640
Opinion of the Acting Attorney General on the Treaty of Tientsin
According to this Government, it is bound to give up "criminals only" against their own laws.
The Treaty of Tientsin, Article 18, stated that "if lawless natives of China having committed crimes or offences against the Government or laws of China..." And accordingly, in Ordinance 7 of 1850, which was passed in order to carry out this Treaty, the words "crimes or offences against the laws of China" have been used.
Ordinance No 2 of 1869 extended this Ordinance (7 of 1850) to applications for rendition made under the Treaty of Tientsin.
What, therefore, is the meaning of the words "crimes and offences against the laws of China"?
The question has been settled by the judgment of the Privy Council.