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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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Contagious Diseases Ordinance there had been an increase in the number of cases of venereal disease and in its virulence, both in Hong Kong and in the Straits Settlements, and that there was an absence of effective checks on brothel slavery. They urged the renewal of the Ordinances under which brothels were registered and their inmates were subjected to periodical compulsory medical examination.

3. The deputation, introduced by Mr. Keswick, M.P., included Lord Loch, Sir C. Smith, Sir E. Ackroyd, Mr. Adamson, C.M.G., and other responsible men, who spoke with intimate knowledge of Chinese life and character. Their views, therefore, carry special weight. I now wish to explain to you, as I explained to them, what opinion hold on the subject, and to give you instructions as to the course which you should adopt.

4. I do not propose to discuss the moral aspect of the question. To do so would serve no useful purpose. There are certain existing facts and conditions, and with these I will now proceed to deal, with a view to the adoption of practical measures.

5. These facts and conditions are as follows:-The Contagious Diseases Acts were repealed in this country in deference to a strong expression of public opinion. Whether that opinion was well or ill-founded, judicious or the reverse, it is unnecessary now to enquire. The fact remains that the Acts were repealed, and that similar laws in the Crown Colonies and India were subsequently repealed. In 1894 the legislation in Hong Kong which provided for the registration of brothels was also repealed. I am therefore asked, not merely to allow certain existing laws to remain in operation, but to take the stronger step of reviving laws which a few years since were deliberately, after much discussion, abolished.

6. In justification of such a course strong evidence has been laid before me of the growth of disease and the prevalence of other abuses since the Ordinances were abolished, and the opinion of responsible men connected with Hong Kong-the men, both official and unofficial, to whom I should naturally look for information and guidance on local question is mainly, if not unanimously, to the effect that the result of repealing the Ordinances has been disastrous. I recognise the fact that there has been an increase of disease since the Ordinances were repealed, and it may also be true that there has been an increase of brothel slavery; but on the latter point I notice from the reports of the Registrar-General at Hong Kong, as well as of the Protector of Chinese in the Straits Settlements, that there has been at least as much rescue work done since registration was abolished as in the preceding years.

7. I admit that the fact that certain laws are or are not in force in the United Kingdom is not in itself a sufficient reason for applying or abolishing similar laws in tropical Colonies, differing from the Mother Country in climate, race, social, moral, and religious conditions. Further, I am not prepared to deny that one way of meeting the evils to which my attention has been called would be the renewal of the repealed Ordin- ances, if their renewal met with general acquiescence; but here, again, I must repeat that respect must be had to existing facts. It is certain that to such renewal there would be in this country a very strong opposition. It is in the highest degree probable that on the first opportunity the Ordinances would be again repealed. It is therefore my conviction that the object aimed at would be not furthered, but retarded, by simply for the moment retracing a step.

8. Accordingly, I adhere to the decision, given in my despatch, No. 45, of the 18th February, 1898, that I cannot sanction the reintroduction of any system involving either the compulsory and periodical examination of women, or the registration of brothels, or of prostitutes, but I consider that other means may be adopted which there is reason to hope will prove in some measure effectual.

9. I could not approve either of the draft Ordinances submitted in the despatch under acknowledgment, which in many respects go beyond the Indian Cantonment Regulations, upon which they are based; and I have decided that the simpler provisions hereinafter mentioned are better suited to the conditions of Hong Kong.

10. I gather that the brothel-keepers in many cases prevent the women from going to hospital and compel them to practise prostitution whilst suffering from disease. I am therefore of opinion that it is desirable to amend the "Protection of Women and Girls Ordinance," No. 9 of 1897, by making such conduct on the part of brothel-keepers an offence. This might be done by inserting after Section 14 of the Ordinance the following new clause :-

"Every person who, being the owner or occupier of any premises or having, or acting, or assisting in the management or control thereof, permits any woman suffering

• No. 20.

Enclosure in No. 15.

from any contagious disease to be or remain in or upon such premises for the prostitution shall be guilty of a misdemeanour."

purpose

of

11. This clause, it will be seen, puts a penalty upon any brothel keeper who per- mits a woman suffering from any contagious disease to remain in a brothel for the purpose of prostitution. I should hope that by thus putting the penalty upon the brothel-keeper and not upon the prostitute the effect of clauses 9 and 10 of the Indian Cantonment Regulations of 1897 will be produced in a manner more suitable to the conditions of the Colony, and that the result will be that the brothel-keeper will in self-defence send the prostitute who is suffering from disease to the hospital or the refuge.

12. I consider that, in the case of any brothel-keeper not being a British subject who is convicted of a second offence under the above-mentioned provision, the Governor in Council should exercise the power of banishment conferred on him under Section 3 of Ordinance VIII. of 1882.

13. The power of search conferred on the Registrar-General by Section 30 of the Ordinance should be extended so as to provide as follows:-

30. (1) The Registrar-General and any officer specially authorised for that purpose in writing by the Registrar-General shall have power to search any ship house building or other place where he has reasonable cause to suspect that there is any woman or girl who is or may be liable to be dealt with under the provisions of this Ordinance or in which he has reasonable cause to suspect that an offence under this Ordinance is being committed and may remove any such woman or girl to a place of safety to be there detained until her case be enquired into.

(2) The Registrar-General shall have power to search any ship house building or other place for the purpose of ascertaining whether there is therein any woman or girl who is or may be liable to be dealt with under the provisions of this Ordinance or whether any offence under this Ordinance is being committed and may remove any such woman or girl to a place of safety to be there detained until her case be enquired into.

14. I remain of the opinion, expressed in my despatch of the 18th February, 1898 that the Government should have power to close any brothel without assigning a reason, and not merely in the special circumstances defined in Section 9 of each of the draft Ordinances submitted in the despatch under acknowledgment. Such power could then' be exercised as it is in this country-in closing brothels in undesirable situations, or the keepers of which have in any way offended the law. For this purpose the following clause should be inserted:--

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Upon complaint laid before a magistrate by the Captain Superintendent of Police or by the Registrar-General that any house or portion thereof is used as a brothel or lodging house for prostitutes or disorderly persons, a magistrate shall have and exercise summary jurisdiction in respect thereof; and it shall be lawful for a magistrate to issue a summons to the tenant occupier or keeper of the house or portion thereof of which complaint is made, and upon the hearing of the case, if the magistrate is satisfied that the house or some portion thereof is used in the manner complained of, he may order the tenant, occupier, or keener to discontinue such use of it, and if such order is not complied with within such time as the magistrate may by his order fix, the magistrate may impose upon such tenant, occupier, or keeper a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars for every day that the house or any portion thereof shall be so used after the time fixed by the magistrate's order. The provisions of the Magistrates Ordinance, 1890, shall apply to proceedings under this section. The provisions of this section shall be in addition to those contained in Section 4 of Ordinance No. 6 of 1894."

15. Section 31 of the Ordinance gives the Registrar-General power to call upon

a person to produce any inmate of a brothel. This power should be freely exercised, and, if necessary, additional powers should be taken to ensure that the women can be interro- gated away from the brothel and from the brothel-keeper, under conditions which are favourable to ascertaining the truth.

18. Though public registration of brothels is illegal, I assume that in the course of their duties the police and the Registrar-General must be fully cognisant of the exis- tence and situation of disorderly houses. The houses which are thus known may be visited at all times and seasons, and having regard to the power of suppression which I desire to be given to the magistrates, I do not understand why, if the powers of visita- tion and interrogation are intelligently carried out, the absence of actual legal registra- tion need materially diminish the degree in which the Registrar-General can check brothel abuses.

• No. 20.