Sessional_Paper_1929 — Page 246

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Slogans.

Displayed in a prominent position on the stage of the auditorium was a Chinese scroll, bearing the inscription that "the mantle of Abraham Lincoln has fallen on Mr. H. A. Cartwright, Editor of the Hong Kong Daily Press". This was the tribute of the Anti-Muitsai Society to the late Hong Kong Editor, for his services in drawing Home and local attention to the movement. It was stated by the Hon. Chinese Secretary that the scroll would now be forwarded to Mr. Cartwright's widow in England.

The meeting stood in silence for a minute as a mark of respect for the memory of the late Mr. Cartwright.

He

Mr. Peter Wong made a statement of the financial affairs of the Society. stated that there had been a dearth of funds owing to the lapse of subscriptions, and had it not been for the expenses saved for them through being rent-free and through the secretarial work being hitherto gratuitously discharged, the Society would have been fin- ancially in a bad way indeed. As it was there was just the wherewithal to pay for the cost of stationery.

The election of the 37 members of the General Committee was then proceeded with, including members of the local gentry and representatives of the European and Chinese press.

Enclosure 2 in No. 18.

REPORT ON THE WORKING OF THE FEMALE DOMESTIC SERVICE ORDINANCE, 1923.

The objects of this Ordinance were mainly two--the first to make it quite clear that the payment of money to the parent or guardian or employer of a female child confers no rights in the child and to strengthen the existing powers given to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs under Ordinance 4 of 1897; and the second to reinforce the law dealing with cruelty to children. So far there is nothing in the Ordinance which was not pro- vided for in existing legislation. What is new is the prohibition under Section 4 of the taking into employment of mui-tsai as defined in the Ordinance.

2. It may be said at once that the payment of money is not and never has been recognised as conferring any rights on the person making the payment; and that from the beginning the officers of the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs have in every case which has been brought to their notice dealt with the matter solely from the point of view of the interests of the child. It is believed that by now this principle is well understood: cer- tainly no one attempts to dispute it and the claim to the services of a female domestic ser- vant is always based on the argument that the girl is happy and does not wish to leave her employment.

3. One prosecution was brought under Section 6 of the Ordinance in 1928. There were none in previous years. Even if prosecutions for ill-treatment of children brought under the Offences against the Person Ordinance of 1865 are included the total is insigni- ficant. As a rule Chinese are particularly kind to children and the disgrace of being haled to court to answer a charge of cruelty to a child is one which all dread.

4. No prosecutions have been brought under Sections 4 and 5 of the Ordinance, and no information is available as to the number of mui-tsai who may have been taken into employment in the Colony since the Ordinance was passed; though Chinese opinion. in general considers that the number of mui-tsai employed has tended to decrease es- pecially in upper class households. It would in practice be all but impossible to prove in any particular case that the payment of money which alone differentiates a mui-tsai from any other domestic servant had in fact been made.