The Protection of Women and Girls Amendment Ordinance, No. 21, made various minor alterations in the principal Ordinance, some with a view to strengthening the hands of the authorities in dealing with the traffic in women and girls, and some in order to get rid of certain difficulties and inconsistencies which then existed in the legislation of the Colony.
The Female Domestic Service Amendment Ordinance, No. 22, made various detailed amendments in the principal Ordinance in order to increase its efficiency. Perhaps the most important provision of the Ordinance is one which provides that in prosecution under the principal Ordinance it shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed that the girl in question was a mui tsai in the employment of the accused at the time of the alleged offence. This may appear to be drastic, but the difficulties of proof are enormous. In order to prove that a girl was a mui tsai it might be necessary to prove a payment made years ago, outside the Colony, to persons of whom all trace has been lost, and in the absence of the girl herself. On the other hand, the accused should find it comparatively easy to prove the real status of any girl in his household, and the burden is therefore less heavy than it might appear. It must also be remembered that the consent of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs is required for any prosecution under the Ordinance.
The Industrial Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Amendment Ordinance, No. 24, is intended as a further step in the improvement of factory conditions in the Colony. Such improvement must be slow and gradual, and it is very difficult in such matters to travel far ahead of neighbouring countries. The principal effect of the Ordinance is to include women and young persons within the scope of the principal Ordinance so that their employment in factories, as well as that of children, can be regulated.
XIII. Miscellaneous.
EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION.
Two hundred and twenty-seven thousand five hundred and twenty-three (227,523) Emigrants left Hong Kong for various places during the year 1929; of these 114,323 were carried in British ships and 113,200 in Foreign vessels.
One hundred and eighty-five thousand three hundred and ninety (185,390) returning emigrants were reported to have been brought to Hong Kong from the several places to which they had emigrated either from this Colony or from Coast ports as against 187,847 in 1928. Of these 103,261 were brought in British vessels and 82,129 in Foreign vessels.