CO129-478 - Public Offices & Others - 1922 — Page 568

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561

/5 ́ ́ June, 1922

DRAFT.

егу

Harold Begbie, Esq.

Garden Court

Swanage

MINUTE.

Mr. Mar sh

Mr.

8.6

Mr.

Mr. Davis.

Sir G. Grindle.

Sir H. Read.

Bir J. Mastërton Smith,

Mr. Food.

Mr. Churchill.

Dear Mr.Begbie,

2

Mr.Churchill desires me to thank

you for your letter of May 30th, and to

offer the following observations on the

memorandum you enclosed, so far as it

relates to the conduct of the Governor.

The first four paragraphs are

intended to throw doubt upon Mr.Chamberlain's

statement that Mrs.Haslewood was conducting

her campaign in terms which gave much

annoyance to the Chinese community. This

doubt can hardly be maintained in the face

of Mrs.Haslewood's own words in an interview

reported in the Methodist Times of July 14th

1921: "The letter which I wrote to the

Press and the campaign which I then began

roused a fierce opposition. At once

there was an official defence of the system

which was not denied but justified. I am

sorry to say that among those who rạnged

themselves in defence of the Chinese system

was a prominent missionary."

3 The Governor wrote as follows

citid in the report which Mr.Chamberlain quoted;

"That such terms ('hideous stain', * infamous

system' 'sordid and shameful facts') should

cause annoyance in a community in which the

keeping of mui taai is widespread was

only to be expected that it did so was ·

a matter of notoriety.

Further the

Acting Secretary for Chinese Affairs reported

at