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thereto."
as pointed out in the despatch, that portion of section I which enacts that no Chinese passenger ship shall clear out or proceed to sea on any voyage of more than seven days duration without strictly conforming in every respect with the Regulations contained in Schedule A to the "Chinese Passengers Act 1855" is certainly useless, and may possibly make any neglect or refusal to comply with any of the Regulations aforesaid (i.e., Regulations contained in the said Schedule A) a misdemeanour.
As to that part of the 1st section of the ordinance which refers to the qualifications of the Surgeon, it appears to me to be open to one of two constructions according as we arrive at the conclusion that a Chinese medical practitioner would have sufficed under the act or not.
If a properly qualified Chinese Medical practitioner is to be considered a Surgeon in the terms of Regulation 11, Schedule A, then the effect of the clause in the Ordinance before me would be to restrict the employment of Chinese Practitioners to Passenger Ships conveying Emigrants to the West Indies and the Brazil, as it provides that, if possible, a European or American practitioner is to be provided for all such ships going on voyages to places Eastward of the