Heathen Slaves and Christian Rulers

by Elizabeth Wheeler Andrew; Katharine C. Bushnell

Such are the circumstances under which thousands of our fellow beings are annually brought to the labour market at Singapore, and it must be admitted that, to say the least of it, the system does not seem worthy of Western nineteenth century civilization. At the same time the extreme difficulty of controlling the 'depot and broker system,' or even of providing an efficient substitute for it, must be freely admitted. The system of Government contracts and inspection of immigrants has already done something toward ameliorating the condition of the coolie, and guarding him against illegal detention after his arrival at Singapore or Penang. Much more, however, remains to be done before the coolie trade will cease to be a reproach to the Straits Settlements, and it is doubtful whether any satisfactory reforms will be accomplished until the Chinese Government is moved in the matter with a view to checking the evil at the fountain head. Failing this, it would be worth considering whether the system of "unpaid passengers" might not advantageously be abolished, especially as this class of immigrant represents only 11 per cent of the total immigration, and more than one-third of the labor contracts last year were voluntarily signed by "paid passengers." It seems probable that if the "unpaid passenger" system were abolished, and the market thus thrown open to free competition, a much larger number of "paid passengers" would offer for contracts. But, even if this plan should appear to involve too great a risk of diminishing the flow of Chinese coolies to Singapore, it surely would not too severely tax the ingenuity of the Straits Government to devise a system of State-aided immigration, closely resembling that which has for many years been working in Canada, and more in accord with the dictates of ordinary humanity and English ideas of the liberty of the subject.

Among the Chinese at Singapore the women number less than one-fifth of the population, and at Penang the proportion between males and females is practically the same. In the immigration returns the disparity is even more marked, for there is only one female immigrant to every eighteen men. This extraordinary preponderance of males in the Chinese population of these towns has given rise to, and is made the standing excuse for, a wholesale system of prostitution to which it would be difficult to find a parallel. Government registration and protection have favored the growth of this diabolical plague spot, for, strange to say, this gigantic system of debauchery is under the direction of the department which is euphemistically entitled "The Chinese Protectorate," the "Protector of Chinese" at Singapore being also the Inspector of over 200 brothels, and the Registrar of about 1,800 prostitutes. Many streets of well built three-story houses, chiefly in one particular quarter of the town, are devoted to this nefarious traffic, and are thronged every night with Chinamen who loaf about and gaze into the front rooms and verandahs of the brothels, for these front rooms open on the street and there the women and girls are assembled in their best attire for the inspection of the passers-by. Anything more ostentatiously and revoltingly public could hardly have been devised, and it is painful to reflect that the whole arrangement is the product of Western civilization, such scenes being utterly unknown in China except in the treaty ports, where public prostitution has also been introduced by Europeans.

Taking Singapore as a sample of the working of this system of regulated vice in the Straits Settlements, we will now proceed to inquire into the means by which this army of prostitutes is recruited. Out of the total of 1,800 prostitutes in Singapore the Chinese women number on the average 1,600, and last year (1892) no less than 621 women entered brothels from China and Hong Kong, in spite of which the number of inmates fell from 1,657 in January to 1,601 in December, so that it may fairly be inferred that more than 650 women are required annually to fill up the vacancies which occur. In order to explain the manner in which this large number of girls and young women are obtained each year, it must be stated that all the affairs connected with the inmates of houses of ill-fame in the Straits Settlements are in the hands of the brothel-keepers. These persons in Penang have formed a "Brothel-keepers' Guild," which appears in the Report of the Chinese Protectorate as one of the registered societies of that town and boasts of 297 members. The brothel-keepers of Singapore are probably banded together in the same way, and in proportion to the number of brothels should be more than twice as numerous as those in Penang. These brothel-keepers have their confederates in China, who search for girls and young women in the same way that the coolie-brokers search for the men, and these unfortunate young persons are brought to Singapore in batches under escort in the same way as the men, but are taken from the ships in closed carriages instead of being driven through the town like sheep, as the men are. All these young women and girls, who are brought to Singapore for immoral purposes, with the full knowledge and consent of the Government, are taken direct from the ships to the office of the Protector of Chinese, to be questioned as to their willingness to lead a life of shame; but the value of this interrogation may be inferred from the fact that the subordinate officer to whom this duty is generally assigned is not acquainted with the language spoken by the women. As a further precaution against the illegal detention of women and girls in brothels, a Government notice is posted in each of these houses, to the effect that the inmates are perfectly at liberty to leave whenever they like, but this is of little use, as hardly any of them can read, and it would be more to the purpose if the Government ordered the removal of the bars from the doors and windows of the brothels. The fact is that these precautions against illegal detention are practically useless, and this is admitted even by the editor of such a paper as the Hong Kong Daily Press, who some time ago discussed the question apropos of the suicide of a Hong Kong prostitute who was desirous of being married. The man who wished to marry her offered the pocket-mother a sum of $2,000, but she demanded $2,300 and refused to part with the woman for less; whereupon she hung herself. The following comments on this case are from the Hong Kong Daily Press:

