Queensland.
Straits Settlements.
10
The Government of Queensland possesses in the 147th Section of the Local Customs Act No. 1 of the 37th of Victoria the usual powers, which, however, as already stated, have not been exercised. Besides this there is an Act No. 14 of 1860 to regulate the exportation of gunpowder and warlike stores from the Colony of Queensland,” by which gunpowder and other munitions of war are forbidden to be exported without a licence, and shippers are required to give a bond that such goods shall be landed at the place for which they are declared to be shipped.
The Government of the Straits Settlements possesses, like Jamaica and Mauritius, the power of prohibiting the export of arms to particular places. This power is derived from the 1st Section of Ordinance 13 of 1567, which is as follows:-
* 1. It shall be lawful for the Governor in Council, by Proclamation, to prohibit for such period as shall be mentioned in such Proclamution, the exportation or carriage from place to place in the Colony, or from the Colony to any place without the Colony to be named in such Proclamation, arzas, ammunition, and gunpowder, military and naval stores, and any article which the Governor in Council shall judge capable of being converted into or made useful in increasing the quantity of arms, ammuni- tion, and naval and military stores, provisions, or any sort of victual which may be used as food by man; and to exempt from such prohibition, under such restrictions us runy be deemed advisable, such quantity of any such articles as may be required for the use of any vessels or persons proceeding to any place to which such exportation or carriage shall be prohibited.”
The exercise of the power thus conferred has been a matter of frequent occurrence, the object in view generally being to discourage civil hostilities within the native States adjacent to the Settlements. But one of these Proclamations was to prohibit the export of arms to Acheen during the existence of hostilities between Acheen and the Netherlands Government.
This Proclamation gave rise to a correspondence between the Secretary of State and the Governor, which resulted in Lord Kimberley approving the issue of the His Lordship Proclamation as justified under all the circumstances of the case. took occasion, in the course of the correspondence, to glance at the distinction between prohibiting the export of arms where the object is to maintain the peace amongst uncivilized neighbours and prohibiting it where the act amounts to The following is the an interference in a war between two civilized States, material portion of his despatch, after which follows the text of a despatch from Sir A. Clarke, setting forth in detail the various occasions in which the Straits Government has exercised its powers:-
"(Straits Settlements. No. 98.) "Šir,
"Downing Street, May 16, 1873.
"I have received your despatches Nus, 78 and 79 of 24th March, and No. 87 of the 3rd April, on the subject of the proceedings of the Netherlands India Government in respect of Acheen.
"On the 3rd April 1 acquainted you, by telegraph, that Her Majesty's Government had beru informed of the Declaration of War by the Dutch against Acheen, and I instructed you to le careful to abstain from all interference, lut at the same time to maintain a friendly attitude towards the Dutch authorities. On the following day I received your answer to the effect that the action taken by you had been contined to publication, under the local Law, of a Proclamation prohibiting the exportation to Achegn of arms and military stores. In reply to this I intimated to you that assuming that you had been led to take this course by considerations bearing upon the maintenance of peace and order in the British Settlements, I saw no reason to interfere with your discretion; but that 1 wished to have from you full written explanations of the grounds on which you had acted.
"3. It has not, of course, yet been possible for me to receive these explanations, but in order that you may be under no misapprehension with regard to the meaning of my last telegram, I think it right to observe that I do not desire to be understood as expressing the opinion that nothing short of antici- pated disorders or risings within the actual limits of British Territory would justify you in exercising the special powers vested in you by the Dolinance No. 13 of 1867. The circumstances of our position on the Malayan l'eninsula, and the relations of the Native States with and around our Settlements with other Native States, inhabited by a population of similar origin, render it necessary from time to time, for reasons connected with our own security, to forbil the exportation of munitions of war to Native States on the Peninsula, who are at war with each other or suffering from internal disturbances, and similar reasons may justify such a prohibition in the case of the war between a neighbouring Native State and the Dutch without, departing from the general principle that such prohibitions not being required by the obligation of Neutrals, ought to depend entirely in domestic considerations. This is a
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principle on which Her Majesty's Government have always hitherto acted, and from which they would not approve any departure, unless under express instructions by any Colonial authority.
