683461-1880-Domestic-Servitude-in-Hongkong- — Page 28

126.・ THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 4TM FEBRUARY,

tend and nurse them whilst they are of tender

age, and marry them off when they are grown

up, it is only for the few years between those

two periods that one gets the benefit of their labour. Moreover, as they have to be given

away in marriage, they are not like capital that remains on hand, whilst the food and clothes

they get are far superior to what they got in

the families they came from. Girls of poor and

distressed families seeing this, look upon it as the

very heaven and highroad to fortune. If all

such chances for them were cut off, all the

daughters of poor cottagers would consider their

highroad to fortune destroyed. Thus the inten-

tion to do them good would turn out to be to their injury. Your Excellency being inspired by humane and benevolent feelings, will surely be able to sift and weigh the above statements.

In the foregoing ten paragraphs Your Peti- tioners offer but a few slight explanations of the customs of the Chinese people, and of the measu- res taken by successive Government Oflicials, the real facts being here set forth and presented · to Your Excellency in the earnest hope that Your Excellency will, by a stretch of charity and sympathy, condescend to yield to the feelings of the people and deal with the matter discri- minately. And as to that Ordinance, passed some time ago, which contains passages referring to this subject, Your Excellency may perhaps deem it advisable to change the meaning of the Ordi- nance, by adopting the nearer and rejecting the far fetched sense of the words. Or perhaps it may be advisable henceforth to subject the buying of sons for adoption, and the purchase of girls for domestic servitude, to official registration with the expressed stipulation that such children are not to be treated oppressively or some similar rule.

Whilst submitting these suggestions, with due respect for Your Excellency's decision, Your Pe- titioners beg to state that by such measures

there will be no grievance inflicted on the people, but rich and poor will both be comforted and

the whole community of Hongkong will be bene- fitted thereby.

25th October, 1879.

Translated by

E. J. EITEL..

छ

烬

1880.

是欲愛之而反以害之 大憲仁愛僞心必能洞察於此 其中得其代外音不過數年」遺嫁無意居奇衣食勝於所出窮苦人家之女襯此爲生天活路憑杜而範之則窮解之女生路迴

陳

川

此則病民之政而貧富川安合港咸站其裇矣 立之例有關及是事者應否變通创意從簡去繁或自後於買童買婢一個可否報 官融册立明條款不得苛待等情恭候 憲裁如 以上十條董等不過将人風俗及歴任 英憲辦理情形披實剖用達 上時務祈餗民飂俯順輿情分別辦理至於以前所

:7

cle..

in