deceased persons' estates and registering companies under the Companies Ordinance, 1932. Bills of Sale are also registered with the Registrar.
The Lower Courts.
Before the war each of the two districts of the New Territories had its land court and small debts court where the District Officer sat to hear land and small debts cases. These Courts were revived during the year under review.
The lower criminal courts are the magistrates' courts, three for Hong Kong Island, two for Kowloon, including the whole area south of the Kowloon Hills, and one for the northern section of the New Territories, in which the District Officer is the Magistrate.
Work done in the Supreme Court.
During the year 1947, 340 actions were instituted in the Original Jurisdiction and 229 in the Summary Jurisdiction as compared with 143 and 45 respectively in 1946. There were also 245 Distraints for rent.
In the Probate Jurisdiction 888 grants (246 probates and 642 Letters of Administration) were made by the Court and 232 grants by other British Courts were sealed making a total of 1,120 grants during the year, as against 352 in the eight months of 1946 (May-December). Out of 366 persons indicted at the Criminal Sessions 277 were convicted, the parallel figure for the eight months period of 1946 being 315 and 255. Appeals against conviction or sentence at Criminal Sessions jumped from 2 to 10, and appeals against magisterial decisions from 2 to 18. Of 17 appeals in respect of civil actions (compared again with 2 in 1946), 7 were heard, 3 settled and 3 abandoned; 4 are pending. There were 28 appeals against the decisions of the Tenancy Tribunals of which 17 were heard (56 in 1946); 8 actions were filed in the Admiralty Jurisdiction and 32 petitions in the Divorce Jurisdiction (1946: 11 and 16 respectively). 15 trust estates were in the hands of the Official Trustee at the end of the year. The estates of 32 deceased persons were taken into custody of the Official Administrator (35 in 1946) and the administration of 9 was completed. 297 Hong Kong companies and 54 foreign corporations were registered and 10 Hong Kong companies were dissolved during the year, bringing the total number of Hong Kong companies on the register to 1,686 (1,399 at the end of 1946), and the total number of registered foreign corporations to 418 (364 at the end of 1946).
Cases Heard in the Lower Courts.
The figures below show the penalties which were awarded at the Hong Kong and Kowloon Magistracies in respect of cases heard during the whole year 1947. Corresponding totals for the period May to December, 1946, are also given.
93