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12. The Governor has asked for our viows on this mattor. It is recommended
that ho should bo informed that the question has not yet boon the subject
of a submission to Ministors; and that for the reasons outlined in this briof, thoro could be no question of the introduction of the death ponalty for unlawful possession of explosivos, etc. It may happon that the situation in the Colony may deteriorate to the point whore tho Governor considers it necessary to tako storn moasuros to doal with tho unlawful use of explosivos. In this ovent tho most that Ministors might be proparod to considor would be the introduction of omorgoncy rogulations providing for the death penalty for the offonce of attempted murder by means of
cxplosivos, ctc.
(D) Proposal that certain long-term prisoners in Hong Kong should bo
romoved to the United Kingdon to serve out their sentences
18. In the course of his discussions in the Commonwealth Office before returning to Hong Kong, the Govornor put forward the view that long prison sontonces now being notod out in Hong Kong for cortain offences committed during the course of Communist confrontation in the Colony might not be having a dotorront effect. The reason for this was that wrongdoors supposed, or had boon lod to believe that, if sont to prison for such offences, they could expect to be released vory soon with the ovorthrow of British rulo in the Colony. The Governor suggested that one way of overcoming this difficulty would be to sond selected long-term prisoners to serve their scntoncos (or part of them) in the United Kingdom. Wo have been examining the implications of this suggestion.
19. The question of the removal of such prisoners from Hong Kong to tho United Kingdon would be governed by the provisions of the Colonial Prisonors Romoval Act 1884. Under Section 2 of that Act, the "removal authority" (who would be the Socretary of Stato acting with the concurrence of the Hong Kong Govorimont) is onpowered to order such removal only on ono or more of the
following grounds:
(a) that tho life of the prisoner night bo ondangorod or his
hoal th pornanently injurod by further imprisonment in Hong Kong;
(b) that the prisoner, at the time his offence was committed, belonged to the Royal Navy or to Her Majesty's military or air forces;
(c) that the offence was committed wholly or partly outside Hong Kong;
(d) that thoro was no prison in Hong Kong in which the prisonor
could properly undergo his scntcnce or that his romoval would bo oxpodiont for his safor custody or for moro officiontly
carrying his sentence into offoct;
(c) that tho prisoner is ono of a class of prisoners who, under a
law of Hong Kong, is subject to romoval under the Act.
The procedure for the romoval of the prisonor and for doaling with him whon romovod is also laid dom in the Act and in Regulations nado under it.
/20. If the
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