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1.
Report on an Ordinance entitled
An Ordinance to amend the Law relating to
Explosive Substances.
2.
Section 1 of the Ordinance is formal.
3. Section 2 of the Ordinance defines Explosive Substances. The
definition is taken from "ection 9 of the Explosive Substances Act
1883.
4.
The object of this Bill is to introduce into
the local Legislature certain of the provisions of the
Explosive Substances Act 1883. There seems unfortu-
nately good reason to fear that amongst the Chinese, the
practice of manufacturing and using Zombs is becoming
common; recent
ntassasinationsin China indicate that the
methods of making these destructive implemente are well
known. During the last year a locally made Bomb was
thrown in the Colony with fatal effect by a Chinaman,
whilst quite recently a large gang of Chinese who appear
to have come to the Colony from Annau and Siam and some
of whom had been educated in the Colony were captured
with an elaborate and extensive outfit of materials for
the manufacture of Bombs, their apparatus and materials
consisting of auch articles as Iron bomb shells, Detona-
tors, Dynamite, Cun-cotton, Chlorate of Potash, Nitro-
lycerine compounds and other substances too numerous to
mentionin detail, ·· Under these circumstances it appeared evident that the provisions of the Ordinances relating to Arms and Ammunition and to De serous Goods were not adequate to deal properly with this class of affair nor did it appear
that the ordinary sections of the Criminal Law dealing with
direct attacks on persons and properties fully cover circun-
stances of the character indicated. It seemed that what was
here requisite were the principal provisions of the Explosive Substances Act, 1885, and this Ordinance brings into force
locally the main sections of that Act.
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Section 3 prescribes that any person who unlawfully and mali-
ciously causes/explosion of a nature likely to endanger life or
cause serious injury to property shall be guilty of felony whether
or not such ex losion has been followed by injury to person or
property. This section is taken from Section 2 of the Explosive
Substances Act, 1883.
5.
Section 4 of the Ordinance is taken from Section 5 of the
Explosive Substances Act, 1883 and prescribes that any person who
unlawfully does any act with intent to cause by an explosion or
conspires to cause by an explosive an explosion likely to endanger
life or cause injury to property or who makes or has in his pose-
ession any explosive with intent by means thereof to endanger life
or damage property or to enable any other person so to do shall
be guilty of felony whether any explosion has taken place or not
and whether or not injury to person or property has been caused.
6. By Section 5 it is provided that any person who makes or has
in his possession any explosive substance under circumstances which give rise to suspicion that such explosive is not being made
or possessed for a. lawful object shall unless he can shew a good
excuse be guilty of felony. This Section is taken from Section
4 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1883.
7.
Section 6 of the Ordinance deals with the position of
ac-
cessories and prescribes thattheyoan be tried and punished as if they were principale. This Section is taken from Section 5 of
the Explosive Substances Act, 1883.
8.
Section 7 of the Ordinance prescribes that nothing in the Ordinance shall exempt any person from any proceeding for any offence punishable other than under the provisions of the Ordinance