20879.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
15 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
+
MY LORD.
No. 83.
(LABUAN).
LAW OFFICERS 10 FOREIGN OFFICE,
Royal Courts of Justice, May 31, 1901. WE were honoured with your Lordship's commands signified to us in Mr. Villiers's letter of the 9th instant, stating that he was directed by your Lordship to submit to us the accompanying draft Order in Council (Paper A) which had been prepared by Mr. Albert Gray, under instructions from the Foreign Office, to provide for the exercise of His Majesty's extra-territoral jurisdiction within the dominions and territories of the Sultan of Brunei.
That we were aware that an Order in Council for Brunei was passed in 1890, but that the technical steps necessary to bring it into operation were never completes, and that the Order was repealed last year for the reasons stated in the letter from the Foreign Office of the 18th December, 1899 (Paper B).
That Sir J. A. Swettenham. His Majesty's Consul-General for Bornes, subsequently drew attention to the inconvenience that might arise if no means were provided for the exercise of the jurisdiction vested in His Majesty by the Agreement of the 17th September, 1888, with the Sultan of Brunei (Paper C'), 'atid that view was later on indorsed by Mr. Hewett, His Majesty's Consul for Brunei.
That measures were at that time in contemplation which would have altered the political conditions of the Sultanate and rendered an Order in Council umecessary, but those measures had been abandoned for the present, and Sir J. A. Swettenham, who had been requested in that event to state his views as to the necessity for an Order in Council, had adhered to the opinion he originally expressed (Paper 1) 1.
That in forwarding for our consideration the papers, Mr. Villiers was to draw our attention specially to clause 61 of the draft Order conferring Admiralty jurisdiction on the Court established under its provision, and to the remarks on the subject contained in Mr. Albert Gray's letter of the 28th February Inst (Paper E).
That Mr. "Villiers was also to draw our attention to the explanations given by Mr. Gray in his letter of the 19th instant (Paper F) with regard to the reasons which had led him to omit from clause 14 the words as to request and consent which appeared in Article 12 of the Order in Council for Brunei of 1890 (Paper ( ).
That Mr. Villiers was to request that we would state whether the draft Order in Council, in the terms of which the concurrence of the Secretary of State for the Colonies had been obtained, might properly be laid before the King in Council for His Majesty's approval, and that we would favour your Lordship with any general observations which we might have to offer with regard to the Order as drafted.
We have taken the papers into our consideration, and, in obedience to your Lordship's commands, have the honour to
Report
That we approve of the draft Order in Commeil herewith,* subject to the following observations :—
We suggest that difficulty might arise under Article 14 in its present form, as there might be two Courts exercising, or attempting to exercise, original jurisdiction. This difficulty might be met by the insertion as a proviso on sub-Articles (2) and (3) of some such words as those we have inserted in red ink in Article 14.
We think that Article 61 should be struck out. It does not seem desirable to confer Admiralty jurisdiction when it could not be exercised against foreign ships.
We have, &c..
R. B. FINLAY. EDWARD CARSON.
• See Foreign Offer 20879 01 and previous papers,
9899-26-6/1901 Wt 352 D&S
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3.
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