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The Government should also proclaim a law strictly forbidding the selling and purchasing of girls without the presence and proof of a solicitor, proving that the girl is adopted and purchased as a daughter. A breach of this law should be penalised with imprisonment, while persons directly connected with the unlawful deal should be liable to a heavy fine.
Annual Report.
The annual report of the Anti-Mui-tsai Society was then read by Mr. K. Y. Ngan. He said :-
Ladies and gentlemen, your presence at this meeting to-day has filled us all with extreme pleasure, and I am sure your showing up here now proves the very deep interest and concern you always entertain in the cause and affairs of this Society. Since the general meeting we convened in July of last year, more than a year has elapsed; but I am glad to say that all the time those on the committee have done their very best in carrying on the work of the Society and, above all, in promoting its worthy cause; and what they have done may partly have been evinced by reports in newspapers, while part of it had to be kept secret and confidential when circum- stances so required. We always take to heart the heavy burden on our shoulders and at the same time bear in mind the hard conditions of the mui-tsai. In this you will join us in showing sympathy.
I regret to say that we have not succeeded in influencing the Government to put through the registration of mui-tsai with the proper authorities, and consequently this cursed system has not yet been wiped out from the community. Reports of cruelty and ill-treatment to mui-tsai are no less often heard than before. As our attempt failed at the eradication of this evil, we have now directed our efforts to cope with it by way of diminishing the individual cases of cruelty. We have adver- tised in two vernacular papers to the effect that all suppressed mui-tsai who have been badly treated by their masters or mistresses may appeal to this Society and make the complaint to the Chairman, who would then bring their grievances before the Government and have them redressed. The complainants may state their names and addresses, which the Society will undertake to keep confidential. At this juncture, I have the pleasure to mention that the expenses involved in such adver- tising for the whole year have been defrayed through the generosity of Dr. Ma Luk, to whom our hearty thanks are due.
Not in Vain.
This advertising of our cause and appeal to the public has not been in vain, and has carried its weight wonderfully. From time to time we have received reports from complainants calling for our help, and in response we have never failed to come to their assistance. Among these we may mention those who have been freed and returned to the custody of their parents without being required to give a refund to their masters or mistresses. These are the daughter of Poon Fung Lin, the daughter of Mrs. Kan, and Lau Choi-ying. There have been some cases in which the mistresses tried to demand big sums of money as redemption from the mui-tsai's parents, and through the Society's influence they promised to give up their demands, when some institution intervened with arbitration, making the parents pay half the redemption; these being the cases of So Cheuk-Kiu, Li Hung, and Tse Sham-koo. This was, of course much against our will and purpose, which always aims at complete emancipa. tion by acting on the Government's instructions without paying any redemption, or any part of it, by the parents.
Very often reports of cruelty had been found true and confirmed by inquiries made by the Society, but the detectives sent by the authorities to make the necessary enquiry would return with contrary reports and entirely different stories. With a view to overcoming this difficulty, however, the committee of the Society has approached the Government to get permission to allow our English secretary to go together with the detectives to make enquiry into any case dealt with by the Society, so that the real state of affairs may be investigated and a true and reliable report be made. But whether this step of procedure will be approved still remains to be
seen.
Support Needed.
Meanwhile, should any case of cruelty occur, our committee would have no right to interfere and investigate unless the case should also come to the notice of the police authorities. At a meeting of the committee last month, a resolution was unanimously passed that the Government be approached again in order to enforce the registration of mui-tsai, so that present ones might be given safe protection, while the sale of innocent daughters as slave girls might also discontinue. This is what we have done so far in furthering our cause, and we now enlist your support and assistance.
As to the financial standing of the Society, it is by no means sound as its income depends largely on subscriptions from its members. Some time ago we started to collect the subscription for this year, but the results were poor and rather dishearten- ing. Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Ma Luk and Mrs. Fung Heung-chuen, our efforts were rewarded/ for they each donated $50 to the Society's funds. The expenditure of the Society is rather small, since we have only to pay for advertise- ments, printing, and some stationery. However, the work of the Society is decidedly burdensome, and it is up to you to see it through; therefore whether we can achieve our object of getting rid of this inveterate social evil depends on how you will respond to the appeal voiced by us now.
The Discussion.
The chairman invited discussion on the proposals he had outlined in his opening address in regard to the registration of both mui-tsai and adopted daughters.
A member said that they should enforce registration through a penalty clause and he pointed out that such had been overlooked in the proposals. He suggested that failure to register within the prescribed period of six months be penalised by a heavy fine, to be followed by the giving of complete freedom to the girls without such consideration as compensation to the owner.
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