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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 13TH NOVEMBER, 1886.
GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.No. 434.
The following Bills, which were read a first time at a Meeting of the Legislative Council held yesterday, are published for general information.
Council Chamber, Hongkong, 13th November, 1886.
(15 & 16 Vic. e. 26.)
Short title.
Interprets- tion.
Interpretation
of Wills.
(15 & 16 Vic.
c. 24, s. 3.)
Repeal
When will shall be deemed valid as regards the position of the testator's signature. (15 & 16 Vic. u. 24, 8. I.)
Ordinance extend to certain wills already made. (15 & 16 Vic. c. 24, s. 2.)
A BILL
ENTITLED
An Ordinance to amend the Law relating
to Wills.
E it enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows :----- 1. This Ordinance may be cited for all purposes as
"The Wills Act Amendment Ordinance, 1886.".
2. The expression “ Principal Act" in this Ordinance shall mean An Act passed in the 7th year of the reign of His Majesty King WILLIAM the 4th, and the 1st year of the reign of Her Present Majesty Queen VICTORIA Chapter 26 entitled "An Act for the Amendment of the Laws with respect to Wills," and
The word" Will" shall in the construction of this Ordi- nance be interpreted in like manner as the same is directed to be interpreted under the provisiops in this behalf con- tained in the Principal Act.
3. So much of Ordinance No. 3 of 1854 as relates to the Act passed in the 15th and 16th years of Her Present Majesty Chapter 24 is hereby repealed, but such repeal shall not affect any past operation of the said Ordinance or any thing done or suffered thereunder.
4. Every will shall so far only as regards the position of the signature of the testator, or of the person signing for him as aforesaid, be deemed to be valid within the Principal Act as explained by this Ordinance, if the signature shall be so placed at or after, or following, or under, or beside, or opposite to the end of the will, that it shall be apparent on the face of the will that the testator intended to give effect by such his signature to the writing as his will; and no such will shall be affected by the circumstance that the signature shall not follow or be immediately after the foot or end of the will, or by the circumstance that a blank space shall intervene between the concluding word of the will and the signature, or by the circumstance that the signature shall be placed among the words of the testimonium clause or of the clause of attestation, or shall follow or be after or under the clause of attestation, either with or without a blank space intervening or shall follow or be after, or under, or beside the names or one or the names of the subscribing witnesses, or by the circumstance that the signature shall be on a side or page or other portion of the paper or papers containing the will whereon no clause or paragraph or dis- posing part of the will shall be written above the signature, or by the circumstance that there shall appear to be suffi- cient space on or at the bottom of the preceding side or page or other portion of the same paper on which the will is written to contain the signature; and the enumeration of the above circumstances shall not restrict the generality of the above enactment; but no signature under the Prin- cipal Act or this Ordinance shall be operative to give effect to any disposition or direction which is underneath or which follows it, nor shall it give effect to any disposition or di- rection inserted, after the signatur shall be made.
5. The preceding provisions of his Ordinance shall ex- tend and be applied to every will made prior to the 31st Oc- tober, 1854, and taking offect in the Colony, administration to which or probate of which had not up to that date been granted or ordered by a Court of competent jurisdiction in consequence of the defective execution of such will, or where the property not being within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court has not been possessed or enjoyed by some person or persons claiming to be entitled thereto in conse- quence of the defective execution of such will, or the right thereto shall not have been decided to be in some other person or persons than the persons claiming uuder the will, by a Court of competent jurisdiction in consequence of the defective execution of such will, and to every will made since the 31st of October, 1854.
ARATHOON SETH, Clerk of Councils.