CO129-534-9 Law of Piracy- case of Rex v. Chung Tam Kwong 1-4-1931 - 20-4-1932 — Page 97

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part of the goods or merchandises belonging to such ship or vessel, the person or persons guilty thereof shall in all respects be deemed and punished

as piratee aforesaid. " It would thus appear to havs

been necessary in the opinion of the legislation to

reinforce the common law by statute in order to punish as pirates persons who had accomplished considerably more by their violent acts than is alleged in the

present indictment. A distinction must be noted

between statutes providing for the punishment of piracy and other statutes, e.g. the Piracy act, 1850, 13 and 14 Vict., c.26, which provides for an inquiry by the High Court of admiralty in gland and other courts of admiralty in his Majesty's dominions beyond the seas, held to determine whether parsons attached or engaged with by His Majesty's ships were pirates and to ascertain the nwaber of pirates captured or engaged. it is not only from the language of English statutes that assistance is

obtainable in tuis matter. As appears in the report

of an American case "The United States of America

v. Smith (5 heaton, 153) (and also from reference to Kent's "Comentaries on American Law" vol. 1, p.185) that Congress taking action under a constitu- tional power given "to define and punish felonies on the high seas and offences against the law of nations* had passed an act providing "that if any person .....anall upon the high seas comat the crime

of piracy as defined by the law of nations.......such offender......shall. .......................be punished with death."

In