193905-1932-Supplementary-Bills-read-a-first-time--Summary-Offences-Registration-of-United-Kingdom-Patents-Protection-of-Women-and-Girls-Amendment-Magistrates — Page 23

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Objects and Reasons.

1. The substituted sub-section (2) of section 13 of the principal Ordinance raises the maximum fines from $100, $200 and $500 to $250, $500 and $1,000 respectively.

2. The effect of the substituted sub-section (1) of section 17 of the principal Ordinance is to substitute the words "solicits for immoral purposes" for the words "in any public place persistently solicits or importunes for immoral purposes" and to raise the penalty from three months to six months. The words "in any public place persistently solicits or im portunes' came from section 1 of the Vagrancy Act, 1898, (61 & 62 Vict., c.39); but they appear to afford an unneces- sary degree of protection to a type of pest which has recently increased.

3. The substituted sub-section (3) of section 21 adds the words "or the hearing of any information or charge" after "indictment" in line 1, and the words "information or charge' in lines 6 and 12, of section 21 (3) of the sub-section it replaces. It expressly applies the enactment to the hearing of an information or charge by a magistrate, thus removing any doubt as to the intention of the legislature when this sub- section was added in 1909, (See Memorandum attached to the Bill in Hong Kong Government Gazette of 8th October, 1909, page 785) to apply section 9 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885, to proceedings before magistrates as well as on indictment.

November, 1932.

C. G. ALABASTER,

Attorney General.