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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 mistresses1 tried to demand big sums of money as redemption from the mui-tsi'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 Tae 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 Support Needed.
seen.
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.
The
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. 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 to the appeal voiced by us now.
you will respond
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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.
Another member said that much effective work could be accomplished by personal investigation as in the case of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He discovered a similarity in the work of the two Societies with the exception that theirs had the greater claim to official backing, in the fact that it was a human being whose life's burden they were seeking to lighten.
The authorities had displayed a praiseworthy attitude when they co-operated with members of the S.P.C.A. in these personal investigations. He recalled that quite recently, lady members of that Society went round to the various bird shops in the town to look into cases of cruelty and that they were on that occasion accom- panied by a police officer. If the same procedure was adopted in their own case, and members of the Anti-Mui-tsai Society were allowed to accompany a police officer in order to investigate fully a report of cruelty, much of the objectionable features to which reference was made by the Chairman in his speech would cease.
Election of Committee.
After further discussion it was agreed to incorporate this suggestion as well as the one for a penalty clause, in the main body of proposals. In their revised form, the proposals were then put to the meeting and passed, the meeting giving full powers to the Executive Committee to present them at the proper time before the authorities. The revised Articles of Constitution of the Society, which had been in the hands of members for some time, were also passed.
The election of members of the Executive Committee was then proceeded with, and some 30 members were appointed. The Chairman proposed the appointment of Mr. J. D. Bush as Hon. English Secretary. The post was a responsible one, and Mr. C. G. Anderson, who recently resigned from it owing to pressure of business, deserved the thanks of the Society for the able manner in which he had filled it.
Mr. J. D. Bush was unanimously appointed Hon. English Secretary, and Mr. Ngan, Hon. Chinese Secretary.
Before the meeting terminated, the Chairman said it was their unanimous hope that the aims of the Society would soon be realised, and he urged the newly-elected members of the Committee to do their best to bring this about. The mui-tsai system had existed in their midst as an evil. It was always condemned and put out of the law by the Chinese Nationalist Government in a recent edict and he hoped that the Government of this Colony which had been responsible for many beneficial reforms would not be long in falling into line and dealing with a practice which admittedly had many evils.
Enclosure 4 in No. 18.
Report on the working of the Female Domestic Servants Ordinance, 1923. The objects of this Ordinance were mainly two: the first to make it quite clear that the payment of money to the parent or guardian or employer of a female child confers no rights in the child and to strengthen the existing powers given to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs under Ordinance 4 of 1897; and the second to reinforce the law dealing with cruelty to children. So far there is nothing in the Ordinance which was not provided for in existing legislation. What is new is the prohibition under Section 4 of the taking into employment of mui-tsai as defined in the Ordinance.
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