CO129-412 - Governor Sir May - 1914 [7-8] — Page 131

T

Hon. Colonial Secretary.

1.

C

32712

Enclosure &

124

The procedure throngba peads to have been in

strict accordance with the Deportation Ordinances, 1912 and

1913, and I do not suppose that the secretary of State will

desire any discussion of the policy of these Ordinancés.

2. The witnesses for the Crown seemed to be most res-

pectable and they impressed me very favourably. I appeared for

the Crown at the trial and have no doubt in my own mind that the

prisoner was guilty of the murder.

3. It is of course incorrect to say that the verdict of

not guilty shows that the charge was completely met, especially

as it is notoriously difficult to obtain conviction on a capital

charge in case of a jury in this Colony.

4. The police were looking for the prisoner immediately

after the murder and went to look for him at the very place at which he himself admits his wife formerly lived before her

marriage to him. They went to this place because they had

received information that he used to visit this woman,

5.

The police had known before the arrest that they would

find the prisoner armed, in spite of this a Chinese detective

volunteered to approach the prisoner's house alone, as the

European and Indian police found it impossible to get near to

the village unobserved. When the detective seized the prisoner

the latter attempted to pull out a loaded revolver which he had

attached to his girdle, and it would appear that his object in

doing so probably was to use the revolver against the detective.

6. The story of how the prisoner happened to be in

possession of the revolver is very unconvincing, and having

regard to the conditions of life in this part of the world among

persons of the prisoner's nationality, the mere fact that he made a practice of going about with a loaded revolver without a

licence seems sufficient reason in itself for deportation. The

fact that the prisoner has served his sentence imposed for the

offence of the possession of arms without a licence is of

course