"It would appear on the face of it that the efforts of the Government are absolutely impotent, the notices so much waste paper, and the 'rights of liberty' mere empty phrases of no meaning or significance to the Chinese mind … A Chinawoman would never dream of effecting her escape for the purpose of evading the blood money. Of course such transactions are absolutely illegal, there is no tittle of reason why the man should pay a cent for the girl, but it is nevertheless an indubitable fact that the custom is widely prevalent, and that Hong Kong is a market for the buying and selling of women which the Government is powerless to touch. Exeter Hall in possession of these facts would indeed have a theme for pious lucubrations."

Commenting upon the same case the Singapore Free Press says:

"A recent investigation into a case of suicide in Hong Kong brings into strong prominence what is really a system of slavery of the worst kind, and which is not unknown in Singapore."

Such testimony is valuable from papers which have consistently supported the Contagious Diseases Ordinances and vilified the opponents of the State regulation of vice. There can be little doubt that a large proportion of the girls and young women who are brought to the Straits Settlements for immoral purposes have been sold in China to the brothel-keepers' confederates. In many cases girls are thus sold by their parents for the payment of gambling and other debts, and sometimes, alas, to provide money for the purchase of opium. Surely it is a burning shame that British Colonies should have become the market for the sale of Chinese women into this diabolical form of slavery.

This article cannot be closed without a brief reference to another and more subtle form of slavery which is well known to exist in the Straits. The last Report of the Chinese Protectorate reveals the fact that during last year (1892) in Singapore alone 426 prostitutes left brothels and went into private houses, and in the same period 148 left private houses and entered brothels. The wealthy Chinese in the Straits Settlements keep up very large establishments, and the uninitiated visitor cannot fail to be surprised at the number of young women in the quarter assigned to the servants. They are employed on house work, and keep the magnificent furniture and wardrobes in splendid order, and in many cases they make cakes and sweetmeats which are sold on the streets by their own offspring. The question naturally arises,—Are these women and girls free agents? It is very difficult to say with certainty whether they are free or not, but it is generally admitted that a subtle form of domestic slavery does exist in the Straits, and that boys as well as girls are bought and sold with impunity.

This account in no way exaggerates conditions, as official documents plainly show. We will confine our thoughts, however, to the women. In a plea for the continuance of the Contagious Diseases Ordinance at Singapore, Mr. Pickering, "Protector," describes two classes of prostitutes, a proportion of free women "who come down here to gain a livelihood, and girls purchased when very young…. These are absolutely the property of their owners, chiefly women whom the girl calls 'mother,' and whom they regard as such…. The mistress brings her girls down to the Straits, and either sells them, or takes them from place to place, lodging them in licensed brothels where she resides, nominally a servant, but receiving the earnings of her girls, and paying a commission to the licensed keeper. In case of sale, the so-called 'mother' receives the price paid for her 'daughter,' and the 'daughter' signs a promissory note for the amount, with heavy interest; the former owner returns to China, and the victim is bound to serve the Straits mistress; at the same time, the girl is comparatively (!) fortunate in that, coming here under the protection we can give through the Contagious Diseases Ordinances, she has some chance of becoming a free woman."

Now listen, reader, to the wonderful chances of becoming a free woman under the British flag, this "Protector" holds out to the slave girls who are placed in his officially managed brothels: