CO129-470 - Public Offices - 1921 — Page 543

F

*

ま

L

150

of years;

1^

r.

+4

owned purchased children.

culty in obtaining evidence,

540

In the second place there is diffL-

So long as the law is not strictly

enforced a man may be quite willing to say that he has bought

such and such a child-glare, sometimes he will express himself

in this way even if he has in fact only hired her for a period

but as seen as efforts were made effectively to ebfer

the law such confessions would not be made.

Mimilarly slave-

children would be taught to say nothing to inquisitive persons

why

na to the reason/they were living with and working for thåår

master. It is believed that only in a small fraction of case

would a slove-child be willing to return to her own home: with

poorer food, greater discomfort and harder work.

The Chinese Courts, it is atɛted, act with

„res"

severity in cases in waich cruelty is proved against the mast

T

of mistresses of slave-children.

One result of prohibiting the purchase of childr

(as opposed to the present practice of merely considering it

contrary to the law) would be an increase in the number of ch

ren exposed as well as in the number of those who die from

vation or under-faeding.

It/