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6. The amending Bill, which I am to request that the Parliamentary Counsel be instructed to prepare should be in two parts, the one to apply generally to the United Kingdom and to the Colonies; while the other, containing special provisions relating to contiguous groups of Colonies should only be made applicable by order of the Queen in Council declaring what Colonies are to form groups for the purposes of this part of the Act.

7. With regard to the first part, the category of rendition offences should be enlarged in respect of the United Kingdom and the Colonies generally, so as to include grave offences, although, according to the law of England for the time being, they are misdemeanors. And, as regards the United Kingdom and the Colonies generally, the 4th section of the Act, 6 and 7 Vict., c. 34, should be amended by striking out the. words, "and attested upon the oath of the party producing them to be true copies," as suggested by Sir Thomas Henry.

6. With regard to the second part, relating to contiguous groups of Colonies, the existing law should be further amended so as to make every offence a rendition offence, and the power of backing warrants reserved by the Act 6 and 7 Vict., c. 34, in the Colonies to the Chief Justice, or any Judge of Her Majesty's Superior Court, should be extended to every person exercising the functions of a Magistrate or Justice of the Peace in the district where the warrant is to be executed.

Dear Malcolm,

I am, &c.

(Signed)

Inclosure 1 in No. 1.

H. Jenkyns, Esq., to W. R. Malcolm, Esq.

W. R. MALCOLM.

Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, 18, Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster, S.W., March 30, 1876.

I SEND you the Fugitive Offenders Bill, with elaborate notes on the clauses. Although the notes appear somewhat long, they do not really involve any difficulty.

I beg particularly to call your attention to the last paragraph of the note prefixed to

the Bill.

Yours truly, (Signed) H. JENKYNS.

P.8.-Thring has not had time to look at the Bill; if his opinion is wanted the Bill must wait for the present.

H. J.

Fugitive Offenders Bill.

NOTE.

The instructions for this Bill involve, I presume, the repeal and re-enactment of the existing Act, 6 & 7 Vict. c. 34 (as amended by 16 & 17 Vict. c. 118).

The Act 6 & 7 Vict. c. 34 is in many ways defective. It does not apply to a convicted prisoner who escapes, it allows the apprehen- sion of an offender only when the warrant is actually produced and endorsed, so that the telegraph is useless. Its provisions for the authentication of the depositions and warrant are, as pointed out by Sir Thomas Henry, somewhat impracticable. It contains no provi- sion for cases where the courts of the two places have concurrent jurisdiction, nor for an offender flying from a consular court.

I have drawn this Bill to cure these defects, and have suggested other amendments.

It might have been supposed that as warrants for the apprehen- sion of offenders run in the Queen's name, they might be executed in any part of her dominions in which the offender was found.

But under English law a warrant can only be executed within the jurisdiction of the authority issuing it. Thus, a warrant issued by a justice of one county cannot be executed in another county. To avoid this difficulty the system of backing warrants was introduced, first, between different counties, and afterwards between England and the rest of the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

Under this system any justice (say in Surrey, or Ireland), upon proof on oath of the handwriting of a justice issuing a warrant, either

in any other county in England or in Scotland, can endorse the warrant, and thus authorise the execution of the warrant in Surrey, and the person apprehended under the warrant is taken back to the place where the warrant was issued.

The reason why this system was not extended to the colonies as if they were a part of the United Kingdom, is, no doubt, the hard- ship that would, owing to the great distance, be caused by taking an alleged offender back into the place where the warrant was issued,

and the possible use that might be made of the power of so taking a ----

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No. 143, June 30, 1875; Lord Carnarvon to Sir H. Bulwer, No. 140, October 4, 1875; Sir J. Pauncefote to Law Officers, October 4, 1875; the Law Officers to Lord Carnarvon, October 26, 1875; Lord Carnarvon to the Governor of the Cape, No. 111. December 2, 1875: The Governor of Western Australia to Lord Carnarvon, No. 104, August 28, 1875; Colonial Office to Home Office, January 26, 1876; Home Office to Colonial Office, February 4, 1876; inclosing one from Sir T. Henry to Home Office, January 29, 1876.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

PELLICO. 885

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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