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losureb.
493
litigants unwilling to appeal against a decision by the Chief Justice, because the appeal was in practice again decided by him- -self, but Counsel were for the same reason bound to advise their clients against appealing unless they were prepared to carry the
case to the Privy Council. All this would be changed when there
was an effective Appeal Court. On the other hand he saw no
reason why the Shanghai Judge Schene should not be tried as an experiment and as a temporary measure. He was quite certain that
it would not break down, and would work perfectly well for a
year at least, and that would give time to make provision in the
Estimates for a Third Judge, and to select the officer &c. Mr. Kemp endorsed Mr. Gompertz's views but thought there might be an accumulation of appeals at the end of the year and laid
emphasis on the fact that we were already committed to it.
The matter is of such importance to this Colony that I have thought it worth while to thus fully explain the present state of opinion in the Colony, and I attach a very brief precis which I have myself made of the various steps which up to the present have been taken in this matter.
12.
13.
I have now the honour to submit my own views
B
for your consideration. It seems clear that the consensus of opinion (in which I understand from his recorded minutes Mr. Ress-Davies concurs) is that an Appeal Court which shall rely upon a Judge of the Shanghai Court, will not long be adequate for the needs of the Colony. On the other hand negotiations with the Foreign Office and Sir H. de Sausmarez have been carried to a point from which it may perhaps be difficult to recede and Sir F. Piggott has been told that such an Appeal Court is about to be: instituted, and that that is one at least of the reasons for his retirement. Your decision has been publicly announced and the reconstitution of the Appeal Court is a matter of great urgency and would be delayed by the selection of a Third Judge, and reversal of the policy already decided upon.
14.
On the other hand I entirely concur with Mr.
Justice