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years, the treatment of Criminals in Hongkong. Your Lordship's decision is, that the Branding Ordinances be repealed; that Public Flogging be abolished by law, that all laws in Hongkong which impose flogging on persons of the Chinese race exclusively, be repealed, that all flogging be abolished except for such offences as entail flogging in England, and that flogging on the back be abolished by law.
2.
I have requested the Attorney General to draft the necessary Ordinances for carrying this decision into effect, and I hope soon to have the honour of submitting the drafts for Your Lordship's consideration.
3.
I entirely share Your Lordship's views as to the necessity for a new prison and the advantage of the separate system, and I am addressing Your Lordship in another despatch explaining the delay that has occurred in submitting plans and estimates to Her Majesty's Government.
4.
The Chief Justice has been gratified to learn that Your Lordship approves also of the introduction of the practice of giving longer sentences to old offenders instead of having recourse to repeated short sentences.