CO129-193 - Governor Hennessy - 1881 [5-7] — Page 72

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"I find in this Colony that the Chinese, though the Colony has been established about forty years, as yet know little or nothing of English. I have been here nearly four years. During that time

"

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many

trials have

" taken place in the Supreme Court, criminal

"Because in the Ordinance under which

"

summoned it is provided

no vnam ean

juries

sit on

dre

"{

#

1:

$

"

trials and civil

cases, both tried

by juries,

9, but

"

A

though the majority of the inhabitants

"Chinese, and though

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A

are

4

Chinese-and the

some

are

of the largest rate payers majority of the inhabitants

being Chinese very neaturally the vast majority

of the prisoners tried are

Chinese, and

a jury who has not a Knowledge of English "and hence, when the Sheriff

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4

#

a

#

"considerable quantity of the property disposed

of by the verdicts of juries

is Chinese

nevertheless I do not remember in

property- nev

#!

the whole course

seen one.

to have

of those four years

jury. Why?

single Chinaman on the

the jury

and

comes

to strike

list to be submitted to the governor-

Legislative

Conncil, out of several hundred

names upon that list I suppose there are

not more than half a dozen Chinese. And so it

through every department of the Government,

whether the administration of the law or the

various

#

4

departments

truents under

I find this same

Came

to the

muy

administration;

difficulty in all. Soon after I.

Colony,

in the year 1877, an appointment "was vacant in the magistracy, a Clerkship worth

£200 per

amunt.

For this clerkship a knowledge

that is,

of English and Chinese was necessary, "translation from English into Chinese and from!

une