CO129-568-8 Naval Volunteer and Defence Ordinance- 1938- draft bill 10-2-1938 - 12-6-1939 — Page 43

NO.

CONFIDENTIAL. (2)

4

40

رية

m

53685/57

Sir,

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONG KONG.

7th April, 1938.

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of

your confidential despatch of 9th of February, 1938, and to

forward for your consideration copies of a second draft of

the Bill referred to therein, namely, a Bill to amend the

Naval Volunteer Ordinance, 1933, and to provide for Naval

Defence.

2.

I would invite attention to paragraphs 3, 4 (b)

and 5 (b), (c) and (d) of the Schedule to the amended Bill,

which I am advised have the effect of carrying out the

suggestion in paragraph 4 of your despatch under reference

while avoiding the difficulty mentioned in the last

sentence in paragraph 3 of the same despatch, namely, "If,

to remedy this, section 53 (7) is altered so as to make

imprisonment possible for any term up to a life sentence,

the graded scale of punishments is upset."

3.

Since in section 2 and elsewhere in the Naval

Discipline Act the expression "shall suffer death, or such

other punishment as is hereinafter mentioned" frequently

occurs, and by section 55 of the Act the expression "other

punishment" is deemed to comprise any punishment of a

lesser degree, as set out in section 52 thereof, it has

been considered advisable to retain the death penalty in

all the cases provided for in the Naval Discipline Act,

subject, however, to confirmation, in all cases except

mutiny, by the Governor of this Colony.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

W. G. A. ORMSBY-GORE, P.C., M.P.,

&C., &C., &c.,