492
8.
Magistrates of Court of Requests. They would
do civil work in the Supreme Court building.
(ii). To enable them or one of them to find time
to do Civil work, alter the appointment of
First Clerk, Magistracy, £360 - 420 by £30 triennially into a third class appointment
of 3rd. Magistrate."
The project of calling in the Shanghai Judge
was at the same time strongly opposed by the Acting Attorney-
-General (Er. C. G. Alabaster) and the Acting Colonial Secretary
(Mr. C. Clementi) who argued that there was a consensus of
opinion against it, and that even those who supported it had
only regarded it as a temporary make-shift, and they concurred
with the Chief Justice that it must break down as soon as the
number of appeals increased as they inevitably would. It would
therefore they urged be better to adopt the permanent remedy at
once more especially as the Law Courts being now on the point of completion we should have a third court provided..
9.
Mr. Clementi argued that the cost under the Shanghai scheme was 2354 per annum which the addition of a third class Magistrate on £420 £540 would increase to £774 to £894 per annum while a new third Judge on £800 £1,000 would
cost but little more.
10.
1
The question of the necessity of creating a
small cause, (Magistrates') court originally proposed by Mr. Gompertz a copy of whose letter is enclosed had introduced a new factor into the case, and in view of the emphatic opinions I have quoted, I thought it well to verbally discuss the matter with the Puisne Judge (Mr. Gompertz) and the Crow Solicitor (Mr. Keup) who with Mr. Rees-Davies, Attorney-General, are the 3 highest legal officers in the administration (with the exception of the Chief Justice whose views are abundantly on record).
Mr. Gompertz expressed the view that a Third Judge would be necessary before long, for the number of appeals
was certain to increase rapidly. At present not only were
11.
litigants
conclosure