94
13.
direct communication from Hong Kong to the Australian Colonies via Singapore, and there is no reason to assume that the two Bankrupts who absconded in 1878 will be solitary instances; while there serve to illustrate the complications which may arise under the Bankruptcy Laws of different Colonies. The Indian Penal Code has been adopted in the Straits Settlements, and the Debtors Act of 1869 has been adopted both in the Straits and in Queensland as part of their Bankruptcy Law; but with this difference. The Bankrupt who after adjudication fraudulently absconds with part of his estate of the value of twenty pounds from Queensland commits felony (sec. 207 of Insolvency Act of 1874); but the Bankrupt who absconds under similar circumstances from Singapore is not guilty of an offence which apparently amounts to felony (sec. 101 of Ordinance 2 of 1870). So that if a Bankrupt from one Colony were to abscond to the other, it would seem that there would be within the Caveat of rendition from Queensland, the offence is felony there, but the Queensland man who had there committed a felony would not be liable to rendition from Straits. If either of these further complications...