39
The prompt infliction of a small punishment, by the Magistrate
in cases of offering trifling bribes is more likely to be
effective in putting down the custor among a certain class of
Chinese, than the sending of every such case for trial by the
Supreme Court. I append the Memorandum which I annexed to the
Bill and which sets forth its Reasons and Objects.
There appears to be no valid reason why in cases of comparatively trilling offencas committed within the Admi- ralty Jurisdiction as for instance on board a British ship on the high seas, the offender should not be dealt with sum- marily by the Magistrate in the same way as if the offence had been committal after the ship had cutered the harbour. There can be no doubt that the i present exist. ing, of sending all such cases to the Sessions of the Suprem Court, either works great hardship on innocent witnesses who are bound over to appear, or causes a failure of justice by the refusal of persons to proszente. Hongkong is a port frequented by vessels, many of which stay there but a short period before proceeding to other places, and it is often most inconvenient for witnesses to remain after the ship has left. Where the sentence of six months hard labour will adequately meet the case and the facts are clear and simple, there is no valid reason why the Magistrate should have to commit the accused for trial just because the offence happened outside the harbour.
By section 80 of The Magistrates Ordinance, 1899, as amended by Ordinance 12 of 1895, the Magistrate camot inflies imprisonment for more than six months. If, there- fore, the gravity or difficulty of the case rendered committal for trial desirable, the Magistrate would commit just as he can now, even where the case is not excluded by the schedule from sunnnary jurisdiction. (See the third clanse of section 80 of the Magistrates Ordinance.)
As regards cases of ignorant Chinese offering small bribes of a dollar or two to Sanitary Overseers, or Over-` soers in the Public Works Department, to induce them to refrain from performing their duties, the Magistrate could quite well deal with matters of this kind and dispose of them promptly and satisfactorily. During the last two Sessions of the Supreme Court the time of the Chief Jus- tice, the Attorney General, the Crown Solicitor and tho jary, was occupied by no less than four such cases, the last being a charge of offering forty vents to an officer to release from custody an offender whom he was taking to the Police Station. As a matter of fact the Magistrate does, conti- mally, deal with much more serious offences than the offer- ing of petty bribes, and therefore he could quite properly be cutrusted to dispose of matters of that kind. This Ordinance is intended to make the amendments in the schedule to Ordinance No. 10 of 1890, necessary to confer the requisite jurisdiction upon the Magistrate.
2
practice.
X The word "practice"
should be substituted
if the merchant shipping Eict, 1899 sest 686 applies
(Sd.) W. Meigh Goodman,
Attorney General.