The Law Officers of the Crown and Dr. Deane to the Marquis of Salisbury-(Received April 23.)
My Lord,
Temple, April 23, 1880. WE were honoured with your Lordship's commands signified in Sir Julian Pauncefote's letter of the 19th instant, stating that he had to transmit to us, by your Lordship's desire, the correspondence and documents noted in the margin with reference to the difficulty which was apprehended in consequence of the recent Judgment of the High Court of Admiralty in the case of the "Parlement Belge," in carrying into effect in Her Majesty's dominions of Article V of the Postal Convention with France, and Article VI of the Postal Convention with Belgium, in cases where the foreign mail packets were not the property of the State by which they were employed, but private vessels chartered or subsidized for their mail service.
That Sir Julian Pauncefote was to refer us to the letter from the Foreign Office to the Treasury of the 19th March last for a statement of the grounds on which it had been suggested that the Law Officers of the Crown should be consulted as to the expediency of introducing a Bill in Parliament to meet the difficulty which was apprehended; and Sir Julian Pauncefote was to request that we would favour your Lordship with our opinion as to whether such legislation was necessary, and, if so, that we would be good enough to state generally the nature or frame of the provision which we might consider best calculated to carry out the object in view.
That Sir Julian Pauncefote was also to draw our attention to the recent case of the French mail packet "Anadyr," at Hong Kong, reported in the Colonial Office letter of the 10th March last, and to previous cases which had occurred in that Colony, of which an account was given at pp. 13-18 of Sir E. Hertslet's printed memorandum on mail packets.
That if we should be of opinion that legislation was necessary in the case of the steamers of the Messageries Maritimes, as held by the Supreme Court of Hong Kong on the authority of the Judgment of the High Court of Admiralty in the case of the "Parlement Belge," your Lordship would be glad to be informed whether, in view of the great traffic carried on by those steamers in Hong Kong, and of the frequent discussions arising there as to their privileges and immunities, we considered that there would be any objection to the immediate passing of a short local Ordinance to secure to them, while within the waters of the Colony, all the privileges and immunities which the Vth Article of the Postal Convention with France purports to confer on them.
In obedience to your Lordship's commands we have the honour to report-
That in our opinion it may be expedient to introduce a Bill in Parliament to meet the difficulty which it is apprehended may be the result of that part of the Judgment of the Admiralty Court in the "Parlement Belge" which was not reversed, and upon which it was not necessary to raise any question in the Court of Appeal.
A short Act giving the power by Order in Council to grant the privileges and immunities of national ships, the property of the Government, to vessels chartered or subsidized by that Government for the conveyance of mails under any postage convention with such Government, will probably be the most convenient way of attaining the object in view.
But, and especially with reference to the vessels belonging to the Messageries Maritimes, whose business is not so much the carrying of mails as that of general merchant ships, we desire to call your Lordship's attention to a great practical difficulty, namely, the easy and cheap means of obtaining the advantage of the Postages Convention and Orders in Council for merchant-ships by a slight and nominal payment as a subsidy.
* Treasury, March 11; Foreign Office to Treasury, March 19; Treasury, March 31: Colonial Office, March 10; to Colonial Office, March 19, 1880; Memorandum by Sir E. Hertslet; Postal Convention with France, 1856; Postal Convention with Belgium, February 17, 1876.
[370]
12916-300.
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The Law Officers of the Crown and Dr. Deane to the Marquis of Salisbury-(Received April 23.)
My Lord,
Temple, April 23, 1880. WE were honoured with your Lordship's commands signified in Sir Julian Pauncefote's letter of the 19th instant, stating that he had to transmit to us, by your Lordship's desire, the correspondence and documents noted in the margin with reference to the difficulty which was apprehended in consequence of the recent Judgment of the High Court of Admiralty in the case of the Parlement Belge," in carrying into effect in Her Majesty's dominions of Article V of the Postal Convention with France, and Article VI of the Postal Convention with Belgium, in cases where the foreign mail packets were not the property of the State by which they were employed, but private vessels chartered or subsidized for their mail service.
That Sir Julian Pauncefote was to refer us to the letter from the Foreign Office to the Treasury of the 19th March last for a statement of the grounds on which it had been suggested that the Law Officers of the Crown should be consulted as to the expediency of introducing a Bill in Parliament to meet the difficulty which was appre hended; and Sir Julian Pauncefote was to request that we would favour your Lordship with our opinion as to whether such legislation was necessary, and, if so, that we would be good enough to state generally the nature or frame of the provision which we might consider best calculated to carry out the object in view.
That Sir Julian Pauncefote was also to draw our attention to the recent case of the French mail packet "Anadyr," at Hong Kong, reported in the Colonial Office letter of the 10th March last, and to previous cases which had occurred in that Colony, of which an account was given at pp. 13-18 of Sir E. Hertslet's printed memorandum on mail packets.
That if we should be of opinion that legislation was necessary in the case of the steamers of the Messageries Maritimes, as held by the Supreme Court of Hong Kong on the authority of the Judgment of the High Court of Admiralty in the case of the "Parlement Belge," your Lordship would be glad to be informed whether, in view of the great traffic carried on by those steamers in Hong Kong, and of the frequent discussions arising there as to their privileges and immunities, we considered that there would be any objection to the immediate passing of a short local Ordinance to secure to them, while within the waters of the Colony, all the privileges and immunities which the Vth Article of the Postal Convention with France purports to confer on them.
In obedience to your Lordship's commands we have the honour to report- That in our opinion it may be expedient to introduce a Bill in Parliament to meet the difficulty which it is apprehended may be the result of that part of the Judgment of the Admiralty Court in the "Parlement Belge" which was not reversed, and upon which it was not necessary to raise any question in the Court of Appeal.
A short Act giving the power by Order in Council to grant the privileges and immunities of national ships, the property of the Government, to vessels chartered or subsidized by that Government for the conveyance of mails under any postage con- vention with such Government, will probably be the most convenient way of attaining the object in view.
But, and especially with reference to the vessels belonging to the Messageries Maritimes, whose business is not so much the carrying of mails as that of general merchant ships, we desire to call your Lordship's attention to a great practical difficulty, namely, the easy and cheap means of obtaining the advantage of the Postages Conven- tion and Orders in Council for merchant-ships by a slight and nominal payment as a subsidy.
* Treasury, March 11; Foreign Office to Treasury, March 19; Treasury, March 31: Colonial Office, March 10; to Colonial Office, March 19, 1880; Memorandum by Sir E. Hertslet; Postal Convention with France, 1856; Postal Convention with Belgium, February 17, 1876.
[370]
12916-300.
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