CO129-467 - Governor Sir Stubbs & Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1921 [1-5] — Page 151

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CONFIDENTIAL.

Rr

31 MA 21

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG. 14th February, 1921.

5804

My Lord,

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt

of Your Lordship's Confidential despatch of the 15th of

December, 1920, in which you enclosed copies of correspond-

ence with Lieutenant Commander Haslewood on the question of

the alleged ill-treatment of Chinese girls.

2.

The atatements in Lieutenant Commander's

letter appear to be adequately dealt with in the reply from Your Lordship's department. Whether a communication in

identical terms to four newspapers would be more correctly

described as "a letter" or "letters" is a matter of opinion.

In any case the point is a trifling one, The important fact is that in all the English papers of the Colony there appeared over Mrs. Haslewood's signature allegations that child slavery was established and countenanced in Hongkong, these allegations being embellished with such phrases as "hideous stain", "infamous system", bordid and shameful

facts".

3.

That such terms should cause annoyance in a

community in which the keeping of "mui teei" is widespread was only to be expected: that it did so was a matter of notoriety: that these attacks on the system continue to do so may be seen from the enclosed extract from a minute by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, which I am forward ing to

you in another despatch.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

VISCOUNT MILNER, G.C.B..

&c..

&c..

&c.

4.