CO129-066 - Public Offices - 1857 — Page 473

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occidental delusions as well as Oriental illusions. I declare my Lord

I am sometimes inclined to think that it is neither stupidety nor prejudice on the part of the Chinamen refusing to adopt our laws in preference & to their own. At all events if their peculiar ideas about Lawyers be

wrong,

et cannot be denied that we make our practise desenbe a tangent to our pronuples. This may be stucking infidelity my Lord, but pray hear me out. In the Colony of Hongkong dwell a few hundred Englishmen &about 60,00 Chinamen. The laws are published in English inly every Saturday at the small cost of 30 cent (fweek not pannum) or nearly 2). a sum that would bey all the laws of China codiped Famalgamated with the maxims of Confucius. Jack your Lordship whether all that Jeremy Bentham ever said is worth half the money It may be urged that cheap law is a bad thing even so, but then the HongKong Gazette is only published in English, so that it follows that the Chinamen living in Wingsting according to the fundamental principle of British institutions, are bound not only to know Britesh law, but to be able to read it in the English language, even allowing the Gazette to be procurable at the value, say one cent. If there be any, governing principle on the matter I submit my Lord that I have described it. Now for the practise. If a Chenaman be accuced of felony, he must either go undefended, or his defence will cost him at least £50_ First he must get an Attorney to attend before the setting Magestrate __ that will cost hom six pounds _ then if he be committed to the supreme Court, he must retain a barrister, whose fees will amount to at least £25 – If a Chiname, be falsely accused he places great reliance on the senries of a barrister to detect the false telimony. Should a case last several days, heavy reprechers are expected. Your Lordship will naturally, Act how it fares with a Chinuman tried for his lefe who has no money? Inpsure your dordship believe it or not as you please, he must go undefended... in which case the opening & closing speeches of the Atterney General. as well as the judges summing up are all as so much Greet

W hem.

changes)

interpreters we have hithert

manay,

He hears the evidence Certainly and refutes as much as he can thro' the Interpreter. If there be no collusion between the Interpreter and the accusers, or of the prisoner should have feed the Inter = preter, on if he should have done nothing to annoy the Attorney General, he may get off. On the other hand, when a guelty man is defended, the chances are reversed _ the cercumstances that tell unfavorably against the undefended man, are brought to bear with the opposite effect when a Barrister to employed for the defence _ the witnesses in that case are drilled for the defence, whilst those for the prosecution are to bothered from cross examination, that some of them inevitably breaking down well most probably cause the case to fail: for it cannot be supposed that the Attorney General can bestow the same care on the entire calendar, that a I barrister afsisted by a Solicitor can upon one case. Aguen, of the prisoner :be a man of means the fees for the defence extracted from him are endymous. Alum the Baker was so thoroughly foightened by the authorities

for Collusion and

Hamburg

he was allowed to see a lawyer, that he put down without demur Pounds L00 to commence with, that being the sum demanded. Mah Choo wong

Pounde

a potive runner for many years in the employ of our Regestaan (brother

za Caldwell the Singapore Registrar) was detected the other day in some mrock Refarious practices, and paid his lawyer at once £250), ( a police

Lord!) Thie man has been notorious for piracy textortion for many years The Reystrar's name is mixed up with his

Among

the Chincer, prevedy The

My

same manner that poor Major Caine's was with his Compradore's __ "The whole system is bad _ our law process inapplicable quite. As it would be Foreign to my purpose to suggest a remedy & introduce matter to discussion I confine myself to facts _ but I have not done. Ease my

may

be carried to indolener - luxury to voluptuousness_

Open

Lord

so law, no matter how good, may be made obnoxious in its practise, and a micance in its application. For instance my Lord, a few months ago, a merchant long resident here, was proceding home & mail steamer with hes wife and family. He was a wealthy man and possessed much valuable property in the Colony. He was not retering but was leaving the mercantile

establishment.

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