A.D. 1851.
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A.D. 1852.
SUPPRESSION OF DESERTION.
[No. 1.
25
WHEREAS the offence of desertion in Her Majesty's Forces, Naval and Military, serving in this Colony, has of late considerably increased; and whereas such offence has heretofore had inception in, and facility of commission from, public and boarding houses and other places: Be it therefore enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows :--
1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Suppression of Desertion Ordinance, 1852.
2. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the word “Sailor" shall be deemed to extend to every person serving for the time being in any ship then under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's Naval Forces in the East Indies and China.
3. Any publican or keeper of a boarding-house, or any other person whosoever, who,---
(1.) by words or by any other means whatsoever, directly or indirectly procures any soldier, sailor, or marine to desert; or,
(2.) by words or by any other means whatsoever, attempts to or persuade any soldier, sailor, or marine to desert; or,
(3.) knowing that any soldier, sailor, or marine is about to desert, aids or assists him in deserting; or,
(4.) knowing any soldier, sailor, or marine to be a deserter, conceals such deserter, or aids or assists such deserter in concealing himself,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof in a summary manner before a Magistrate, be liable for every such offence to a penalty not exceeding one thousand dollars.
4. A portion not exceeding one-half of every such penalty shall be payable to the person or persons by whose information or evidence the conviction of such offender is made.
5. Any publican or keeper of a boarding-house who is convicted of any one or more of the above-mentioned offences shall, in addition to the penalty above provided, forthwith forfeit any licence or licences then held by him as a publican or boarding-house keeper in the Colony, and he shall be and is hereby declared incapable of holding thereafter any licence as such publican or boarding-house keeper within the Colony.
6. Nothing in this Ordinance shall prevent any Magistrate acting under this Ordinance from sending any case arising out of any of the said offences for trial at the Supreme Court, which, in the exercise of his discretion, he may consider should be investigated there.