CO129-347 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1908 [4-6] — Page 421

od gaɗ I amolvien gnoi vom tot sad tronoĦ quoy noitarsbinnos

Irie atment a'uonok quo? tant constateh Juoridu sit dittw ninja

ni qu nexað svari I noltṭaoq and mort dosnter of em soubni don

..2 .A (.b2)

."87#BİZSA

.80.5.AS

OP Y.

8.

.rettam ald

sir,

Chambers,

Supreme Court, Hongkong,

25th. March, 1908.

418

I have delayed replying to Your Excellency's letter of 16th. March, which I have now the honour to acknow- -ledge, awaiting Your Excellency's reply to mine of the same datë reporting the conduct of Mr. Seth, the Registrar of the Supreme Court. As I have unfortunately to send Your Excellency today a further report on this Officer's continued breach of discipline, I think it better not to delay any longer in reply- -ing to Your Excellency's letter.

2.

There appears to be a great deal of mis- -understanding in this Colony as to the real position of the Registrar of the Supreme Court; and as I have had many years experience of the working of all branches of a Judicial Depart- -ment, and as I have had to deal in another Colony with precise- -ly the same difficulty that has now been raised by Mr. Seth, the following definition will I think be of service to Your Excellency in the circumstances.

3.

I

The Chief Justice is the head of the Judicial Department. So far as the other Judges are concerned, he is primus inter pares; and although in theory the officers of the Registry must obey the orders of any of the Judges, in practice communications on all important matters to the Registrar are made by the Chief Justice, the official head of the Department. As however the Department has multifarious duties to perform, and as it is necessary to provide the Supreme Court with an administrative staff, the Registrar, who is primarily an officer of the Court, with many important magisterial duties to perform, is charged with the control of the executive and administrative office. In process of time, owing to the gradual growth in importance of the work, and owing to the practical necessity that the Chief Justice should not be

troubled