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money in a place mutually arranged for, and
the highbinder society undertakes for the sum paid to see that the
informer is assassinated within twenty-four hours. That is the length
of time usually claimed for the act. But sometimes years may pass
before the marked victim can be traced and killed.

We will next give a few cases from the records of the Presbyterian and
Methodist Mission Rescue Homes of San Francisco, which will clearly
show the similarity between the state of affairs in Hong Kong and
California.




CHAPTER 17.

STRUGGLES FOR FREEDOM.


A Chinese girl of 14 was brought to this country, and served six
months as a domestic slave, and was then put into a brothel. She was
rescued. Her Chinese master got out a writ of habeas corpus, went to
the Mission with an officer and took the girl away at once to court
before a corrupt judge. It was just at noon-time, and the missionary
pleaded for a little time in which to summon a lawyer. The judge said:
"I have no time to fool with this case." The lawyer arrived in haste
and pleaded for a little time in which to prepare the defense. The
judge said to the lawyer: "You shut up, or I'll have you imprisoned
for contempt of Court." He awarded the slave to the care of her
master.

This and other such cases led to a valuable alteration of the law at
the point of the protection of minors. We will explain the change in
the words of Miss Cameron:

    "In years past it was necessary in each case to in a way break
    the _letter_ though not the _spirit_ of the law when we rescued a
    Chinese child, for there was no written law to uphold us in
    entering a house and carrying off a child--then, too, before
    it was possible to carry out guardianship proceedings, the
    ever-available writ of habeas corpus would in many cases deliver
    the child back