CO129-378 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1911 [6-7] — Page 159

CO129 Colonial Office Hong Kong Records 理藩院香港檔案 All

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Supreme Court.

156

20474

REC?

Monday, 22nd.May, 1911. 10 JUL 11

Trial of Li Hon Chi on charges of publishing seditious literature.

His Lordship the Chief Justice in addressing the Special Jury said:- Gentlemen of the Jury, I don't know if you feel as I do, but I should have preferred to have dealt with this matter after more mature consideration than it is possible to give it

today. I should really have preferred to have summed up to you to- -morrow morning after have carefully considered these extracts and allowed you fuller time to consider them. But you arebusy

By men and I

do not think it is right that I should detain you and ask you to come back tomorrow morning. Therefore we must deal with the case as we best can. Of course the learned Counsel who have been engaged in this case and Mr. Brewin have very carefully studied these

but papers for some time, you and I have seen them for the first time. Yet on the whole I cannot help thinking that my summing up to you

at once has some virtues and also my asking you to consider your

verdict this afternoon, because after all a newspaper is an epheme-

-ral production and it is as well that you should give your verdict on the first impressions which come to you on hearing these articles read for the first time. Therefore I shall do my best, although I confess I have not as carefully studied them as I should have liked. I think it is as well to try and complete the case today

and try it on first impressions. There are two things I must point out to you. In the first place I may as well deal at once with the question of extradition. Of course it is a perfectly legitimate argument for counsel for the prisoner to use. He tells you it is the custom, a long established practice of extradition, to refuse to surrender political offenders. Extradition is a principle which has only been in practice for about fifty years. It came into force at a time when there was a great deal of revolution in Europe, and the Powers deliberately excluded political offenders from its operation. It is perfectly true that a political offender should he commit murder in certain circumstances would not be surrendered

and

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