CO129-475 - Governor Sir Stubbs & Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1922 [5-7] — Page 382

NA CONFIDENTIAL.

533j

35931

REG 24 JUL 22

335.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG.

10th June, 1922,

2

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You

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Sir,

In another despatch of even date I am submitting

to you my suggestions as to the steps which should be taken to abolish the mui-tsai system. As it will probably be desirable to publish that despatch at some time I have confined it as closely as possible to the main question and the object of the present despatch is to deal with some minor points which have been raised in the telegraphic correspondence which has passed between us on this subject.

2. In my telegram of 28th March I stated that both the Society for the Protection of Mui-tsai and the Anti-

missimarry

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muitsai Society and enthusiastic advocates of abolition regarded the idea of abolishing the system in one year as cb unthinkable. In your telegram of April 4th you asked for a statement of the reasons for this view. These reasons are,

I think, to be found in the opening paragraph of the report, of which I am forwarding a copy in my other despatch.

It was recognized that it was out of the

question for the Government merely to declare that no mui-tsais

were to be employed any longer as that would have resulted in

thousands of girls being thrown on the hands of the Government which had not the machinery to deal with them and could not

HE RIGHT HONOURAB LE

WINSTON CHURCHILL, M.P.,

&c.

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80..