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or accounts, which he may have reason to believe to relate to any offence against this Ordinance.
(3) No person shall refuse the Secre- tary for Chinese Affairs or such officer as aforesaid access to any such vessel, house, building or other place, or otherwise obstruct or hinder him in effecting an entrance, or in removing such woman or girl, or in seizing and detaining such articles, books, documents or accounts.
(4). (a) In carrying ont any search under the provisions of this section the Secretary for Chinese Affairs or such officer as aforesaid shall have power to put questions and to give any such order or direction as may be necessary to the inmates of any vessel, house, building, or other place for the purpose of carrying out such search.
(6) The inmates of any vessel, house, building, or other place shall answer truth- fully all questions put to them by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, or such officer as aforesaid, and shall obey any order or direction given by him touching any matter or any person connected with such search.
(e) No person shall by force, restraint, threats, inducement, or other means, cause any woman or girl who is or may be liable to be dealt with under the provisions of this Ordinance to conceal herself in or to leave any vessel, house, building, or other place being searched or about to be searched by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs or such officer as aforesaid under the provi- sions of this section, with the intent that the search of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs or such officer may thereby be evaded or obstructed.
(5) Every person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section shall upon summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars and to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months.
Objects and Reasons.
1. This Ordinance proposes to make various altera- tions in the Protection of Women and Girls Ordi- nance, 1897, Ordinance No. 4 of 1897, some with a view to strengthening the hands of the authorities in dealing with the traffic in women and girls, and some in order to get rid of certain difficulties, explained below, which exist at present in our legislation.
2. Section 2 of this Ordinance amends section 3 of the principal Ordinance so as to make paragraph (4) of the latter section more complete. At present that paragraph contains correlative provisions, applicable to the two parties to the transaction, in three cases, i.e., sale, pledge and hire, but "disposal
" has no correlative. The amendment now to be made adds a reference to obtaining possession, as a correlative to disposal.
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