CO129-551-2 Mui Tsai system 30-11-1934 - 22-11-1935 — Page 52

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my memorandum (se page 31 of the report), I supported the

views of Sir Cecil Clementi, and am glad to see that the Committee is in general agreement. To prevent any possible

misunderstanding, I wish to make it quite clear that the fact that normally mui-tsai do not become prostitutes

does not mean that Chinese children are not sold in Hong Kong in order to be trained for prestitution; it only

means that one type of girl becomes a mui-tsai, and that

another type becomes a prostitute. Sir Cecil Clementi's

despatch, from which I quoted, (see page 21 of the report)

leaves no doubt on this point.

In a later paragraph, I shall suggest that an

enquiry be held into the recruitment of female domestic

servants of the mui-tsai elass. If this is done, the

light thrown upon the methods of the professional and

semi-professional traffickers in mui-tsai may afford a side light upon the organization of the women (aptly

known as "pocket-mothers"),who buy girls to be trained

by them as singing-girls, cabaret-girls, restaurant-girls

or,without disguise, as brothel-prostitutes. It will be

well perhaps to keep the mui-tsai problem quite apart

from the other problem.

Here we finish with the eight questions

in my memorandum. The report answers them frankly, so

far as its information takes it. The Committee then

discusses the system of inspection, and makes its

recommendations on the whole subject of the mui-tsai.

At this stage, it will be convenient to quote the definition

of a mui-tsai.

Section 3 of the Female Domestic Service

Ordinance1923, is as follows:-

"In this Ordinance:-

(a) "Mui-tsai" includes-

W(i) every female domestic servant whose employer for

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