CO129-527-10 Procedure in cases of people found guilty but insane 10-7-1930 - 17-10-1930 — Page 3

3

OfCourse ther

au

Sent Lue to a Ceiginal lunatic Asglum fb.

desirable to ask for the advice of the Home

Office, as Mr. Ellis has already suggested

should be done in the Solomon Islands case.

The Hong Kong Ordinance is modelled on a

United Kingdom Act and the question must have

been settled in this country.

As regards the second part, the Order

of the Court is in the form that the person

shall be detained during His Majesty's

pleasure and Sir William Peel asks whether

in cases where it is desirable to release

decide and the prisoner that he is empowered to make known

His Majesty's pleasure, or whether he must

refer such cases to His Majesty through the

Secretary of State. It is clearly undesirable

that such cases should be referred here. The

matter is really one of pardon which power

lies within the discretion of the Governor, but

it is not clear whether, as a matter of form,

Article 15 of the Hong Kong Letters Patent

authorises the Governor to act in such

a matter.

I cannot discover any other

provision of the Letters Patent or Royal

Instructions bearing on the matter. The Trial

of Lunatics Act, 1883 is referred to in the

despatch.

Section 3 of this provided that

in the case of Ireland, the Lord Lieutenant

should be authorised to act by the substitution

,

of the words "The pleasure of the Lord Lieutenant"

for "Her Majesty's pleasure". Since specific

authority was thought necessary for the Lord

Lieutenant to act in this case, it may be that

specific authority should be given to Governors

of