104
extradition, the same remark would apparently apply to any
extradition proceedings taken here at the request of
authorities who are not recognised by His Majesty's
Government as having succeeded to the rights and liabilities
of the Treaty of Tientsin.
4.
The point under discussion was taken by the
fugitive and not by the courts, though I am not prepared to say that the courts might not properly take the point of their own motion, and undoubtedly every fugitive who is
defended will raise the point so long as the present
conditions continue.
5.
An application for extradition was received on the 8th May "from Ng, Acting Civil Governor of Kwong Tung under the Great Chinese Republic". The extradition officer of the Kwong Tung Government has been informed of the position, and he has intimated that he proposes to advise his Government not to make any applications for the time being. Should the Kwong Tung Government press the applicat- ion, or any future application, I suppose that it would be my duty to issue an order to the magistrates to proceed, but sooner or later, this would involve the express definition
of the attitude of this Government to the Kwong Tung Government, and I should be much obliged for Your Excellency views as to the terms in which that attitude should be defined. The difficulty would be to define it in such a way as to satisfy the Ordinance while avoiding any undesirable recognition of the Kwong Tung Government. It appeared to me that the proposed Ordinance met the latter point satis- factorily by avoiding any implication of a recognition de jure, and I still think that its introduction is the best
means of solving a very difficult question.
6.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.