?
Upon this the Bishop was requested to furnish a copy of the Trinidad Ordi- nance to which he referred and also the Crown Lease of Lot 50. No Copy of the Ordinance could be obtained. The Crown Lease was furnished and proved to be for 75 years from 1845 "to the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith," and for an extended term of 924 years more to Bishop RAIMONDI by name.
In making his application in his letter of February 27th, 1884, the Bishop. says:-"We have been informed by our legal adviser that according to what Sir "GEORGE PHILLIPPO said lately from the Bench we cannot dispose of Lot 50 "without the authority of the legislature.'
And in his letter of April 15th, General a Draft Bill was drawn up. gave no direction in the matter.
1884, he adds that by direction of the Attorney
This is inaccurate, as the Attorney General
This is inaccurate,
A Bill was drawn by Mr. J. J. FRANCIS who is the Bishop's legal adviser and was introduced into the Legislative Council, and was intended, as I understood, to provide what Mr. FRANCIS conceived to be necessary to meet the difficulties of the Bishop's position and to do, for the Bishop and those on whose behalf he was acting, what Sir G. PHILLIPPO was supposed to have pointed out as being necessary.
The Bill was subsequently withdrawn as not being sufficient for the purpose desired, and what the Bishop now appears to wish for is "an Incorporation Act."
The observations of the Chief Justice would appear to refer to the difficulties in which Trustees of Charities might find themselves if they wanted to deal with their lands by way of sale or mortgage. But the difficulty of the Bishop appears to be that the Crown Lease of the land with which he wants to deal is to "The Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith," which is not a body corporate, and that he cannot therefore give a purchaser a good marketable title.
The Bishop does not state to whom or to what body it is that he desires that incorporation should be granted, whether to the Bishop of Acantho or to the Sacred Congregation, or to the Vicar Apostolic or otherwise, nor does he say who or what the Sacred Congregation is, or with what authority he applies on behalf of the Sacred Congregation.
It would be necessary before anything could be done that he should furnish full information upon these points.
If an Ordinance incorporating any body representing the Roman Catholic interest here were passed, it should contain a Section defining the powers of the Corporation with regard to future dealings with its lands.
June 4th, 1884.
(Signed),
EDWARD L. O'MALLEY.
Enclosure 5.
Draft Bill.
TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
This is to give notice that the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith intends at an early date to apply to the Honourable Legislative Council of Hongkong for a Bill to enable the said Sacred Congregation to sell and dispose of
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