NO.
CONFIDENTIAL. (2)
4
40
رية
m
53685/57
Sir,
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONG KONG.
7th April, 1938.
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
your confidential despatch of 9th of February, 1938, and to
forward for your consideration copies of a second draft of
the Bill referred to therein, namely, a Bill to amend the
Naval Volunteer Ordinance, 1933, and to provide for Naval
Defence.
2.
I would invite attention to paragraphs 3, 4 (b)
and 5 (b), (c) and (d) of the Schedule to the amended Bill,
which I am advised have the effect of carrying out the
suggestion in paragraph 4 of your despatch under reference
while avoiding the difficulty mentioned in the last
sentence in paragraph 3 of the same despatch, namely, "If,
to remedy this, section 53 (7) is altered so as to make
imprisonment possible for any term up to a life sentence,
the graded scale of punishments is upset."
3.
Since in section 2 and elsewhere in the Naval
Discipline Act the expression "shall suffer death, or such
other punishment as is hereinafter mentioned" frequently
occurs, and by section 55 of the Act the expression "other
punishment" is deemed to comprise any punishment of a
lesser degree, as set out in section 52 thereof, it has
been considered advisable to retain the death penalty in
all the cases provided for in the Naval Discipline Act,
subject, however, to confirmation, in all cases except
mutiny, by the Governor of this Colony.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
W. G. A. ORMSBY-GORE, P.C., M.P.,
&C., &C., &c.,