CONFIDENTIAL.
sir.
C
3311
213
RES
Reaf 2 MAR 12
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONGKONG, 30th. January, 1912.
I have the honour to request your instructions
in the following matter. Section 1 of Ordinance 12 of 1865 entitled "An Ordinance for the further Security of the Residents in this Colony from personal violence" enacted that an offender against the Ordinance "if a male be once, twice or thrice publicly or privately whipped" &c. This Ordinance was amended by No. 3 of 1881, which omitted the words "publicly or". The word "privately", however, which had originally been inserted in contradistinction to "publicly" remained, and in the many subsequent amendments of this Ordinance it has still re-appeared.
2.
In the draft Flogging Ordinance which formed an euclosure to Kr. J. Chamberlain's Circular of 13th. August, 1902, nothing is laid down as to the privacy of floggings.
3.
It appears to me that the words "privately in prison" are intended to bear a signification the reverse of "coram publico", and that they do not preclude the whipping of a prisoner in the presence of other prisoners, and I shall be glad to learn whether you concur in this view.
4.
Whipping is only administered for a very
special class of offences, and the object in view is that it shall be deterrent, more especially when corporal punishment
-
has been introduced in emergency (as of late) under the Peace
Preservation Ordinance. In order to render the punishment deter-
RIGHT HONOURABLE
-rent
LEVIS HARCOURT, M.P.,
&C..
&c...