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against the Government here, are on the same footing as claims against the Crown under the Petitions of Right Act 1860. I am therefore of opinion that the Crown should be made responsible in legal proceedings for the wrongful acts of the Registrar of the Supreme Court in his capacity as Official Assignee.
The position of the Registrar as Official Administrator is not so clearly defined by law. By Ordinance No. 10 of 1845, the Supreme Court was made a Court of Probate, and it was provided by section 18:-
"That the said Supreme Court shall grant and commit Letters of Administration to the next of Kin or residuary Legatees of any deceased person dying within or leaving assets within the jurisdiction of the said Court, and being of sound mind, and of the age of twenty-one years, to such person residing within the jurisdiction of the said Court, or being duly cited and prayed for, shall not appear and claim."
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