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My dear mother,
14
EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS.
I
My brother has informed me by letter that a girl has been offered for $600 as concubine. You can send me her photo, and meanwhile retain her but do not close until I have approved and send you a letter or telegram. All the girls who came to Singapore with me have been married. Someone in Singapore has asked me to buy for him five or six girls of fourteen to fifteen years of age am anxious that you should get these for me. If you have any already bring them with you to Singapore. If you are short of money borrow some and let me know by cable so that I can remit it to you. Do not accept any ugly girls: they should not less, and if possible should be more beautiful than SHUN YAU and SAM MUI
When you buy the girls send them by the steamer of which LI is com- pradore. And when you send them tell some of them to say that they are your youn- ger sisters, and the others to say that they are your nieces. But don't tell LI about this: I don't want it to come out. If you are short of money ask LI to give you credit as far as Singapore; and send me a cable when they are coming so that I can meet them
P.S. I am sending a basket of clothes and shoes for the mut-tsai that has been bought recently.
15
old. The house has also several younger pieces. Photos will be sent to Swatow on the 18th instant, so that passports can be obtained. Certainly 2nd class passages will be booked, so that the people will be deceived. There are several which have neither photos or tickets. On receipt of this letter it is very important that you should consult with.........and see what should be done. In the present trip the Chung Kwok, Sai Nam and the Ki Shang all have "goods". I have some important business and I cannot come to Hong Kong until a few days later.
Dated 17th day of the 8th moon.
Note.
Sent by.........
The meaning of this appears to be that girls over 20 years would go as "maidservants' presenting themselves for examination at the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs in the usual way. The younger girls would travels 2nd class from Swatow on local passports and the balance would be stowed away on the ship.
Perhaps **suspi
cious", i.e.
the sort
of persons
who would
have to be
guaranteed
either in H.K. or Singapore.
Mr. HO KAU and Mr. LAU TSIK,
'so many
I now write you this in haste for your information. The goods sent here by the S.S. Anhui are all right and you have no need to be anxious. I found on counting that there were more than ten pieces of goods on board the S.S. Anhui. This may probably lead to unexpected trouble. Next time you should send no goods to Singapore until you have got my wire in Hong Kong. If I ask for two pieces of goods you should only send me two and by no means too many.
If you send too many you will surely have to sustain a loss. In sending goods here, Swatow passage tickets should be obtained if they are "AH PO" (? Guaranteed) and Hong Kong tickets if they are respectable. Then it would be all right. When
you wire me the numbers of respectable persons and "AH PO" you should state Swatow goods". If there are no numbers at the back of the photos of AH PO then it will be in order. You must act in accordance with my telegrams, and you must not do anything recklessly otherwise there will be trouble. On receipt of this letter you should stop sending any goods for about two or three weeks and should not send any until I have sent a telegram back to Hong Kong. In the future you must obey my order and then surely there will be no trouble. At present people have sent too many goods, and I find it very difficult to look after them. Certainly I will not be responsible for any trouble, if any more goods come to Singapore again. Other peo- ple will also be unable to do it. Ponder this over and over again when you have received my letter. When you receive my letter please inform all so as to prevent trouble. I am told that you are very irregular with any business and have no defi- nite object whatever. This has been frequently mentioned to me in letters sent to me from Hong Kong. In the future you must act honestly so as to give no cause for complaint among our friends. This is very important. With regards,
Dated 21st day of the 5th moon.
NG TSUN.
To........
I cannot trace the telegram sent some time ago. MUI YI had her goods examined on the 13th instant through the Sai Nam Boarding House, but one of them was detained in Hong Kong. When the S.S. Svale sails on the 21st or 22nd instant surely there will be more than ten pieces of goods. The Chung Kwok will have several pieces for "Employment Examination". They are more than twenty years
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END