22367.
PUBLIC RECORD. OFFICE
Reference -
TITTIC.O.885
13 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- |
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
1
No. 228.
(STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.)
LAW OFFICERS to COLONIAL OFFICE.
Royal Courts of Justice, November 17, 1891.
MY LORD,
We were honoured with your Lordship's commands, signified in Mr. Bramston's letter of the 30th ultimo, stating that he was directed by your Lordship to invite our attention, to the Act 29 & 30 Vict. cap. 115. to provide for the government of the Straits Settlements, from which it would be seen that Her Majesty was empowered by Order in Council to establish all such laws, institutions, and Ordinances as might be deemed advisable for the peace, order, and good government of Her Majesty's subjects and others within the said Settlements, and by which Her Majesty was also empowered- to delegate those powers to certain persons.
That by Letters Patent dated the 4th of February 1867 (Article I.) Her Majesty was pleased to delegate to the persons who should from time to time compose the Legislative Council, power to legislate in the exact terms of the above-mentioned Act, and that when on the 17th of June 1885 those Letters Patent were revoked and others substitute for them, it was intended to continue the same powers to the Legislative Council, but that, by an unfortunate inadvertence in copying, the words " and others" were omitted, and that the Article (No. 8) read "for the peace, order, and good
government of Our subjects within Our Settlements."
"
That an order of banishment having been made by the Governor upon a certain disorderly and dangerous Chinaman under the provisions of an Ordinance passed in 1888, with which it was unnecessary to trouble us, a writ of haveas corpus was moved for on his behalf on the ground, inter alia, that the Ordinance as dealing specially with aliens was invalid as being in excess of the powers of the Legislature. That the Chief Justice, for reasons given in the concluding portion of his judgment (of which a copy was enclosed), overruled the objection; and that his judgment was upheld upon that point by the full court, consisting of the two other judges, who simply stated that they agreed with the judgment of the court below.
That an appeal to the Judicial Committee might possibly be brought, therefore no question was raised as to that particular Ordinance of the Legislature.
But that whatever was the judgment on appeal as to that Ordinance, which provided for the removal of disorderly persous from the Colony, it was evident that the objection might be raised in other forms, and that possibly it might be urged that no alion was subject to any laws of the Colony passed since 1885.
That it was intended to issue fresh Letters Patent so as to preclude any doubt as to the future, but that as regarded the past, Mr. Bramston was to request us to be good enough to advise your Lordship whether in our opinion
1. Aliens in the Straits Settlements were subject to the laws of the Colony passed
since the Letters Patent of 17th of June 1885 came into operation?
2. If not, could such laws be made to apply to them by Order in Council or by an Ordinance of the local Legislature, and if by both methods, which of the two appeared the preferable course?
•
3. Would the insertion in the proposed Letters Patent of words declaring that the Legislative Council has, and always had since 1885, the power of legislating for others than Her Majesty's subjects, be proper and sufficient to avoid the raising of any question in the future by, or on behalf of, an alien ?
That your Lordship would further be obliged if we would favour you with any observations which might occur to us generally on the subject.
We have taken the matter into our consideration, and, in obedience to your Lord- ship's commands, have the honour to--
Report:
I and 2. That, in our opinion, aliens in the Straits Settlements are subject to the laws
of the Colony passed since the Letters Patent of the 17th June 1885.
65453.-41. 25.--11/91.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Deference
དམ་་པཔY་ས རྨ་ད-་སབལ-།