1868 — Page 138

“ན་བསླས་སྟན་

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON |

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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Registrar GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Hongkong, 22nd February, 1869.

127

SIB,

I have the honour to report, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, on the working of Ordinance No. 10 of 1867, for the better prevention of Contagious Disease, up to December 31st, 1868. The Ordinance which was passed twelve years ago in this Colony, "For checking the spread of Venereal Diseases," though doubtless an immense stride in advance compared with the state of things before 1857, was found too cumbrous in some of its provisions, not stringent enough in others, and involved an objectionable amount of publicity in its trials at the Magistracy. The Legislation under Report was therefore substituted for it.

2. Having arrived at this Office just after the Proclamation of the Ordinance, in April last, I am in a position to report on its entire working so far, that is to say in its Magisterial aspects. And it is gratifying to be able to state that the Ordinance has worked well, without publicity, and with an almost entire absence of 'friction' of any kind.

3. The following is a statement of the Registered houses which have been under the control of this Department.

Registered Houses for foreigners,......... Registered Houses for Chinese,..............

Number of Houses.

50

131

Total....... 181

Number of Inmates.

281

1,317

1,598

It is, I think, unfortunate that the term "Licensed" has been applied to these houses. It is true they pay a small fee, on the monthly renewal of their Registers, but the system is wholly independent of any such fee, which merely goes to pay working expenses. At the same time it must be candidly stated that no systems of reclamation, such as are described in the very admirable Report (1868) of the Association for promoting the extension of the Contagious Discases Act, are possible here. It is impossible for the Government to look upon prostitutes as other than people who have deliberately chosen their mode of life, and generally mean to adhere to it. The peculiar social position of Chinese women, the way in which the Empire is overstocked with them, their uselessness, according to Chinese ideas, for any other purpose, our proximity to mainland, whence fresh supplies are always to be obtained, and the very small amount of shame which attaches to the calling, all make the work of diminishing the evil otherwise than by regulating it one which at any rate at present seems hopeless.

The Honourable

J. GARDINER AUSTIN, Esq.,

Colonial Secretary,

fc.,

gr.