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national inferiority. A law was therefore passed making the
purchase of slave children illegal. This is a typical example
of Chinese face saving devices. The only di ference that the
law made as this: a person might not purchase the body of a slave child, but he was allowed to "hire" her services for
whatever period remained between her age at the time of hiring and the age of 25, the hire being paid in a lump sum in
advance to the child's father or mother at the time of hiring.
As Hongkong is geographically a part of China with a
large Chinese population constantly fluctuating between the island and the mainland, the suppression of the mui tsai
system in the colony is a problem which proba ly presents
considerable difficulty. In respone to public clamour an
ordinance was passed in February 1923 which declared the
c mplete perso nal freedom of all mui tsai and their unrestrict-
ed right to leave their employers if they so desired,
prohibited the taking into employment of any fresh mui tsai
after the ordinance came into effect and made provision for
the proper treatment of existing mui tsai who might continue
in the service of their employers.
In February 1929 questions asked in the House indicated
that the ordinance was a dead letter. The Secretary of State
for the Colonies called for a report from the Governor of
Hongkong. This has been received and is still eing
considered by the present Secretary of State.
The Foreign Office is in no way concerned with this
question and we have not seen the report referred to in the
preceding paragraph.
(Signed) J.T. Pratt.
20th August, 1929.