CO129-530-9 Deportation Amendment Ordinance- 1931 2-4-1931 - 14-12-1931 — Page 5

ما

3 Gov seat

23/6

correspondence

comes of

of

the

subject of

of ce

certain objections

X

X

X

X

(57503/21 and

57570/21)

There had been

power to deal with undesirable Indians under temporary war- time legislation.

22400/22

51549/22

parsed by the Chief Justice

In 1921 the Government of Hong Kong

passed an Ordinance (No.19 of 1921) giving the

Governor in Council power to deport British

X

subjects without trial or any form of judicial enquiry.

The power was intended for use primarily against

X

a special class of cases, that of undesirable

Indians, but for obvious political reasons no

specific reference to Indians was inserted in

the Ordinance. The Governor considered that, in

order to prevent the spread of disaffection

among the Indian troops stationed in Hong Kong

and among the Indian members of the Police Force,

it was necessary that there should be power to

remove from the Colony Indians of known bad

character and disloyal sentiments, e.g. dismissed

Policemen and watchmen, and professional sedition-

mongers.

The Government of India, while not

objecting to the deportation provided for by the

Ordinance, pressed for a judicial enquiry in

such cases similar to that laid down in the

X China (Amendment) Order-in-Council 1920. Hong

Kong maintained, however, that the ordinary

procedure of a judicial enquiry and an Order of

the Court was not an adequate method of dealing with undesirables of this type: it was necessary in the interests of public safety, peace and

good order to have recourse to more direct

methods.

X

The Secretary of State (the Duke of

Devonshire) was advised that it would be

difficult