(20464/10).
FOREIGN
OFFICE
255
disposition to make.
In these circumstances it is
not apparent that any useful purpose would have been
served by Mr. Ross impressing on the Magistrate that
"execution" would, among other things, be regarded by
the Government of Hongkong as giving satisfaction.
The man could hardly be executed in default of convic-
tion, and conviction for murder is apparently dependent
on confession by the culprit himself. Sir J. Jordan
states that it is a general principle of Chinese Law
that such a confession is necessary to secure convic-
tion, but he doubts whether this is always carried out
in practice and even in former days the necessity of
such a personal confession was occasionally waived
when the guilt of the accused was independently es-
tablished by a strong chain of evidence.
Mr. Ross in his despatch of the 31st. of March
propounds a theory which Sir F. Lugard apparently en-
He says "It appears to follow that whenever
"the instructions which have recently been received
dorses.
*from home are acted on and a Hongkong official ap-
*pears
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