CO129-287 - Public Offices & Others - 1898 — Page 310

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question, are also enclosed, and I am to request that

the former may be returned with your reply.

In connection with these questions I am to refer

you to the correspondence which passed in 1891-2 on

the subject of aproposed Consular Convention with the

United States, of which the Treay of 1892 respecting

Seamen Deservers originally formed part. It appears

from that correspondence that there was no intention

to con£r upon Consular Officers any jurisdiction in

respect of deserters from Ships of their nationality

which should in any way interfere with the jurisdic-

tion or

action of the Local Courus, as any such

stipulation could only have been made effective in

this country by means of fresh legislative enactments.

It seems th refore clear to Lord Salisbury tha the

local magistrate or Court must in the first instance

hear and determine whether the alleged deserter is,

in

fact, a deserter or not. If it is not established to

the satisfaction of the Court that he is a deserter,

then the Court has no alternative but to discharge

If on the other hand, the Court is satisfied

him.

that he is adeserter, it proceeds to deal with him

accordingly, but it would not, apparently, he within

the competence of the Consul of the nationality of

the alleged deserter's ship to oust, by assuming for

himself, the jurisdiction which is ve sued by law in

the magistrate.

This point, as it seems to Lord Salisbury is well

and concisely put in the letter from the Colonial Se-

cretary of Hong Kong to the Consul of the United States

in that colony, which is dated March 18th last.

With regard to the Question of amending the or-

dinance Lord Salisbury is disposed to think that the

terms of the Treaty with the United States of the bra

of June 1892 should be interpreted in strict accord-

ance with the provisions of the merchant Shipping Act

of 1894 which repealed the Foreign Deserters Act of

1852, under which the Treaty of 1892 was concluded,

and that it would therefore be desirable to amend the

20th Section of the Hong Kong Ordinance No.20 of 1801

so as to bring it into stricter conformity with Sec-

tion 288 of the Act of 1894, as regards deserters from

Foreign vessels and the taking of action by the Local

that

Authorities