[ree kulit3
funds not to be used for
political pur- poses outside the Colony.
Restraint of application of funds of trade unions, etc., in con- travention of Ordinance.
Penaltios.
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(6) No person shall without lawful authority or excuse have in his possession any document which purports or appears to be a direction or notice on behalf of or in the name of any trade union which is established outside the Colony with regard to any action by any person or persons within the Colony.
(7) Iu may prosecution under this section the ouus of proving that any organization in question was not a trade union, or that any organization in question was not a trade union which was established outside the Colony, shall lie on the defendant.
8. It shall not be lawful to apply any of the funds of any trade uniou to any politica purpose outside the Colony, and no person shall require or invite any member of a trade union or any other person to make any contribution to the funds of any trade union for any political purpose outside the Colony.
9. Without prejudice to the right of any person having a sufficient interest in the relief sought to sue or apply for an injunction to restrain any application of the funds of a trade union in contravention of the provisions of this Ordi- nance, such an injunction may be granted at the suit or upon the application of the Attorney General.
10. Every person who contravenes any of the provi- sions of this Ordinance shall upon summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars and to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months.
Objects and Reasons.
1. The main object of this Ordinance is to arm the Colony against strikes, like the general strikes of 1922 and 1925, which are designed or calculated to coerce the Government by inflicting hardship upon the community. It is also intended to strengthen the law against intimida- tion, and to free Hong Kong trade unions from the risk of being dominated by organizations outside the Colony. It is based chiefly on the Trade Disputes and Trade Union Bill, which is at present being considered in Parliament, and on certain sectious in the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, 1875.
2.-(1) The definition of “strike" in section 2 is copied from clause 8 (2) of the English bill.
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(2) The definition of "trade union gave rise to some difficulty, the English definitions being complicated by the legislative history of trade unions in England. The definition which has been adopted in the Ordinance is based on that in section 16 of the Trade Cnion Act Amendment Act, 1876, 39 & 10 Vict. c. 22. In the peculiar circumstances of Hong Kong it has been consi- dered unnecessary at present to follow that definition in its application to combinations of employers and to com- binations for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business. The reference to branches is taken from section 5 (2) of the Trade Disputes Act, 1906, 6 Edw. 7, c. 47. The phrase, which has among its objects", is based on section 1 of the Trade Union Art, 1913, 2 & 3 Geo. 5, c. 30.
3.-(1) Section 3, which deals with illegal strikes, is based on clause I of the English bill, altered in accordance with certain amendments which it was indicated that the Government proposed to make in that clause.
(2) Sub-clause (2) of clause 1 in the English bill pro- vides penalties of £10 or 3 months imprisonment on sum- mary conviction, and of 2 years imprisonment on cou- viction on indictment. In the present Ordinance the penalties are all relegated to section 10 which provides simply for maximum penalties of $500 and/or 6 months imprisonment, to be imposed in all cases on summary còn- viction,
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