well enough constituted according to the requirements of Sec. 260 of 17 & 18 Vic: c: 104 which relates to Naval Courts.
By Sec: 263 sub-section (6.) the Naval Court may exercise the same powers with regard to persons charged before it with the commission of offences at sea or abroad, as are by this Act given to British Consular Officers.
Sec: 267 relates to crimes committed on the High seas and abroad, and Sec: 268 enumerates the rules to be observed with reference to such offences. Shortly they are that the British Consul will take evidence on oath duly in presence of accused and allow him the opportunity of cross-examining witnesses. Then he is to send, if the case requires it, the accused to a British possession for trial, and the 270th section makes the depositions duly taken by the Consul admissible at the trial.
What purports to be sworn testimony before the Consul is not signed by the Consul, nor does the master of "the 'Frederick'" when examined by the Court appear to have been sworn, although doubtless such an essential was not forgotten at the time. At present, there is no legal evidence for a Magistrate.