CO129-250 - Acting Governor Barker - 1891 [6-8] — Page 759

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Enclosure 1.

C. O.

18657

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SEP 21

754

Chief Justice to Officer Administering the Govern.ent.

Supreme Court,

Hong-Kong, 15th February 1887.

sir,

I have the honour to acknowleage receipt

of Your Excellency's letter of the 4th instant No.30G and

in reply beg to state that in the opinion of the Julges

of the Supreme Court the abolition of imprisonment for

debt and the assimilation of the law in this Colony to

that of England would not tend to the reduction of the

number of prisoners in Gaol to any very great extent.

With the abolition of imprisonment

for debt a large discretionary ower of imprisonment is

vested in the Judges to compel persons brought up under

Judgment Debtor Summonses to pay the amounts ordered by

the Court. Under section 5 of The Dedtors Act 1960 as

amended by Section 103 of the Bankruptcy Act 1983 there

were no less than 45475 orders of committal made in the

County Courts in England last year although the Dectors

Act purported to be an act for the abolition of imprison-

ment for debt. At present the resort to imprisonment here

is checked in consequence of the Execution Creditor having

to pay for the maintenance of the Debtor while in Gaol.

If the law is altered the Execution Creditor cannot be

called upon to pay for the keep of a prisoner imprisoned

for aisobedience to the orders of the Court and I lik

it is quite possicle that for this reason the number of

Prismo,