COPY
Enclosure 2.
Sir,
May 11th.,
C 0. 102
513
Jr. 04 1903.
1 have the honour to report that in the
New Territory North of the Kowloon Hills there is a constantly
increasing number of cases of wives running away from their
busbands and refusing to return. For some time it was found
possible to persuade the rives to return or perhaps to secure
the repayment of the purchase money to the husband
natives of exactly equal satisfaction: but one or two more
alter-
than usually obstinate cases have revealed the fact that neither
the Folice nor the Vagistrate have any power of enforcing a
decision. The result is that every case is now an obstinate one,
and the cases are multiplying.
2.
On May 8th. I had such a case at Fing
Shan, when a nurter of elders who were interested were present.
In our discussion it appeared that in China there is a regula-
tion - or a custom by which pressure is brought to bear cn
anyone who harbours a runaway wife; and the want of some such regulation is sorely felt in the New Territory, as the wives
now have matters all in their own way. The great majority of
the inhabitants of the New Territory are very poor, and it
needs a deal of saving and scraping to get together the money
anything from about $100 upwards, it would seen
necessary for
the purchase of the wife and various marriage expenses: and
the saving of a second such sum is almost out of the question.
8.
1 see no remedy for this state of things
except powers to enforce the return of the wife or the repay- ment of the purchase money. Not the least advantage of this
suggestion
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