CO129-514-3 Mui Tsai system- correspondence 27-8-1929 - 21-11-1929 — Page 14

DOMESTIC SERVICE AMENDMENT ORDINANCE, 1929.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the second reading of the Bill intituled "An Ordinance to amend the Female Domestic Service Ordinance, 1923."

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the Bill was read a second time.

Council went into Committee to consider the Bill clause by

clause.

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THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.-In clause 2 I have to move as an amendment the insertion after the word "bring" in the first line of the proposed new section 4A, the words "or cause to be brought.' The first line of the new section will then be, "No person will hereafter bring or cause to be brought any unregistered mui tsai into the Colony." It is possible that the person bringing the girl in might not bring her in himself but might cause her to be brought in by someone else.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.

HON. MR. J. P. BRAGA. As regards this clause, is it the intention of the Government that a master of a river boat should be made liable to the penalties under this Ordinance if he were to bring a mui tsai into the Colony without knowledge that he was bringing in a mui tsai?

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.-No, Sir, the presumption is that any prohibition contains an assumption that the offender has guilty knowledge. In other words, in order to obtain a conviction under this clause we shall have to show that the person charged had guilty knowledge. The master of a ship would probably have no guilty knowledge and would therefore not be liable to any penalty.

HON. MR. J. P. BRAGA.--As at present provided, the amending clause may be construed as meaning any person bringing a mui tsai into the Colony, and to remove that ambiguity I would suggest that the Hon. Attorney General should so word the section as to exclude any master of a river boat bringing a mui tsai into the Colony without the knowledge that such mui tsai was travelling in his boat to Hong Kong.

H.E. THE GOVERNOR.-Would it not in that case be equally necessary to put in some proviso covering, say, the case of a driver of a train, or the driver of a motor car or the master of a junk? I think that what the Attorney General has said on the subject is quite clear. No one can be convicted under the section unless it is shown that he has guilty knowledge. Of course, if the master of a ship or the driver of a train or the driver of a motor car, or whoever he may be, had guilty knowledge, he would quite properly be convicted. I cannot myself believe that a prosecution would be brought against the master of a ship unless there was very good ground for believing that he had guilty knowledge.

The amendment was approved.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.-I beg to move that the following words be inserted at the end of Clause 6: "And the following sub-section is substituted therefor:-

"(2) No person shall without lawful authority or excuse have in his employment, custody or control any unregistered mui tsai."

The effect of that, Sir, will be to put in the principal Ordinance a sub-section saying that no person must have an unregistered mui tsai in his employment, custody or control. The object of the amendment is this without that amendment the Ordinance would contain two pro- visions, firstly, that every employer of a mui tsai who is in the Colony when Part III comes into force must register that mui tsai, and second- ly, that no person must hereafter bring in any mui tsai to the Colony. If we should, say, a year hence find in someone's employment an

unregistered mui tsai we should not be able to prove if she was here at the commencement of Part III or if she was imported after the commencement of the Ordinance. We should therefore not know under which of those two provisions to prosecute. I think it is advisable to have in the Ordinance a simple prohibition with regard to the finding of an unregistered mui tsai in anyone's possession. The prosecution could then be taken under this new proposed sub- section.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded and the amendment was approved.

No further amendments being made in Committee, upon Council resuming,

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the third reading.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the Bill was read a third time and passed.

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