CONFIDENTIAL.
4 x 362801/10
sir,
44
C
11965
Government House,
Hongkong, 8th. March, 1911.
I have the honour to acknowledge
your Confidential Despatch of 12th. January last relative to
the appointment of a Third Judge, and the constitution of
the Court of Appeal in this Colony. In referring the Des-
-patch confidentially to the Attorney-General for his views
(as directed in paragraph 5) I observed that the chief
obstacle to the proposal contained in paragraph 4 was that
it would involve litigants in such heavy expense that in
practice all but the very wealthy would be deprived of the
right of appeal. I suggested alternatively for his consider-
-ation that the present Appeal Court should not be abolished,
but that it should be optional to any appellant to go direct
to the Privy Council.
2.
I attach a Memorandum by the
Attorney-General on the subject. He considers that the
expense of appeal to the Privy Council would render it im-
-possible
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
LEWIS HARCOURT, M.P.,
&C..
&C.,
&c...