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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TPELUC.O. 882

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

18487.

:

STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.

No. 3.

GOVERNOR SIR C. B. H. MITCHELL to the MARQUESS OF RIPON.

(No. 311.)

MY LORD,

(Received October 22, 1894.)

11

Government House, Singapore, September 25, 1894. WHEN I left for Pahang I requested Mr. Maxwell to forward to Your Lordship a Bill which had passed through all its stages in the Legislative Council, entitled "An Ordinance to further amend The Women and Girls' Protection Ordinance, 1888,* and which was so passed in obedience to Your Lordship's instructions, contained in Your Lordship's despatch, No. 113, of the 17th April last.*

This Bill was accordingly sent in despatch No. 294, of the 11th instant.†

2. I did not assent to the Bill, as before doing so I wished to lay before Your Lordship my own view of the danger which will attend its being brought into force, namely, the removal from the unfortunate inmates of brothels of the chance of obtaining relief from a condition of abject slavery.

3. In paragraph 2 of the despatch above quoted, Your Lordship appears to con- sider that these public women are fully aware of their position as free agents, and as regards Japanese, Malays, and Indians, this is, I think, the case, but I am informed that with the Chinese women, who form the great bulk of this class (4,514 out of a total of 5,094 in the Colony and States), their early training, habits of life, and the ascendancy acquired over them by those who bring them here all militate against their comprehen- sion of what is carefully explained to them by the Protectorate on their arrival, and I fear that, by terminating the system of registration and inspection, we are helping the keepers of these houses to maintain an overpowering influence over the inmates, and to stifle any appeal that may be made against their tyranny, which the visit of an Inspector night afford an opportunity for.

4. The respectable portion of the Chinese community is, I believe, entirely in accordance with me in this view, and Your Lordship will see from the report of the debate on the 2nd reading, which I enclose, that every non-official member was opposed to its passing into law.

5. The only alteration, besides those named in Your Lordship's despatch, which I have made in the law is expressed in Clause II. of the Bill, and I trust that if Your Lordship should still determine that the Bill must become law, that some little deterrent effect on the keepers of brothels may be exercised by its provision.

6. Referring to paragraph 5 of Your Lordship's despatch, I found that the new clause suggested therein was already in force in the Colony as section 14 of the Indian Act, No. 48 of 1860, and that these powers have for some time past been exercised in the Colony. I did not, therefore, think it necessary to repeat its provisions in the Bill under report.

7. In all other respects I have followed exactly the lines of Your Lordship's instructions.

8. I append a statement of the number of registered brothels and of women registered as prostitutes in the Straits Settlements, and also in the Native States, and I also attach a copy of certain resolutions passed at a meeting of the Chinese Advisory Board at Penang, with an expression of opinion by a member who was not present when the subject was discussed.

9. The Chinese Advisory Board in Singapore asked me to receive them, in order that they might remonstrate against the passing of the Bill, but on being informed that the Bill was before the Legislative Council, and that that body was the proper one to be addressed, they took no further action in the matter.

10. In conclusion, I desire to state that, much as I dislike any measure that may have the appearance of legalizing prostitution, I cannot but feel that where advantage is likely to be taken by an alien race-which has little respect for liberty of the steps we take to carry out our convictions, those steps should not be rashly taken against the advice of those who know most of the race, whose weakest members we honestly desire to guard from oppression.

• No. 19 in [H. C. 147], June, 1804.

↑ No. 1.

‡ Not printed.

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11. Mr. Wray, Protector of Chinese, is at present at home on leave, and might afford Your Lordship valuable information on the method in which this system of registration has been carried out, and of the success which has attended it..

I have, &c.,

C. B. H. MITCHELL.

P.S.-I add copy of reports from the Acting Protector and Assistant Protector of Chinese, which I have just received, which describes the system of brothel slavery and the systematic way in which the keepers are, even now, able to evade the watchfulness of the Protector of Chinese.

20340.

STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. No. 4.

C. B. H. M.

The MARQUESS OF RIPON to GOVERNOR SIR C. B. H. MITCHELL. [Answered by Nos. 5, 6, 8, and 11.]

(No. 436.) SIR,

Downing Street, December 28, 1894.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches No. 311 of 25th September last, and No. 324 of 8th October,† regarding the Ordinance to abolish the system of the Registration of Brothels and Prostitutes.

#

2. When I decided that this system must be abolished I had already given full consideration to arguments in favour of the system similar to those which you have now advanced, and, therefore, can only reply that I see no reason to reconsider my decision.

3. I have accordingly, in my telegram of the 24th inst., instructed you to assent to the Ordinance, No. 12 of 1894, of the Legislature of the Straits Settlements, entitled An Ordinance to further amend 'The Women and Girls' Protection Ordinance,'” a transcript of which accompanied Mr. Maxwell's despatch, No. 294, of 11th September last,§ and I have to inform you that Her Majesty will not be advised to exercise Her power of disallowance in respect of that Ordinance.

4. With reference to the 6th paragraph of your despatch, No. 311, I would observe that the provisions for the closing of brothels contained in section 14 of Indian Act, No. 48, of 1860, are not identical with those proposed in my despatch, No. 113, of 17th April last.|| Under the clause suggested by me, the initiation of proceedings against a brothel will rest with private householders, instead of being left to the -police, and the requirement that three householders should act together reduces the risk of blackmailing which might possibly occur in connection with such proceedings. This method of procedure is, in my opinion, preferable to that contained in the existing Law, and I request you to introduce an Ordinance repealing section 14 of Indian Act 48 of 1860, and substituting the provisions proposed in my despatch of 17th April.

5. As regards the last two enclosures to your despatch, No. 311,* relative to the question raised in my despatch, No. 240, of 31st of July last, as to the emigration of women to Johore or Kedah, where brothel-slavery is recognised by the State Government, I think that the suggestions, made in paragraph 5 of Mr. Hare's letter and in paragraph 9 of Mr. Evans's letter, for partially remedying this evil could in effect be adopted, notwithstanding the abolition of brothel registration, by a slight amendment of the Wornen and Girls' Protection Ordinance, namely, by amending section 5 of the Ordinance, so as to make it apply (like section 14 of Hong Kong Ordi- nance 11 of 1890-see pp.20-1 of the enclosed Parliamentary Paper [H. C. 147 of 1894]) to women and girls who are being obtained or disposed of "for purposes of emigration," as well as to girls who are being trained or used "for immoral purposes." you to introduce these amendments, and when the change has been in force, for (say)\\\

request a year, to furnish me with a report as to its effect in reducing the evils of the emigration of women and girls to Johore and Kedah, so that it may then be considered whether such emigration requires to be more stringently restricted or altogether prohibited.

• No. 3.

† 19046; not printed. No. 19 in [H. C. 147] June 1894.

20340; not printed. 12045; not printed.

No. 1.

• Not printed.