TNAG-0081-FCO40-117-Public-Order-legislation-1968 — Page 24

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have anything to do with it have the opportunity to get away, before any police

action is taken. Those who stay in a dangerous mob must expect to be treated

as active participants.

Paragraph 22.

Subsection (2) of sections 20, 21 and 22 has been

inserted so that a person may be convicted of offences under these actions

which all depend on the accused having "taken part in a riot",) even if he

has not been convicted of riot. Without these subsections, it might be

necessary to charge and convict a man of riot also thus increasing the number

of counts and convictions.

Paragraphs 23-26. This section follows the Forcible Entry Act, 1381,

and common law, whereby it is no defence to a person who forcibly enters on

land in the possession of another that he was entitled to possession or had a legal right of entry. The 1381 Act refers to a "multitude" of people, and

"an unusual number" was substituted for it. Both are indefinite, but the

latter is perhaps less so.

I agree that "agent" would be an improvement on "bailiff" and that

some clarification is desirable of the phrase "premises of his own".

Paragraph 27 This section is based on the Forcible Entry Act, 1429

and the common law, whereby it is an offence to hold possession of lands by

force whether the possession was lawful in origin or not.

Paragraphs 28 and 29. Violence in public is likely to breed violence

and should be strongly discouraged. To avoid the difficulty referred in

paragraph 29, however, the word "unlawful" could be added before "fight" in

section 25.

Paragraph 30. I agree with the comments on this section and with

the amendment proposed.

Paragraphs 31-32. Section 27 is designed to deal with acts which

cause a person to be apprehensive for the safety of himself or his family or

property. The experience of 1967 was that intimidation was a grave danger

to the ordinary citizen, particularly to the workers in various utilities and semi-utilities. It is necessary, I am afraid, to have a full provision to

deal with this.

However, on reconsideration, I believe that the law already contains

adequate provision for dealing with this kind of conduct in section 47 of the

Trade Union Registration Ordinance, with some modification. I therefore

propose that section 27 should be repealed and section 47 put in its place.

(Section 47 is based upon section 7 of the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1873).

Paragraphs 33-35. An unlawful assembly in sections 28 to 30 is