(3) Whether the Governor under the powers conferred upon him by the Letters Patent of the 21st February, 1879, has power to pardon the persons in question before trial.
(4) Whether Her Majesty can grant a pardon to persons against whom a grand jury has returned a true bill in the circumstances stated in the telegram, and, if so, whether Her Majesty can properly be advised to comply with the request of the Government of Victoria.
(5) What answer should be returned to that request, (6) Generally.
In obedience to your commands we have taken the matter into our consideration, and have the honour to
Report-
1. That we are of opinion that in the case in question the Attorney-General of the Colony cannot grant a certificate under Section 391 of the Crimes Act, 1890 (Victoria). That section only enables such a certificate to be given in the special case mentioned in the section, viz., where there has been a committal for trial, and a * justices,
warrant by 2. Before advising as to the power of the Colonial Attorney-General to enter a nolle prosequi, we think that we ought to have before us the terms of his patent of appointment and information as to the practice which has been followed in the Colony before and since the Crimes Act. 1890,
3. The Governor can not grantŘa pardon at this stage. case of an accompli e or after conviction. The Instructions do not extend the powers of He can do so only in the the Governor as to granting pardons. They lay down the manner in which the conferred by the patent is to be exercise.
power
4. Her Majesty has power to grant a pardon, but we think that she can not properly be advised to exercise it. The prisoners are charged with conspiracy to procure the commission of a felony, and if they did so conspire the orders of their superiors would le no defence. We think the case should be allowed to proceed to trial. There may be a verdict of "not guilty." If, on the other hand, the prisoners are found guilty the Governor will have power to deal with the case on a consideration of all the circumstances as disclosed at the trial, or otherwise made known to him.
5. We think that Lord Brassey should be informed that Her Majesty cannot be advised to take in this case the very unusual course of granting a pardon before trial.
6. We have nothing to add.
The Right Hon. J. Chamberlain, M.P.,
&c..
&c.
&c..
We have, &c..
RICHARD E. WEBSTER. ROBERT B. FINLAY.
2324
No. 201.
(BRITISH HONDURAS.)
LAW OFFICERS TO FOREIGN OFFICE.
-
MY LORD,
Royal Courts of Justice, We were honoured with your Lordship's commands signified in Mr. Villiers's
January 20th, 1899. letter of the 23rd December last, stating that he was directed by your Lordship to transmit to us a despatch from Her Majesty's Minister at Mexico, relative to the question of the navigation of the territorial waters of British Honduras and Mexico.
That on receipt of our Report of the 23rd August last. Her Majesty's Minister was instructed to communicate the substance of it, in such manner as he might think most convenient, to the Mexican Government.
That Sir H. Dering's despatch contained an account of an interview which he had in consequence with Senor Mariscal, the Mexican Minister for Foreign Affairs, on the subject.
That it would be seen that Senor Mariscal accepted all the conclusions at which we arrived on the various questions submitted to us in the reference of August 10th, except with regard to one point, namely, the conveyance of prisoners on board Mexican public vessels which had obtained permission to pass through the territoral waters of the Colony.
That Senor Mariscal suggested a modification to the effect that vessels which obtained permission to traverse British territorial waters should carry no prisonera for ordinary offences, nor prisoners of war, other than such as were of Mexican nationality, and he stated that with that modification he would be willing to embody the regulations in a Convention which would be binding on both parties.
That it appeared to your Lordship that, in view of the proposal that the matter should be made the subject of a formal Convention, it was important that care should be taken to avoid creating what might turn out to be an inconvenient precedent by appearing to yield as a matter of right a point which Her Majesty's Government might only be prepared to concede as a matter of courtesy, and in view of the special circumstances, attaching to the case now under consideration.
That at the same time, having regard to the friendly spirit in which the Mexican Minister for Foreign Affairs had received the representations made to him by Sir H. Dering, your Lordship would be glad to meet his views, if possible, in the matter, and that, moreover, so long as the conveyance of the prisoners through the territorial waters of British Honduras was confined to prisoners of Mexican nationality on board of Mexican public ships, and so long as it was clearly understood that even such limited conveyance could not be claimel by Mexico, and was not allowed by Great Britain as matter of right, your Lordship did not apprehend that there could be any great objection to granting it as a matter of courtesy in the spreid and somewhat peculiar circumstances of the present case.
Mr. Villiers further stated that it was moreover suggested that in the somewhat unlikely event of such a prisoner, while within the territorial waters of the Colony, attempting to sue out a Writ of Habeas Corpus, any practical difficulty which might under other circumstances arise would be avoided by the fact that the process of the Queen's Courts could not be executed on board of a public vessel in the naval service of a Foreign Government.
That Mr. Villiers was to request that we would take the matter into our consideration, and that we would favour your Lordship with our opinion as to the instructions which should be given to Sir H. Dering on the subject, and
That your Lordship would also be glad to receive any general observations which we might desire to offer in connection with the question.
In obedience to your Lordship's commands, we have taken the matter into our consideration, and have the honour to
Report-
That we understand that Monsieur Mariscal is willing to confine the power of bringing prisoners through British territorial waters, whether for common offences, or prisoners of war, to the case of Mexicans.
1701-23-2"] Wa 23147 DAS
• No. 18GA.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
14 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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