CO129-075 - Public Offices - 1859 — Page 142

of

to appeal, in certain

cases, to hear civil

suits between

British subjects.

XII. And it is further ordered, that in the event Consuls em- any suit of a Civil nature arising between British powered, subject subjects within the dominions of the Tycoon of Japan, it shall be lawful, upon the application of any party to such suit, for the Consul of the district within which the party sued shall be found, to hear and determine such suit, subject to an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Colony of Hong Kong; and every such appeal shall be made and conducted in the same manner and form, and under the same conditions, as in cases in which the defendant only is a British subject.

XIII. And it is further ordered, that it shall be Assessors in civil lawful for any of Her Majesty's Consuls before suits.

whom any suit whatever of a Civil nature is brought for decision, to summon twe, and not more than four, British subjects, of good repute, residing within his district, to sit with him as assessors at the hearing of such suit, and in case the sum sought to be recovered shall exceed five hundred dollars such suit shall not be heard by the Consul without assessors, if within a reasonable time such assessors can be procured; and the assessors aforesaid shall have no authority to decide on the merits of such suit, but in the event of such assessors, or any of them, dissenting from the decision of the Consul, the Consul shall enter the fact of such dissent, and the grounds thereof, in the minutes of the proceed- ings, and in case of appeal shall transmit the same to the Consul-General, together with the documents relating to the suit.

XIV. And it is further ordered, that in an appeal Evidence to be

adduced on hearing to the Consul-General from the decision of a

of appeals. Consul, it shall not be open to any party to adduce any further evidence than that which had been laid before the Consul; and that a party shall not be required to appear personally to prosecute an appeal, or support a sentence: Provided always, that in all appeals from the decision of a Consul, it shall be lawful for a party to allege facts essential to the issue of the suit which have come to his knowledge subsequently to the decision of the Consul, and to produce evidence in support of such facts, and provided also that it shall, moreover, be lawful for the said Consul-General to admit any further legal

149

Examination of

witnesses.

Settlement of suits by agreement or arbitration.

evidence besides that adduced before the Consul, on its being established, to the satisfaction of the Consul-General, by oath or affidavit, that the party desiring to produce such further evidence was ignorant of the existence of such evidence, or was taken by surprise at the hearing before the Consul, or was unable to produce it before the Consul, after due and reasonable diligence and exertion on his part in that behalf, or where, under the particular circumstances of the case, it shall appear to the said Consul-General that further evidence ought to be received.

XV. And it is further ordered, that the Consul shall have power in a civil suit to examine on oath, or in such form and with such ceremonies as the witness may declare to be binding on his conscience, any witness who may appear before him, and shall have power, on the application of any party in such suit, to issue a compulsory order for the attendance of any person being a British subject who may be competent to give evidence in such suit; and any British subject having been duly served with any such compulsory order, and with a reasonable notice of the day of the hearing of such suit, and upon his expenses of appearing as a witness having been paid or tendered to him by the party at whose application he shall have been ordered to attend, shall, on his wilful default to appear as a witness at the hear- ing of such suit, be punished with a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or with imprison- ment for a period not exceeding thirty days, at the discretion of the said Consul; and every witness, being a British subject, so examined as aforesaid, in case of wilful false testimony, may, by the said Con- sul, be convicted of and punished for the crime of wilful and corrupt perjury.

XVI. And it is further ordered, that it shall be lawful for the Consul to promote the settlement of a suit or contention by amicable agreement between the parties, and, with the consent of the several parties, to refer the decision of a suit or contention to one or more arbitrators, and to take security from the parties that they will be bound by the result of such; and the award of such arbitrator or arbitrators shall be, to all intents and purposes,