ME. CONFIDENTIAL
AIR MAIL
sir,
2. RESE
25
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONG KONG,
23rd August, 1938.
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt
of your confidential despatch of 13th July, 1938,
regarding an article in the Hong Kong Sunday Herald under the caption: "Startling Revelations of Slave
Markets in Colony: Girls for Sale".
2.
The editor persisted in his refusal to
disclose the name of his informant, and as their
other investigations, which I am satisfied were
actively made, led them nowhere, the police were
unable to make any further headway in respect of
these particular allegations.
3.
It would be idle to deny that the sale of
children still occasionally takes place in this Colony:
it is an age-old Chinese custom and naturally dies
hard. On the other hand I believe that the offence
is seldom committed here, though China's present
troubles may have led to a slight temporary
recrudescence of the evil. At any rate I can assure
you that no effort has been or will be spared by my
officers to suppress this form of crime; which,
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
MALCOLM MACDONALD, M.P.
&c., &c.,
&c., &c.