MINUTES.
MINUTES NOT TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE.
No
1238.
0.0
33137
14 JUL 24
356
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONGKONG. 29th May, 1924.
Gr
23
sir,
With reference to your despatch No.44 of the
22nd February, 1924, I have the honour to inform you that in 64/8 all cases the person assisting a forest officer" to whom it
is proposed to give the power of arrest without warrant would
be a person in the employment of the Botanical and Forestry
Department.
2.
There are in the Botanical and Forestry
Department a small number of picked men employed as Forest
Guarda, whose sole duties consist of patrolling the forestry
areas and preventing their destruction, and a much larger
number of foresters, gardeners, park-keepers and so forth
who have duties of a different kind. It is not desired that
the latter should have any general power of arrest but it is
likely to prove useful if in an emergency, such as occurred
during the strike of 1922, end again after the typhoons of
1923, these men are sent out to reinforce the Forest Quards
and to work with them in the prevention of illicit cutting
of trees. A position which is likely to arise in such
circumstances is that a Forest Guard would come upon a gang of men occupied in illicitly falling trees. On his being seen the gang would scatter and bolt down the hillside where
they might be intercepted by foresters or gardeners acting
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
J. H. THOMAS, M.P.,
&c..
&c.
under