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MY LORD,

No. 118.

(WESTERN PACIFIC.)

LAW OFFICERS to FOREIGN OFFICE. (Received in Foreign Office letter of 25th April.)

Royal Courts of Justice, We were honoured with your Lordship's commands signified in Sir Julian

April 10, 1888. Pauncefote's letter of the 3rd ultimo, stating that he was directed by your Lordship to transmit to us the papers noted in the accompanying list relative to the issue to British subjects of Crown leases or licences to dig for, and take away, guano or minerals in and from certain uninhabited islands situated chiefly in the Western Pacific Ocean, to which no foreign Power laid claim, but which, in some cases, had not, previous to the issue of such licenses by the Crown, been considered to form part of Her Majesty's dominions.

That those licences had been issued for places within the boundaries respectively laid down in Her Majesty's Letters Patent of the 10th June, 1868, and 19th July, 1869, either by the Government of New South Wales or the High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, as the case might be, under the authority of those Letters Patent respectively; while in places outside such limits they had been issued by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, acting under the authority of the Warrant of the 15th September, 1881, which was prepared by the Law Officers of the Crown, at the instance of the Treasury, to which Department any rents reserved by the licences in question were paid.

That numerous applications for such licences had been of late received, and that before dealing with them your Lordship would be glad to learn whether the form of licence adopted by the Colonial Office met with our approval.

That Sir Julian Pauncefote was also to draw our attention to the fact that, although each of those islands would, according to the Report of the then Law Officers of the Crown of the 20th January, 1880, immediately upon its occupation under the licence, and on the hoisting of the British flag by the licensee, become part of the Queen's dominions, Her Majesty would at present possess no means of exercising any legal jurisdiction therein.

That it was suggested by the Colonial Office that that difficulty might possibly be met by passing a short Act declaring that offences committed upon any British island not within the jurisdiction of the Court of any British possession should be held to have been committed within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty, in which event the offender would be rendered justiciable by any Colonial Court.

That it appeared to your Lordship, however, that the provisions of "The British Settlements Act, 1887," might sufficiently meet the case.

That Sir Julian Pauncefote was to request that we would take the papers trans- mitted with his letter into our consideration, and that we would favour your Lordship with our opinion as to-

1. Whether, having regard to all the circumstances, the form of licence adopted by the Colonial Office was suitable for the purpose in view.

2. Whether the course suggested by the Colonial Office for enabling Her Majesty to exercise jurisdiction in those islands met with our approval, or whether that object could be sufficiently attained under the provisions of "The British Settlements Act, 1887"

(50 & 51 Vict. chap. 64).

That your Lordship would be glad, at the same time, to be favoured with any further general observations which we might desire to offer on the case.

In obedience to your Lordship's commands, we have taken the papers into our consideration, and have the honour to

Report

That we have grave doubts as to the propriety of granting licences in the form submitted to us.

A 58950.-18. 25.-5,88.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

C.O.8

Reference :-

•885

13 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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