Sessional_Paper_1886-1887 — Page 196

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1o Increased knowledge on the part of the people of late years. The permanent residents know that they have no claim on a child which has been stolen and which they have purchased either for adoption . or service under the belief that it was sold by its parents, and they also know the difficulty in escaping from the penalties provided by the law against harbouring or receiving or buying or selling knowing the child to have been kidnapped. They also know that by English law the fact of money having been paid to a parent of itself gives no claim to the possession of the child even as against the parent who had received the money.

2o. Rewards are given by the Government for the detection of kidnappers,

and by the "Chinese Society for the protection of women and▸ children."

3o. The system of photographing for purposes of identification in order to prevent personation of registered prostitutes and women and children who pass the Emigration office, and the promulgation of the fact that such a system exists.

4° Every registered prostitutes gets a paper in Chinese telling her of her freedom and every room in every brothel has a notice affixed like the one annexed." (See Appendix).

The frequency with which steamers leave the Colony for Singapore and Penang led to much kidnapping of both young girls and women and children. Children were easily passed as those of Chinese returning to Singapore. Girls too and women were said to be personated before the Emigration Officer. Others who had been decoyed were said to be put on board the steamer when the vessel was about to start. Other frauds of substitution were frequently reported. Having found the system of photographs very successful in preventing personation in the registered brothels the Government, on my recommendation last year adopted the same system with reference to women and children about to emigrate. The system with intending emigrants is as follows: A woman or child takes each two photo- graphs to the Emigration Officer. He enquires as to their freedom. If they are passed one photograph is stamped, the name inscribed on it, and it is numbered. It is given to the emigrant. Duplicates are filed at the office and are preserved for three months. Any one who loses a child, wife, or sister can go to the Emigration Office and inspect the Albums. If the missing one is on board a telegram is gene- rally sent to the Singapore Government asking that inquiries should be made. By an arrangement with this. Government the Straits Government requires every woman and child to produce the stamped photograph, and the officer there would immediately detect the person presenting a wrong one. The Po Leung Kuk write on the 13th September, 1882, (see Registrar General's letter of the 19th submitting a translation):-"We are of opinion that since its adoption (i. e., photo- graphing brothel inmates) the number of young people who are inveigled into the Colony or brought for the purposes of prostitution has gradually decreased." The Society highly approved of the extension to emigrants of the photographing system and made some suggestions which are adopted. I also append returns of the number of cases of kidnapping, including illegal detention of women and children, and sales of women for prostitution and emigration for the last 10 years. From these returns it appear that fewer persons have been convicted in 1882 than in any year since 1874 although the population has increased 25 per cent. since then, and compared with 1880 the number of persons convicted of those crimes is. as 29 is to 68; a very marked change. The number of persons convicted up to June 30th this year is only 4, and one extradition case to Singapore, and no case has been grave enough to send to the Supreme Court. This result must be consi- dered satisfactory.

CC

In paragraph 18 page 123 of the Blue-book cited above Lord KIMBERLEY partially discusses three different suggested remedies. His first suggestion is to make it a misdemeanour to purport to pass a child for money in the Colony. The objections to that change in the Criminal law His Lordship himself pointed out. I think they are almost fatal and that our present Criminal law goes as far as a general regard for liberty will permit. His Lordship's third scheme, namely, registration of adopted children, had been thought of and already suggested; but there are in my opinion insuperable objections to that plan. The best informed