"Governor Sir H. St. George Ord, C.B., &c. &c. &c."
(Strmits Settlements. No. 324)
*
+
"I have, &c. (Signed)
"KIMBERLEY.
"My Lord,
"Government House, Singapore, November 17, 1874. "With reference to your Lordship's Circular despatch of the 21st March, 1874, requesting informa- tion as to the powers possessed by the Government of the Colony to prohibit the exportation of material of war, and also as to the occasious on which those powers have been exercised, I have the honour to inform your Lordship that the powers possessed by this Government are those conferred by the Ordinance 13, of 1867. The Indian Act 31, of 1860, is also in force in the Colony. This Act, which is an amendment of Act 25, of 1857, passed during the Mutiny; contains very stringent provisions as to dealing in and having possession of arins, but not as to their exportation, and is, there- fore, not transmitted. Of the first mentioned Act two copies are inclosed.
2. The powers given by Ordinance 13, of 1867, have been exercised on the following occasions:-
"(1.) The first Proclamation was issued on the 29th July, 1867, prohibiting the exportation of war material to Junk, Ceylon, on the application of the Rajah of that place, in consequence of serious riots in his Government.
"(2.) A Proclamation was issued on the 21st April, 1870, on the application of the Sultan of Salangor, who asserted that the disturbances then taking place on the Kallang River and in other portions of the Kingdom were fomented by persons shipping arms from the Straits Settlements.
them
"(3.) In consequence of the dissension in Laroot between the rival Chinese factions, the Goh Kwans and the Sil Kwans, a Proclamation was issued on 21st February, 1873, prohibiting the exportation of war material to any place between the Krean and Perak Rivers. This Proclamation was partly rescinded in the September following, on the application of the Orange Kayah Mantri, of Laroot, who was then convinced of the justice of the claims of the Goh Kwans and therefore determined to help "(4) On the occasion of the war in Acheen, a Proclamation was issued on the application of the Government of Netherlands, India, on the 31st March, 1873, prohibiting the export of war inaterial to Sumatra. The action taken by this Government was fully set out and explained in despatelies Nos. 78,- 97, and 101, from this Government to the Secretary of State, dated 24th March, 3rd and 9th April, and approved by Lord Kimberley, in a despatch No. 206, dated 23rd September, 1873.
(5.) On the breaking out of disturbances between Chinese societies in Junk, Ceylon, the Siamese Governor of that Dependency applied for the prohibition, for one month, of the exportation of arms from Penang to Junk, Ceylon, and the usual 1'roclamation was accordingly issued on 3rd September, 1873.
"(6.) On the 5th March, 1874, a Proclamation was issued, forbidding the export of war material
to ports on the Malay l'eninsula, on the Eastern Archipelago, for six months.
"(7.) On 29th August another Proclamation was issued, prohibiting export of arms to the Eastern Archipelago, for a further term of six months.
3. I have the honour to incluse duplicate copies of despatches Nos. 98, 206, and 228, of 1873, as well as the Proclamatious mentioned.
4. It is to be regretted that a delay has occurred in answering your Lordship's despatch which called for the information now furnished, but considerable time was occupied in searching for the necessary records.
*The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon,
"Colonial Office."
"I have, &c. (Signed)
"ANDREW CLARKETM
Trinidad, like Jamaica and Straits Settlements, possesses, under Ordinance No. 14 of 1862, the power of prohibiting the export of arms to particular places. The following is the material enactment of that law :-
"I. It shall be lawful for the Governor, from time to time, by Proclamation in the Royal Gazette to prohibit the exportation from this Colony to any port or place, not being part of Her Majesty's Dominions or Possessions, of arms, ammunition, or gunpowder, and military stores and naval stores, and any article which the said Governor shall judge capable of being converted into or made useful in increasing the quantity of military or naval stores; and also by Proclamation in the Royal Gazette to revoke any such prohibition."
The power thus conferred has been exercised on three occasions, in each case at the instance of the Venezuelan Consul, the prohibition being confined to Venezuela, and the object being to hinder the operations of the Revolutionary party in that Republic. These Proclamations have had the approval of Her Majesty's Govern-
ment.
* August 25, 1862; January 27, 1868; and July 12, 1870.
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference
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Trinidad.
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