A Study Of Social Security And Governance In Singapore (1887-1892)

Social governance is one of the hot issues of academic interest in recent years.Using systematic information from The Lat Pau(including government documents,judicial decisions,current affairs reports and commentaries),this paper focuses on the social security and governance in Singapore from 1887 to 1892.In the history of Singapore’s legal system,this period is the inception of its judicial system under the British colonial rule.A systematic study of this period will not only help to fill the gap in the study on Singapore’s early legal history,but also help to understand the history,culture and tradition of the rule of law in Singapore which has a high level of legal governance in the world.The paper is divided into five chapters.Chapter One is “Introduction”,presenting the problem and elaborating on the theory,methods,sources,and innovations of the study;Chapter Two is "The History of the National Institutions for Public Security Governance in Singapore",which sorts out the history of Singapore’s judicial governance system since its opening in 1819,including the colonial system,the court,the police department,the Chinese Protectorate and so on.Chapter Three is "Theft and Robbery and Their Governance",analyzes the problem of theft and robbery,which was rampant in Singapore’s immigrant society,as well as the colonial government’s response to it.Chapter Four is " Pornography,Gambling and Drugs and Their Governance",respectively examines the phenomenon of pornography,gambling,drugs,and a series of social security problems arising from them,such as human trafficking,abuse of women and children,opium smuggling,and the governance of brothels.Chapter Five is "Secret Society and its Governance",focusing on the notable issue of the Secret Society during the colonial period,with its core at the analysis on the various measures taken by the British colonial authorities to regulate the Secret Society by law,and on the effects of these measures,especially the far-reaching “Registration of Society Ordinance of 1890” and the Act on the Suppression of the Secret Society.These three chapters are about three major issues that have long plagued Singapore’s social security during the colonial period,analyzing the judicial decisions and legislative follow-up on the vertical timeline through specific cases.The study shows that through the omnidirectional use of legislative,judicial and administrative power,Singapore has gradually achieved standardization and improvement in legal governance while addressing and solving social security problems,and in the inheritance of the modern British judicial system,modern thoughts and concepts of the rule of law such as the consciousness of individual rights,public and private rights,the supremacy of procedure,jury system,adherence to the principle of presumption of innocence,and emphasis on evidence have been implemented and enforced.Therefore,this stage has a seminal historical role in the process of making Singapore a modern country ruled by law with tradition of law system.