🚀 go-pugleaf

boy to pay her
fine, Governor Hennessy wrote the Colonial Office, under date of
December 6th, 1877:

    "I am now informed that the Commissioners have obtained from the
    records of the Registrar General's department and from Mr. Smith's
    evidence the clearest proof that this practice of selling human
    beings in Hong Kong was well known to the department. One of the
    records has been shown to me in which a witness swears, 'I bought
    the girl Chan Tsoi Lin and placed her in a brothel in Hong Kong';
    and on that particular piece of evidence no action was taken by
    the department."

Lord Carnarvon was Secretary of State for the Colonies at this time,
and his replies to Sir John Pope Hennessy were small encouragement to
the course the Governor had taken. He criticises his "somewhat unusual
course" in the appointment of a Commission "composed of private
persons to inquire into the administration of an important department
of the Government." He says: "I am unable to concur in the suggestion
made in your despatch as to the advisability of prosecuting Inspector
Lee." He implies that in his opinion "Inspector Lee was acting
strictly within his powers on this unfortunate occasion." "It is
quite possible," Lord Carnarvon continues, "that there may be abuses
connected with the Contagious Diseases Ordinance which ought to
be removed; but I would point out that such abuses arise from the
imperfections in the system as established by law.... While ready
to give consideration to the subject of amending the system, if
necessary, I fail at present to observe wherein the officers ... have
exceeded the duty imposed upon them by law."

From such responses as these we readily learn that it was not alone in
Hong Kong that these outrageous abuses of every principle of justice
in dealing with Chinese women failed to arouse more than a lukewarm
interest in their behalf, and all the way through Sir John Pope
Hennessy, with one or two notable exceptions, so fa