Sessional_Paper_1935 — Page 261

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(C.S.O. 2152/1883).

Registrar General to Colonial Secretary.

No. 73.

REGISTRAR GENERAL'S OFFICE.

Hongkong, 31st August, 1883.

SIR,

ac-

I have the honour to inform you that it was reported to me, last week, that Wong A-Ho, keeper of Registered Brothel No. 80, had a number of young girls in her private house, No. 233 Hollywood Road, right opposite the brothel. I cordingly sent one of the Inspectors under the "Contagious Diseases Ordinances' to the house to ask that the children might be brought to see me. He returned with 17, of whom 14 were girls and 3 were boys.

2. Following the course recommended by Mr. Justice Russell in his recent re- port on Child Adoption and Domestic Service, I requested Mr. Leung A-On and Mr. Chan Kwan-I, of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children, to sit with me in investigating the case. They were good enough to attend at once, and the result was that we were unanimously of opinion that 11 of the girls, ranging in age from 16 to 7, whom Wang A-Ho claimed, had come into her possession by purchase. The other three girls were claimed by servants in the brothel as their own children, and we had no proof that this was not the case.

3. At the close of the investigation I ordered Wang A-Ho to find security in $500 for each of the eleven girls that she claimed; and the claimants of the other three security in $200 each. I also directed that the photographs of all the 14 should be brought to me in the course of this week, and I am able to report that that has now been done. I have also directed that the girls shall be brought to this office once a quarter, in order that I may see how they are being treated, and have an opportunity of repeating to them that in this Colony no one can under any circumstances arising out of Adoption or Service deprive them of their personal liberty.

4. I have acted in this matter in my capacity as Protector of Chinese, and probably the urgency of the case sufficiently justifies the course I have taken. I think, however, that it would be well to have legislative authority for such pro- ceedings, and I am at present sketching out a draft of an Ordinance to invest the Registrar General with all necessary powers, and to give persons who may consider themselves aggrieved the right of appeal from his decisions.

I have the honour to be, Sir,

Your most obedient servant, FREDERICK STEWART,

Registrar General.

THE HONOURABLE W. H. MARSH, C.M.G.,

Colonial Secretary,

&c..

&c.,

&c.

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