CO129-384 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 181

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4 in 1618/11

Dear Mr. Vei Han,

Colonial Secretary's Offfos,

26864 Hongkong 9th May. 1911 1911

1

In paragraph 2 of my Ketter of the 21st

ultimo, I informed you that His Excellency the / Governor would consult the law Officers as to your request that, if a British subject is arrested in China for offences committed in this

Colony and is extradited, a Chinese official should be allowed to attend the trial and sit on the Bench beside the Police

Magistrate to listen to the osse -- such officer taking no part in the trial. Subsequently, Captain Wu called on me on the 25th ultimo and explained that the real request of the Can- ton Goverment was that, when a Police Magistrate in Hongkong tries the case of prisoners for whose extradition the Chinese Goverment have applied, the officer deputed to represent the Chinese Goverment at the proceedings in the Police Court, should be allowed to sit on the Bench beside the lagistrate

without, however, taking part in the actual trial. It is upon this point that His Excellency has now consulted the Law Officore, who have advised that the question whether an offi-

cer should be invited by the presiding magistrate to take a

any

seat on the Bench depends upon his position in regard to the 11 proceedings. If he is in the position of a party to the case, such es a prosecutor, he cannot be given a seat on the bench; but, if he is merely watching the case on behalf of his Govern- ment and is not in any way an interested party, then he may be allowed to sit by the Magistrate. For example, when four or five years ago there were summons and oross simmons for ass- ault between two individuals in the Colony and two privates in the Baluchi Regiment than stationed in Kowloon, a solicitor was retained on behalf of the Regiment and the Colonel and the

Senior

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