THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 30TH NOVEMBER, 1895.
discretion, order the payment of the costs of such legal proceedings or any part of them (taxed as between party and party) out of the estate, with the same priority as to payment as is provided in respect of the taxed costs of the petitioner.
Reasons, &c.
Section 1 carries out the instructions received from the Secretary of State as to the payment into the Treasury of fees and commissions by the Official Receiver.
Section 2 seeks to remedy a hardship under the Bank- ruptcy Ordinance of 1891.
In this Colony cases often arise of Chinese traders in difficulties commencing to remove their goods for the purpose of putting them beyond the reach of their creditors.
Proceedings taken at considerable expense by a creditor who gets an order of the Court for seizure of the goods may, in the event of a bankruptcy petition being filed, simply result in the preservation of those goods for the general body of creditors at the cost of that particular creditor.
It seems only just that, in such cases, the Court should have power in its discretion to allow a priority to the costs of the legal proceedings of the creditor whose exertions have thus benefitted the estate, similar to that at present accorded to the costs of the bankruptcy petitioner.
W. MEIGH GOODMAN, Attorney General.
A BILL
ENTITLED
An Ordinance to further amend “The Cattle Diseases, Slaughter-Houses, and Markets Ordinance, 1887.
BLE
E it enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-
1. This Ordinance shall be read and construed with The Cattle Diseases, Slaughter-Houses, and Markets Ordi- nunce, 1887, (as amended by Ordinances No. 23 of 1890 and No. 12 of 1894).
2. If any person passes or attempts to pass into any of the slaughter-houses of the Colony any animal which has not been inspected, passed and (in the case of sheep or cattle), marked with the Broad Arrow mark by an officer duly authorized by the Government to perform such duties, such animal may be detained by any officer on duty at the Slaughter-house, and such person and also the owner of such animal shall each be liable, on suminary conviction, to a penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars or to imprison- ment with hard labour for a period not exceeding three months, and the Magistrato may order the animal to be for- feited to the Crown and thereupon it may be dealt with as the Governor may determine.
Objects and Reasons.
This Ordinance is brought forward at the request of the Sanitary Board.
It was hoped that Ordinance 12 of 1894 would suffice to prevent the fraudulent introduction into the slaughter- houses of the Colony of animals which had not been passed by the Inspector. In a case, however, where the Inspector's mark had been forged it was found impossible to bring home to any particular person the guilt of having thus unlawfully applied the mark and thus the offender escaped. It has, therefore, been found necessary to make both the owner and the driver of the animal liable in cases of con- travention of the Ordinance.
The forfeiture will prevent a rejected or unfit animal from being surreptitiously disposed of for human food.
W. MEIGH Goodman, Attorney General,
Title.
Ordinance to be construed with 17 of 1887,
Fenalty for unlawfully passing Animals into slaughter- houses without inspection, &c.
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