HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1952
Following the church ceremony there was an inspec- tion of a Guard of Honour supplied by the Royal Ulster Rifles accompanied by the Pipes and Bugles of the same Regiment. Addresses were then delivered in the Central Court by the acting Attorney General and by the Chief Justice.
It is gratifying to be able to report once more a notable decrease in serious crime. The following figures for the last three years speak for themselves :-
1952
1950
1951
402
219
108
The Lower Courts
There are four magistrate's courts on the Island and three in Kowloon. The latter hear cases from the whole mainland area south of the Kowloon hills. There is also a Justices of the Peace Court composed of two unofficial Justices of the Peace sitting together, one of whom is usually a solicitor. This court, in- augurated in 1948, continues to be a great success and of great help to the Magistrates by relieving them of much extra work.
Civil Jurisdiction in the New Territories is exer- cised by the District Commissioner and his District Officers, who have powers similar to those of the Supreme Court. Most of the litigation concerns land. The respective District Officers sit in the market towns of Yuen Long and Taipo. They also hear debts cases.
The work in the Magistracies shows an increase in Hong Kong for 1952 as compared with 1951, and a decrease in Kowloon. On the whole, there were fewer convictions than in 1951. One satisfactory feature was the considerable falling-off in the number of
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