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good grounds for believing that registra- tion was practically complete. I shall deal later with the allegation that a large number of mui-tsai have not been registered. The Governor was instructed to furnish a report every six months on the working of the Ordinance. The first report, covering the first period of six months since the completion of registra- tion, is available in the Library of the House, and shows encouraging progress. As regards the slavery allegations, the right hon. Gentleman would not, I think, take the line that a mui-tsai in Hong Kong is now legally in the position of slave.
Sir J. SIMON: I do not think that anyone would take up that position, but on the other hand believe it would be very poor comfort to be told that because there is a law which makes it impossible that the person is a slave, therefore in ract and practice the position does not correspond to slavery. That is just about as plausible as saying that no one drinks intoxicants in America because there is prohibition in that country.
ever
Dr. SHIELS: That is so, but if the right hon. Gentleman had allowed me to continue he would have found that I quite understood that point, and that my observation was mainly preliminary to
dealing with the point that 10.0 p.m. he has just made. I say that
no one could take up the attitude that a mui-tsai is, in the first place, legally in the position of a slave. The status of slavery is illegal in Hong Kong and the Female Domestic Service Ordinance, as I have pointed out, ex- pressly enacts that no employer has any right of ownership or custody over the mui-tsai in his employ. The employer has no remedy if she leaves him, and cannot either get back the mui-tsai or recover any payment which he may have made to the parents or guardians. It is not true either to say that the status of а mui-tsai in Hong Kong is analogous to or in practice indistinguish- able from slavery. The status has been made clear by the Ordinance and regula- tions to which I have referred. They have been registered; their death, or disappearance or change of address or intended marriage, must be notified to
now
Colonial Office.
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the authorities. They must be paid wages, and it has been broadcast by means of proclamations and pamphlets that any mui-tsai who wishes to leave an employer is free to do so and may report to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs or the nearest police station if she has any difficulty. Mui-tsai, therefore, at present are neither actually nor virtually slaves, and it is inaccurate and unfair to speak of them as such. It is illegal to acquire new mui-tsai by payments to parents or guardians, or to introduce mui-tsai into the colony from abroad.
As regards the numbers of mui-tsai in Hong Kong, the only approximately reli- able figures are the estimates made in the census of 1921, namely, 8,653, and the actual figures of registration in 1930, namely, 4,299. It is true that other esti- mates have been made, and that the chairman of the Anti-Mui-Tsai Society, as the right hon. Gentleman has said, made an estimate of 10,000 in 1928, but the Governor reported that that was merely a guess and was probably much too high. number of Hong Kong critics, however, have never accepted this state- ment, and have constantly reiterated the figure of 10,000, have maintained that there are only 4,000 odd, who are regis- tered, that the balance must be still in Hong Kong unregistered, and that regis- tration has therefore been a failure. There is no evidence of this at all. The anticipation that registration would be widely evaded has not been borne out by the facts, and the response of employers to the regulation has been most gratify- ing. The difference between the census estimate of 1921 and the actual figure of registrations in 1929 shows that the number of mui-tsai in Hong Kong de- clined by 50 per cent. in that period. That is a large decrease and one might have thought that the critics of the mui- tsai system in Hong Kong would have expressed appreciation of so substantial a reduction, but on the contrary they have merely made it a basis for new and unwarranted attacks and suggestions that the figures are inaccurate.
It is not surprising that the number of mui-tsai in Hong Kong should have de- clined by 50 per cent. in that period. Part 2 of the ordinance came into opera- tion in 1923, and as it prohibited any person taking into his employment any new mui-tsai, it must have caused a pro-
11 MAY 1931
Colonial Office.
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gressive diminution in the number. More- cluding Chinese lady inspectors. These over, throughout the period 1921-29 con- societies bring cases of suspected abuse siderable propaganda was carried on to the notice of the Government which against the custom both in Hong Kong then takes prompt steps to investigate. and in China and, as the right hon. Also, the Department of the Secretary for Gentleman has reminded us, many pro- Chinese Affairs, which is the responsible gressive members of the Chinese com- Department, has also been strengthened munity took part in that propaganda, by the appointment of an additional and, undoubtedly, many persons must European officer and a European police have been influenced by it to get rid of inspector is seconded to it for the special their mui-tsai. There is no doubt that work of protecting women and girls. when registration was enforced a num- ber of employers returned mui-tsai to their relations, in some cases even against the will of the girls and their parents, and in other cases mui-tsai were trans- ferred to the country homes of their employers in China. Such transference
was
not illegal, could hardly in any case have been detected and prevented. There was no evidence that any of those. girls were sold in China and, in any case, persons could not be prosecuted in Hong Kong for offences committed in China. The Governor's report on the first six months' period since registration shows a reduction in the number from natural causes of 182 which is equivalent to 8 per cent. per annum, and it is clear on that basis that a reduction in numbers of 50 per cent. in eight years is what might be expected. The numbers of mui-tsai in Hong Kong must now steadily diminish until finally they disappear altogether. That is the intention of what has been done by the Hong Kong Government under the direction of my Noble Friend.
As regards inspection and control-a point of which the right hon. Gentleman made a great deal-it must be remem- bered that legislation of this kind has some similarity to legislation for the pro- tection of children in this country and there are several charitable societies in Hong Kong which receive financial sup- port from the Government and employ inspectors, including a lady inspector. As the right hon. Gentleman seemed to be particularly interested in this ques- tion I hope he will be good enough to give me his attention. I was pointing out that we must remember that the practice in this country is very largely that of leaving it to charitable societies to call attention to cases of cruelty to children, and I was saying that there are several charitable societies in Hong Kong which receive financial support from the Government and employ inspectors in-
All police stations report to the Secre- tariat for Chinese Affairs any cases con- cerning mui-tsai about which they receive complaints. The Secretary for Chinese Affairs immediately investigates all such reports and also all reports of a similar nature which he receives himself directly, using the European police inspector attached to his department who goes to the premises indicated and brings the parties concerned to see the Secretary for Chinese Affairs. In addition, it is proposed to appoint an inspector solely for mui-tsai inspection. The conditions of such appointment and the selection of a suitable officer are under consideration at present and I can assure the right hon. Gentleman and the Committee that if, in the course of the working out of these arrangements, further facilities for inspection are found to be necessary, they will not be withheld. I also wish to point out that the department deal- ing with this subject has been quite definitely strengthened in spite of the fact that practically every other depart- ment in the Hong Kong Government has suffered serious retrenchment.
Miss RATHBONE: Before the hon. Gentleman passes from the subject of in- spection, will he tell me whether these inspectors employed by private organisa- tions only inspect cases of reported or suspected abuses, or do they regularly inspect all registered mui-tsai?
Dr. SHIELS: They exist for the pur- pose of the prevention of cruelty to chil- dren and they do, understand, make inspections. I have said that one of the inspectors is a Chinese lady inspector whose business it is to deal with these cases. I think that Members of the Com- mittee will find that there is a consider- able amount of inspection and very con- siderable opportunity for bringing to light any abuses that exist. Prosecutions for bringing unregistered mui-tsai into
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