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Appendix No. 6.
REPORT ON THE VILLAGE COMMUNITIES ORDINANCE OF CEYLON, No. 24 OF 1889.
We have considered in detail the Ordinance relating to Village Communities, as printed in the authorised revised edition of the Ordinances of the Government of Ceylon, and we believe that in principle it is admirably adapted for the village communities of China, that it would be quite suitable if adopted en bloc, with the exception of those small portions dealing with circumstances peculiar to Ceylon, the necessary modifica- tions being made afterwards as experience showed their necessity. We think, however, that the limits of the jurisdiction granted to village tribunals may be greatly enlarged without any fear of injustice or oppression. The Chinese have been accustomed for centuries to a very extended system of local government, the Imperial officers confining their attention almost solely to the collection of revenue and to the suppression of armed piracy and brigandage. There is never any attempt to deal with individual crimes unless complaint is made, and on account of the extensive and universal corruption of the official class and the consequent suspicion and distrust on the part of the people, complaints are rare, and it is in this way that the village tribunals of China have acquired the very wide powers which they now exercise both in civil and criminal cases, and the village communities a thorough training in local government.
We recommend that in civil cases the village tribunals be given authority to hear cases in which the debt, &c., does not exceed 100 dollars, and also all actions in which the title to land, &c., which is in dispute does not exceed 200 to 300 dollars Where the consent of both parties is obtained, the limit might be raised to 500 or 1,000 dollars. These powers, large compared with those of the village tribunals in Ceylon, may still be safely granted. There is ample provision for a dissatisfied party to obtain redress in the leave granted to appeal to the Government Agent in the first instance, and ulti- mately to the Governor in Council.
At present the shan-sz (gentry) and elders of a Chinese village are in the habit of settling disputes about property the value of which is much in excess of 300 dollars, and we believe that the village tribunals will be able to deal with such questions to the satis- faction of all parties, and far better and at very much less expense than if the case were heard in one of the ordinary courts of law.
As regards debts, &c., Chinese are in the habit of borrowing what are, considering the rate of wages, &c., in China, very large sums for the burial of their dead and for the marriage of their children, and these debts, mostly contracted in a peculiar way, viz., by money loan associations, can be better proved in a village tribunal than elsewhere.
In criminal cases we recommend that the village tribunals be given power to flog on the breech with the rattan up to from six to a dozen strokes. At the present the village tribunals flog up to a very large number of strokes, but the flogging does not compare in severity to those administered by Europeans in Hong Kong. As a summary punish- ment this flogging is very effective, as there is much disgrace attached to it, and as it is not accompanied with any serious cruelty.
We suggest below certain minor modifications.
Section 3.-" Natives" shall mean all Chinese by descent, and shall not include those whose father is non-Chinese. We wish the ordinary Eurasians not to be entitled to the benefit of this Ordinance. Neither by association nor training are they fitted to be placed in the same class as the ordinary Chinese on the mainland and under the same institutions.
Section 6 (10).—Omit.
Section 6 (20).--Omit, but insert some provision by which the villages may regulate or prohibit the sale of European wines and spirits.
small.
Section 14.-Fifteen days' notice will be quite sufficient, as the new territory is
Section 16-For six men substitute five men. An odd number is preferable for voting.
Section 23. For police headmen substitute police, including tipó and kangfú. Section 28 is dealt with above.
Section 29 may be omitted.
Section 30.—We do not think that the unanimous opinion of the Councillors should be over-ruled by the president, and recommend that if the councillors differ the presi- dent should decide; but that, if the councillors are unanimous, the president should give effect to their verdict.
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