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people who are inveigled into the Colony or brought for the purposes of prostitution has gradually decreased." The Society highly approved of the extention to emigrants of the photographing system and made some suggestions which are adopt- ed. 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 emigra- tion 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 per- sons 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 extra- dition case to Singapore, and no case has been grave enough to send to Supreme Court. This result must be considered satisfactory.

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 Chinese think so too; for it will be remembered that money always passes when strangers-in-blood are adopted, as well as in cases of domestic service. The regis- tration of such a transaction at a Government office would be at once construed as giving a good title in virtue of the money payment and it would be used against a child seeking its freedom. Frequently Chinese will come to the Registrar General's office and ask to have a transaction of sale into adoption witnessed with a view of having the fact recorded that a certain amount of money was advanced or paid. This is to preserve evidence in case a claim is made for the child. The danger therefore is that the Government would be compromised by countenancing in any way a transaction where money was paid for a child. I think, a modification of Lord Kimberley's second suggestion would be practicable, as it is based on the universal custom of giving security which prevails in China. It would work smoothly and probably accomplish much good. At all events it might be tried as an experi-

ment.

The scheme which I suggest is that power should be given to the Registrar General to summon before him suspicious persons who had "pocket-daughters" or female domestic servants, and in his discretion to call upon them to find reasonable security for their bona fides towards such children. The Registrar General should associate with himself say three or four members of the Po Leung Kuk-the Chinese society for the protection of women and children-who would advise him as a Consulting Committee. He should also have power to summon before him all women of disreputable character who kept girls between the ages of 8 and 16 inclusive by virtue of adoption or of purchase for domestic service. He should have power to require the attendance of the girls at his office before himself and the consulting Chinese Committee. He should be able also to summon persons as witnesses who could give information about either the children or their so-called owners. The girl could be instructed in her rights in cases of suspicion and shewn how she could be protected; and the woman put under a rule of bail to produce the girl when required. There should also be a power of appeal in a summary way to a Judge in Chambers against any order of the Registrar General, and the Registrar General should be empowered to apply to a Judge for a writ of Habeas Corpus with the view of taking away any child from the custody of persons who had no right to keep it, and whose retention of it militated against the child's in- terests. The Judge of course would be governed by the principles of English law and make such order as the best interests of the child demanded. The knowledge of the existence of such a power and its occasional exercise would, in my opinion, be most useful, and the leading Chinese whom I have consulted think it is the only practical method yet suggested which whilst not interfering with the respectable and settled population would be a very powerful aid towards suppressing the "Tso Chu