PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TTIINC.O. 882
5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
Treasurer,
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THE PROPOSED Future Government OF THE NEWLY LEASED TERRITORY.
I am of opinion that in the future government of the newly leased area, the organization at present in existence should be as far as possible utilised. In order to effect this, reconumend that the head of the Administration should be a Commissioner, subordinate to the Governor of Hong Kong, but in all other respects independent. His headquarters should be in the neighbourhood of Taipò Hü, which seems the most central position, where all the Government Offices and prison should be established. He should be assisted by an Executive Council, consisting of himself, the Treasurer, the Head of the Police, and by an Advisory Council, made up of himself and native representatives, one selected from each Tung or Division. The native repre- sentatives should be granted some title, as is done in Ceylon, in order to make them regard the position of member of the Advisory Council as one to be coveted. In addition to a Commissioner, who will, of course, require a Secretary, a Treasurer should be appointed. He should collect taxes, fees, and all other items of revenue, and pay all salaries and other items of expenditure. In the department of the Treasurer should be a Land Officer, to whom should be entrusted the important duty of having all claims to land properly surveyed and registered, and leases duly issued. The work of this officer will for some time to come be very heavy. Land is held in small allotments, and in many cases the amount of land mentioned in the lease is not in agreement with the actual holding, and a good deal of land is held without any proper title. I think it would be well to appoint as Land Officer some one who has had practical experience Surveyors. of surveying, and to place under him native surveyors, such as can, I am informed, be obtained from Ceylon. The cost of this staff may be somewhat excessive to begin with, but it is of great importance that the question of titles to land should be settled as soon as possible. I am of opinion that at least eight (8) native surveyors will be necessary. It is unnecessary to point out that the sooner the titles to land are definitely settled, the easier will it be to collect the land tax. Indeed, until such titles are decided, it is impossible to know exactly what land is really available for Crown land.
Land Offlour.
Public Works.
The chief work of this Department will be to erect buildings and to construct roads and piers. A staff consisting of one assistant engineer, a draughtsman, two clerks, and a few overseers would suffice at first. The officers of this Department should, I think, be under the supervision of the Director of Public Works of Hong Kong, so that the new territory may have the benefit of the experience and advice of that officer. I may mention that the present Director of Public Works, Mr. Ormsby, is of opinion that the supervision of the public works in the new territory can, without difficulty, be arranged from Hong Kong.
Police.
A European should be appointed as head of the police, and should have under him a Chief Inspector, 4 European Sergeants, and an Indian Sergeant, to act as Jemadar of the Indian Police. A force of at least 30 Chinese and 20 Indians should be enrolled and stationed at headquarters or other convenient places, from whence they could patrol the territory in different directions, in order to maintain peace and good order, and to protect the lives and property of the inhabitants. This force should be properly drilled and partially mounted. A detective force of 15 men will also be required. The exist- ing system of village constables should be maintained, the Tipò, or head constable, being held responsible to the Watch Committee of the village for the good order of the village. The number of these village constables in the Tung Lo, or Eastern section, must be over 1,000. Their pay, which is at present defrayed by the villages, is very small, and will, no doubt, have to be increased in order to secure efficiency. It is hoped that this large force may be gradually improved and converted into a well disciplined force of military police. To begin with, however, it will be necessary to take them as they are, and make the best possible use of their services.
The village council should, for purposes of police, act as a watch committee, and control the village constables, the Tipo being in the first instance responsible to them.
With regard to the policing of the islands, an Indian and 3 native Chinese should be stationed on the island of Ch'eung Chau, and the same number of men at Tai'O, in the island of Lantao. These police should be under the immediate supervision of a
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European Inspector, with headquarters at Cheung Chau, who should have at his dis- posal a launch armed with a machine gun, and a crew, who should be properly drilled. With this launch he would be able to visit regularly all the islands in the new territory. Lamma Island, which is immediately adjacent to Hong Kong, might be policed from Aberdeen. The Putoi Group might also be placed under Hong Kong so far as the policing of them is concerned.
Launches.
In addition to the launch for visiting the islands, another launch will be required for the east of the new territory, and a pinnace for Deep Bay and its neighbourhood in the west. Each of these vessels should be armed with a quickfiring gun, and com- manded by a European, who should have under him a crew trained to the use of arms.
Judicial.
I recommend that the village tribunals be retained, and that they be allowed to exercise their present powers under proper supervision. A precedent for this exists in Ceylon, where an ordinance entitled the "Village Communities Ordinance" (No. 24 of 1889) is in force, and which, I think, might with slight modifications be adopted for the village communities in the new territory. In this opinion Mr. Brewin, the Acting Registrar-General of Hong Kong, the Hon. Ho Kai, and the Hon. Wai Yuk, the Chinese members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, whom I consulted, concur Their report on this subject, with which, generally, I agree, will be found in Appendix 6.
As in Ceylon, records of all the cases tried should be carefully kept and regularly inspected from time to time by a travelling magistrate, who should exercise strict super- vision over the native tribunals. This officer should have a knowledge of Chinese and
of law.
An appeal to the council of a Tung should lie from a decision of a village tribunal. The resident should be the final court of appeal in all matters, civil or criminal, cogniz- able by native tribunals.
In criminal matters offences punishable by death, as well as offences such as piracy, arson, treason, forgery, highway robbery, burglary, &c., should be heard before the Hong Kong Police Magistrate, and; if there is a primâ facie case, be committed by him for trial.
Prison.
The question of providing prison accommodation is one requiring serious considera- tion. In this connection I would call attention to the following opinion of the Chinese members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong:-
"We hold that simple imprisonment has little deterrent effect on the ordinary Chinese, and that, wherever possible, flogging to a moderate extent should be substi- tuted for it. The lower classes, being extremely poor and in constant want of the necessities of life, do not in the least mind imprisonment in a well-conducted European jail, where they can get good lodging, food, and clothing with the minimum amount of labour. It would be an extremely expensive item to provide sufficient jail accommoda- tion for the large number of Chinese seeking admittance as an effective means of relief to their necessitous condition in hard times.”
With this view anyone who knows the Chinese must agree. If a large jail be built, it will not be long before it is full to overflowing, I therefore recommend that the punishment of imprisonment be so far as possible discouraged, and that, at any rate to begin with, a jail sufficient to accommodate 50 persons only be established.
The head of the police should discharge the duties of superintendent. The Chief Inspector should act as chief warder, and the other warders could be seconded from the police. The prison should be situated at headquarters where the Commissioner
resides.
In addition to the main prison, there should be in each Tung a lock-up for detain- ing prisoners pending trial or transfer to the chief prison; and in each village accommo- dation should be provided in the watch-house for detaining prisoners pending trial before the village tribunal.
Travelling magistrate.