CO129-522-6 Mui Tsai System 13-12-1929 - 31-12-1930 — Page 44

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that this is a very satisfactory response.

The

original estimate of 10,000 as the total of mui-tsai

resident in the Colony was merely a guess and it

appears probable that it was too high.

3.

Within

Any diminution from the number of mui-tsai that may have been formerly supposed to exist in this Colony may be accounted for in large measure by the action of employers in returning mui-tsai to their parents either voluntarily or upon request. the last six months fifty-two such cases have been brought to the notice of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs. In almost equal proportions the return to the parent in those cases has been either voluntary on the part of the employer, or effected without opposition at the request of the girl made to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, or effected without opposition on application made by the parent to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs.

Apart from these cases which actually come to the Government's notice, I am informed on good authority that many restorations have been privately made, and also that in many cases mui-tsai have been sent to the country homes in China of employers of the middle and upper middle classes.

4.

In the cases of which the Secretary for Chinese Affairs has cognisance the return of a

mui-tsai to her parents is not made without enquiry, and since December 1st, 1929, eight claims by

parents