CO129-422 - Governor Sir May - 1915 [5-6] — Page 424

1

:

D

R

CONFIDENTIAL.

417

31583

losure!

1755

755-14

Sir,

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG, 31st. May, 1915,

I have the honour to submit for the significa-

-tion of His Majesty's pleasure the following Ordinance entitled

"An Ordinance to amend the Alien Enemies (Winding up) Ordinance, 1914, and to give power to stay actions against alien enemies.

No. 11 of 1915. The customary report by the Attorney-General is

enclosed.

2.

With reference to paragraph 2 of Mr. Harcourt's

Confidential Despatch of the 5th. February, 1915, the Attomey-

-General has pointed out that the object of section 4(3) of the

Principal Ordinance as amended by section 3 of Ordinance No. 30 of 1914 was to provide a further safeguard for the retention in the

Colony of the assets of alien enemy persons and firms whose

affairs are being wound up. The terms used were wide as it was

feared that too great particularity might lead to the exclusion

of cases which it might be desirable to include. The power given

has been usefully employed in retaining in the Colony the personal assets of partners in German firms the winding up of the local

branches of which will result in a deficiency of assets. It has

also been employed to prevent the remittance of money to enemy subjects in cases where special considerations arose. As a case in point, permission was refused for the remittance of a sum of

$2,000 to the Master of a German Ship sheltering in a neutral port,

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

ANDREY BONAR LAW, M.P.,

&c..

&c...

but