CO129-181 - Governor Hennessy - 1878 [1-8] — Page 350

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Donovan, the Officer in command of Her Majesty's Troops in China who___ takes his seat at the Table.

The minutes of the last meeting of Connoil

are read and confirmed.

His Excellency

states that this meeting had been specially convened to consider

the case.

of Cheung.

_A_Sin, a prisoner. convicted of murder at the last_ Criminal Sessions and sentenced to

undergo the extreme penalty of the -law, and he reads Paragraph 33 in the Royal Instructions laying down. the course to be adopted by the

Governor in Conneil in

dealing

with such cases.

Adverting to the trial of the

prisoner Cheung_a Sin, His Excelleney draws attention to a letter written by

-Chief Justice Sir John Smale last

in which two Europeans

year,

accused of murder

were

given by

the Supreme Court the benefit of the aid of a Solicitor and Counsel a week or ten days before the trial. In his letter dated the 19th September

1877 the Chief Justice had said.

"t

"

The elucidation of innocence

effectually attained only by the

assigning

Counsel and solicitor

for the prisoner, with ample

discretion to them.

Merely to

be