THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 4тп FEBRUARY, 1880.
THE ADMINISTRATOR TO THE CHIEF JUStice.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONGKONG, 16th July, 1879.
115
--I have the honour to inform you that your letter of 30th May last recommending that gs be taken against LAU PAT-CHEUNG and LEUNG A-LUK under Ordinance 4 of 1865, gls 50 and 51, was referred by Ilis Excellency Governor HENNESSY to the Acting Attorney red who, before making a report, asked that the papers might be referred to the committing.
#igerate,
I have now received the report of the Acting Attorney General as well as those of the committing Magistrate and of the Crown Solicitor and I regret to inform you that after carefully considering these
as well as the depositions forwarded by your Honour, I do not see my way to directing the. entions of the two persons indicated by you, first because, with all deference to your Honour's gan. I do not agree with you in looking upon them as the principal criminals, and secondly because thank that after the evidence of these persons has been taken before both the committing Magistrate the Supreme Court without any warning having been given to them that their evidence might be tl against them, it would appear like a breach of faith to treat them now as criminals.
A perusal of the depositions which you forwarded me and which I now return docs not shew Lat either of these persons obtained possession of the children for immoral purposes. It appears also from the depositions that they were led by the statements of the prisoners who have been sentenced Ir you, which statements were confirmed by the children themselves to believe that one of the children no parents and that the other was disposed of with the written consent of the father alleged to be e only surviving parent. Neither of the children seem to have been ill-treated and the Magistrate Lexpressed the opinion with regard to the woman LEUNG A-LUK that "being a well-to-do woman and having no children of her own, she had purchased the child with a view of adopting her as a daughter in the belief that she did so with the father's sanction."
Should the prosecution of these persons result in their acquittal which seems to me not mprobable, I fear that the good effect produced by the severe reprimand which I understand that yar Honour administered publicly to all the parties concerned in these two cases might be to a gal extent neutralized.
Ал your Honour's letter has remained for some time unanswered, I think it only right that I Guld nequaint you without further delay with the opinion that I have formed on the subject of your entmunication. But as your letter has been under the consideration of Governor HENNESSY, whose arture for Japan prevented him from finally dealing with it, there seems to me to be no reason y the matter should not be left, if your Honour wishes it for the decision of His Excellency on his turn to the Colony, when it will not be too late to take proceedings against the parties should it be ught necessary to adopt that course.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient Servaut,
llu Honour THE CHIEF JUSTICE,
&c.,
&c.,
&c.
W. H. MARSHI, Administrator:
THE CHIEF JUSTICE TO Colonial Secretary.
THE SUPREME Court, - HONGKONG, 8th October, 1879.
St-The Criminal calendar for September, 1879, was sent to you in due course yesterday.. It cmprises three cases, case No. 1, a conviction of LEE A-KAU for kidnapping and detaining a child aged
years. Case No. 6, a conviction of TSANG SZ-TAU and U A-IN on two counts for kidnapping and aining a boy Ilo Po-SING with intent to sell him in this Colony, and on two other counts for the w offence as to another boy YEUNG-SIING, and case No. 9, a conviction of KEUNO A-TO for purchasing male child TING-HENG for the purpose of prostitution in this Colony, and of LI A-KAK for having * the same child for the same purpose.
I thought it my duty on the occasion of passing sentences on these prisoners to enlarge on the to which these crimes ministered the great increase of which in number had recently been ught to the notice of the Court especially slavery, usually designated domestic, and slavery for the ses of prostitution and seeing that arguments, doubts and difficulties had been rather hinted at san fully expressed, I thought it incumbent on me to enter very fully into all the questions at a length
otherwise might be thought too prolix.
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