PUPLI
RECORD OFFICE
Reference
C.O.
882
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
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Roman Catholic Bishop was expressly invited to give the Government the benefit of Las opinion upon the Bill, and its details, he abstained from remarking upon the Sections (2 and 3) referred to.
5. The Ordinance will not come into operation until proclaimed; and I had no intention of taking that step until the blank registers (which are expected), arrived from England. I now propose to wait until your Lordship has had an opportunity by telegraph or otherwise, of instructing me to delay bringing the Ordinance into operation pending further consideration, should it be thought desirable. There is Lot, I opine, any objection to postponing the issue of the Proclamation until your Lordship is fully informed of the objections made to the Ordinance by Bishop Raimondi and his colleagues.
6. I inclose a transcript of those portions of the last census, which show the average total of Europeans and Americans, including the military, naval and police establishments, and the religious denomination of the British and foreign resident community.
Right Honourable Sir,
I have, &c.
(Signed)
J. GARDINER AUSTIN.
Inclosure in No. 5.
Roman Catholic Mission House, Hong Kong, April 14, 1875.
THE Undersigned beg most respectfully to submit to your consideration the following remarks on a very important matter, concerning the large community of Roman Catholics at Hong Kong.
On the 10th of March a new Bill or Ordinance for the registration of marriages was laid before the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
The Ordinance was to apply to all marriages, where one or both the parties professed the Christian religion.
The majority of the Christians of Hong Kong are Roman Catholics. Moreover, as the Protestants are not settled in Hong Kong, we may say that the Christian resident population of Hong Kong is totally Catholic; and if compared in number to the non-Catholic, it may be placed on the same footing as the Maltese.
We think that there could scarcely be found a Colony where the Catholic element is so much prevailing as in this Colony, with regard to a Christian resident community. The greater part of the Roman Catholic is from Macao, a Portuguese settlement where the regulations for marriages are on perfectly pure Catholic prin- ciples, according to the Portuguese law, which regulations have always been observed in Hong Kong, and it has contributed very much to facilitate their coming and settling down at Hong Kong, as nothing is more firmly rooted in them than Catholic principles. For the sake of truth we must say, that the Catholic popula- tion of Hong Kong is most quiet and respectful towards authority; and they never have given any trouble to the Government.
For thirty-three years since the starting of this Colony, the Roman Catholics have been allowed to have marriages celebrated according to Catholic principles. All marriages performed between two ('atholics by a Catholic priest, were recognized as valid by the law; there has never been raised the least question about their validity; nay, more, the certificate drawn up by the Catholic priest has always been recognized as a valid document by the Law Court; not the least irregularity bas been noticed, not the least disorder; and the Ordinance of marriages in 1852 respected them; nor has any attempt been made to alter them. A register of marriages was always kept at the Roman Catholic Cathedral, bans, inquiries, were strictly made, and not one case could be quoted of any unlawful marriage.
In 1873, during the absence of the Prefect Apostolic of the Roman Catholic Mission of Hong Kong, the Rev. Father Burghignoli, Vice-Prefect, was sent for, and asked whether there would be any objection on the [part of the] Roman Catholic Priests to have the marriages registered after being performed at the Roman Catholic Church. As we have never been opposed to registration, and it was requested after the celebration of the marriage, we assented. After that there was never a word concerning it until the 11th of March in this year, we read in the public papers that a Bill for the Registration of Marriages had been before the Legislative Council, the principle and regulations of which were quite different from what had been asserted two years ago to the Rev. Father Burghignoli. Having
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ourselves seen that the Bill was at variance with the principles of our Church, and trespassed on the liberty of conscience of the Roman Catholics, with the view of avoiding a conflict between the Catholics and Government, which we have always abhorred, the Pro-Vicar Apostolic went in a friendly manner to inform the Acting Colonial Secretary of the state of the matter, that we could not accept the Bill. We were assured that they would not interfere with our principles, and a copy of the Bill was sent to us.
We were astonished to read in the notes appended to it that the Bill had received the approval of your Lordship, we being the most interested party in the matter; and a large community being concerned, which forms the resident Christian population of the Colony, we were at a loss to understand how a copy of the Bill was not sent to us for inspection before forwarding it home, as we know that, after receiving the approval of your Lordship, no official member could refuse his vote, and the non-official member may have been deterred from discussing a matter already approved of at home.
It being a general rule, if we are not mistaken, first to discuss the question here in the Legislative Council, and then to send it home for approval, we feel confident that your Lordship wishes to hear what we have to say in a matter of such importance as this is.
In the beginning of the Bill, it is stated in the notes of the Attorney-General that there is no official record of marriages, the registers of the Roman Catholic churches being the private property of the ecclesiastical authorities; and the first article of the Bill orders us who have a register of marriages, to deliver it up to Registrar of Marriages within three months after the Proclamation of this Órdi- nance; we cannot understand how the Government can claim our private property. In the next place, we remark that we are ordered to file an affidavit, in the case of preferring to retain the register, giving a copy, declaring it to be a true copy; but, had Mr. Attorney-General consulted us on the matter, we would have told him that our registers contain some particulars more than Protestant registers, and these particulars are for the Roman Catholic community, and we do not expect that your Lordship would wish us to betray the confidence of our community, even with regard to fees. Three-fourths of the Catholic population would not be able to pay them, even after being reduced, and the Roman Catholic Church demanda not a farthing for the administration of the sacrament. But all those objectionable points are of little value, if compared with the most important, which is the prin- ciple pervading the Bill, quite opposite to Catholic principles. We believe marriage to be a sacrament, and must be dealt with as a sacrament. It is a spiritual matter, the exercise of which must be free and left to the Church. To the Church tains to judge of the impediments, and to determine when and where and by whom apper- it may be received. To the State belongs the extrinsic direction of marriages for the benefit of society, but it cannot prescribe to the Roman Catholic clergymen,— "You shall give the Sacrament of Marriage only to those persons whom I will send
you, and whom I shall judge fit to receive the sacrament."
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We have received the power of administering the Sacrament of Marriage from God through his Church, and no lay authority can limitate or pretend to give a power which we can have only by the Church. Such are the principles the tenets of our Church, and it is not in our power to admit the Bill. On the 18th of March we forwarded our protest to the Members of the Legislative Council, it not being in our power to comply with the regulation of the Bill; we said, in the protest, that we submitted ourselves to penalties, but we could not comply with the Bill, and that we were not protesting for opposition, but for conscience sake. The Honourable Chief Justice in Council recommended that, as the objections were on principles, it should receive the greatest consideration. A Select Committee was formed, but all the Members of the Legislative Council being Protestant, present-not one representing the Catholic community, and out of them, five gentlemen were selected, and the Vicar Apostolic was invited to meet these gentlemen, who would judge of the Catholic matter.
The Vicar Apostolic knowing that the question was on principles, thought it convenient to state, on paper, the same remarks which have been made above, when speaking of the principle pervading the Bill.
The question was, "Has the Bill to be altered or not?" principles are not to be discussed, and we, Catholics, look upon our religious principles as unchangeable, out of the sphere of discussion, therefore we cannot admit of anything interfering with Catholic principles, hence, it was useless to go and discuss other points before the
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