or death and there to
perform certain religious rites.
The other function is to
act as fortune tellers at their own residence to persons who
come to consult them there, and there to perform certain
ceremonies for the purpose of such fortune telling. The se
are the places referred to in the definition in section 2 of
the Ordinance as Kun, To Yuen and Om. As the border line
between recognised religious fortune telling and fraud is
somewhat easily crossed it was considered desirable that
such places should be required to register, but there is no
intention of assuming any financial or other control over
them so long as they are conducted lawfully and properly.
So conducted they undoubtedly supply a certain religious
demand among the Chinese community.
9.
The main principles of the Ordinance are that except
in the case of the exempted temples, and subject to the
remarks in paragraph 8 above, the revenues, funds, investments
and properties of all Chinese temples shall be under the
control of a strong Chinese Committee, presided over by the
Secretary for Chinese Affairs, and that any surplus revenues
remaining after providing for due observance of the customary
ceremonies and the maintenance of the temple buildings and
temple properties shall be applied for the purpose of Chinese
charities in the Colony generally.
10.
Control of this kind and with this object, though not
by means of the same machinery, is not unknown at present.
It has been tried and tried successfully. One example is
that of the Man Mo Temple, which is regulated by Ordinance
No.10 of 1908. Another example is that of the Hau Wong
Temple near Kowloon City. Ten years control of this temple
has resulted in a surplus sufficient to justify the use of it