416
the
power upon him except what was derived from the statute 3rd & 4th Will IV C:93. By sixth section of that Act a power is given to the Crown to create a Court of Justice for the trial of offences committed by British subjects within the Chinese dominions, or within one hundred miles of the Coast,
of the
of
and to appoint one or more Superintendents to be the Judge of that Court, and other officers to execute the process, but it does not give any authority to the Crown to depute to the Superintendent the power of making such Laws and Regulations as are now before us, and which indeed could only be effectually made by some competent Legislative Authority. It appears to be therefore extremely questionable whether the Superintendent would have had any legal authority to make the Regulations in question, even if the Island of Hong Kong had remained a part of the Chinese dominions.
But another question of serious importance arises from the fact of Hongkong being no longer a part of the Chinese dominions; and the provisions therefore of the Statute 3rd & 4th Will IV being no longer applicable to it, that Statute excluding offences committed within the Chinese dominions or on the High Seas within a certain distance from the Chinese Coast. We therefore apprehend not only that these Regulations are