CO885-(13-15) — Page 103

3300.

No. 139. (TRINIDAD.)

LAW OFFICERS to COLONIAL OFFICE.

MY LORD,

Royal Courts of Justice, WB were honoured with your Lordship's commands, signified in Mr. Wingfield's

February 15, 1889. letter of 4th December last, stating that he was directed by your Lordship to inform us that by an Order of the Queen in Council, dated the 17th November 1888, it was declared that the Colony of Trinidad and its dependencies and the Colony of Tobago should, from and after the 1st January 1889, be united into one Colony to be called the Colony of Trinidad and Tobago.

That by that union the Supreme Court of Tobago, and the office of Chief Justice of Tobago, would cease to exist, and that your Lordship would be glad if we would be good enough to favour you with our opinion (1) whether the Court of Appeal for the Windward Islands, as established by Order of Her Majesty in Council of 3rd of March 1859, in pursuance of the Imperial Act 13 Vict. cap. 15., and of the local Acts mentioned in the Schedule to the said Order in Council, would continue to subsist, and might be holden before the Chief Justices of Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent, and Saint Lucia, or any three of them, notwithstanding the abolition of the office of Chief Justice of Tobago; and (2) whether, if the same person should be appointed to the office of Chief Justice in any two of the Colonies of Grenada, Saint Vincent, and Saint Lucia, the Court of Appeal could be holden before the three remaining members of the Court.

That if the two previous questions, or either of them, were answered in the negative, Mr. Wingfield was further to request to be favoured with our opinion whether the Court of Appeal could be re-constituted so as to consist of the four or three Chief Justices, as the case might be, by laws of the four several Colonies of Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent, and Saint Lucia, confirmed by Order in Council under section 2 of 13 Viet. cap. 15, or whether further Imperial legislation would be necessary.

We have taken the matter into our consideration, and in obedience to your Lordship's commands, have the honour to

Report

(I.) That in our opinion the Court of Appeal for the Windward Islands as established by Order in Council of the 3rd March 1859, and the Colonial Acts mentioned in the Schedule to such Order, is not affected by the Order in Council of the 17th November 1888, relating to the Island of Tobago, and the four Chief Justices of Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent, and Saint Lucia, may still form the Court of Appeal.

We believe that the same person has held the offices of Chief Justice of Saint Lucia and of Tobago, and the separation of the latter island has therefore not altered the personal constitution of the Court of Appeal. In the event of the same person being appointed to the office of Chief Justice in any two of the four Colonies named, serious difficulty might arise because the total number would then be reduced to three, and it was intended that the Court of Appeal should consist of three Chief Justices, excluding the Chief Justice appealed from (see section 6 of the Colonial Statutes, and the Order in Council of the 3rd March 1859).

2. In our opinion the Court of Appeal could not be reconstituted by laws of the four Colonies confirmed by Order in Council under the Act of 1850. That Act provided for the establishment of a Court of Appeal, but we see no provision enabling Her Majesty to legislate by Order in Council so as to reconstitute the Court, assuming the Court of Appeal once to be established.

We think Imperial legislation is necessary.

We have, &c.,

(Signed) (Signed)

The Right Hon. Lord Knutsford, G.C.M.G.,

RICHARD E. WEBSTER.

EDWARD CLARKE,

&c.

&c.

$7014.-7. 5.—3/89.

&c.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

19

C.O.885

Reference :-

13 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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