Sessional_Paper_1929 — Page 212

204

liar surroundings rather than risk a change to new work. It is possible, however, that in addition to any mui-tsais who may desire to leave their present homes there will be others whose employers are unable or unwilling to retain their services if they have to pay them wages. It will be necessary to provide for such cases but in the absence of any indication of what the number is likely to be it is difficult to know what provision to make.

I cannot recommend at present the establishment of an Industrial Home such as the Committee suggest. Very heavy expense would be involved and very likely without due cause the number of girls who may need to be provided for may be only a few dozen at the most. For disciplinary reasons, it would be necessary to run the institution on lines similar to those of a reformatory and to restrict the liberty of the inmates: it would therefore be unpopular and no girl would enter it if she could find any alternative work.

Moreover, such an institution could scarcely be built and ready for occupation in less than two years at the earliest by which time it may be hoped that any need for it would practically have ceased to exist.

I think that it is reasonable to anticipate that the number of cases to be provided for will not be larger than can be dealt with adequately with the assistance of the Po Leung Kuk and other charitable institutions or by arrangements with individual employers of labour and I advise that the matter should be left in that state for the present. If a detailed scheme has to be worked out to deal with contingencies that will very probably never arise there will be indefinite delay before a start is made with the abolition of the mui-tsai system.

I have, etc.,

R. E. STUBBS.

Enclosure in No. 7.

REPORT BY A JOINT COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF MUI-TSAI AND THE ANTI-MUI-TSAI SOCIETY.

Hong Kong, 29th May, 1922.

The Honourable,

Sir,

The Secretary for Chinese Affairs,

Present.

In compliance with your verbal request made on 11th March, 1922, that the Society for Protection of Muitsai and the Anti-Muitsai Society should co-operate to devise a scheme for the abolition of the muitsai system for submission to the Hong Kong Govern- ment, we, the members of the Joint Committee separately elected by these two societies for this purpose, have the honour to communicate our conclusions. In our deliberations, we bear in mind that the number of muitsais is in the neighbourbood of ten thousand and that it may be beyond the resources of the Government to provide maintenance for all of them. Moreover, we realize that muitsai-keeping is a very old practice and that the in- terests of the owner cannot be entirely ignored, and, consequently, we are inclined to adopt the expedient of treating the purchase price of a muitsai as money advanced to her parent. For this consideration, the muitsai has to remain to work for her owner for a cer- tain number of years before she regains her freedom. Only

Only on this foundation can we hope to build up an adequate organization for effecting abolition.

Legislation.

To our mind, the first step lies in promulgating the necessary legislation, particu- Appen- lars of which are suggested in Appendix A. Registration of muitsai is absolutely necessary dix A. to effect abolition: the form recommended is not so irksome that opposition from the pub-

lic has to be met. Moreover, registration is necessary in order to check the importation of muitsai, which, after the passing of the necessary ordinance, is to be a punishable