CO129-075 - Public Offices - 1859 — Page 143

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deemed and taken to be a judgment or sentence of the Consul in such suit or contention, and shall be entered and recorded as such, and shall have the like effect and operation, and shall be enforced accordingly, and shall not be subject to any appeal.

XVII. And it is further ordered, that it shall be lawful for any of Her Majesty's Consuls to cause to be apprehended and brought before him any British subject who may be charged with having committed any crime or offence within the domi- nions of the Tycoon of Japan, or on board of any Japanese ship or vessel within the said dominions; and such Consul shall thereupon proceed, with all con- venient speed, to inquire concerning the same, and for such purpose shall have power to examine on oath, or in such form and with such ceremonies as the witness shall declare to be binding on his con- science, any witness who may appear before him to substantiate such charge; and shall have power to compel any person, being a British subject, who may be competent to give evidence as to the guilt or innocence of the party so charged, to appear and give evidence, and to punish the wilful default of

such any

to appear person

and give evidence, after reasonable notice of the day of the hearing of such charge, by fine or imprisonment, in like manner as pro- vided in Article XV of this Order; and shall examine every such witness in the presence and hearing of the party accused, and afford the accused party all reasonable facility for cross-examining such witness, and shall cause the deposition of every such witness to be reduced to writing, and the same to be read over, and, if necessary, explained to the party accused, together with any other evidence that may have been given against him during the course of the inquiry; and shall require such accused party to defend himself against the charge brought against him, and, if necessary, advise him of the legal effect of any voluntary confession; and shall take, in like manner, the evidence of any witness whom the accused party may tender to be examined in his defence; and every witness, being a British subject, so examined as aforesaid, in case of wilful false testimony, may by the said Consul be convicted and punished for the crime of wilful and corrupt perjury ;

Trial of crimes committed by British subjects.

Assessors on the

trial of crimes com- mitted by British subjects.

and when the case has been fully inquired into, and the innocence or guilt of the person accused esta- blished to the satisfaction of the Consul, the Consul, as the case may be, shall either discharge the party accused from custody if satisfied of his innocence, or proceed to pass scntence on him if satisfied of his guilt; and it shall be lawful for any Consul, having inquired into, tried, and determined, in the manner aforesaid, any charge which may be brought before him, to award to the party convicted any amount of punishment not exceeding imprisonment for one month, or a fine of two hundred dollars.

XVIII. And it is further ordered, that if the crime or offence whereof any person, being a British subject, may be accused before any of Her Majesty's Consuls as aforesaid, shall appear to such Consul to be of such a nature as, if proved, would not be adequately punished by the infliction of such punish- ment as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for such Consul to summon, two or not more than four, British sub- jects of good repute, residing within his district, to sit with him as assessors for inquiring into, trying, and determining the charge against such person; and the Consul who shall try any such charge with the assistance of assessors as aforesaid, shall, if he is himself convinced of the guilt of the party accused, have power to award any amount of punishment not exceeding imprisonment for twelve months or a fine of one thousand dollars, and the assessors aforesaid shall have no authority to decide on the innocence or guilt of the party accused, or on the amount of punishment to be awarded to him on conviction; but in the event of the said assessors, or any of them, dissenting from the said conviction of, or from the amount of punishment awarded to, the accused party, the said assessors or any of them shall be authorized to record in the minutes of the proceed. ings the grounds on which the said assessors or any of them may so dissent, and the Consul shall forth- with report to the Consul-General the fact that such dissent has been so recorded in the minutes of the proceedings, and shall as soon as possible lay before the Consul-General copies of the whole of the depositions and proceedings, with the dissent of the assessor or assessors recorded therein; and it shall be lawful thereupon for the Consul-General, by