38382-1914-Supplementary-Bills-read-a-first-time--Protection-of-Women-and-Girls — Page 4

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BILL

ENTITLED

An Ordinance to amend the Airships Ordinance,

1912.

Be it enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Airships Short title. (Amendment) Ordinance, 1914, and shall be read and construed as one with the Airships Ordinance, 1912, (hereinafter called the Principal Ordinance), and this Ordi- nance and the said Ordinance may be cited together as the Airships Ordinances, 1912 and 1914.

2. In this Ordinance, "Aircraft" means and includes Definition. any airship, aeroplane, hydroplane or balloon whether navigable, dirigible or otherwise,

places for

3.-(1.) The Governor shall have power by order to Power to prescribe such place or places in the Colony within which Governor to aircraft coming from any place or ship outside the Colony prescribe or the waters of the Colony are to land and any other con- landing ditions to be complied with by such aircraft, and if any aircraft person contravenes any of the provisions of any such order coming into he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on sum- Colony from

outside mary conviction to a fiue not exceeding 2,000 dollars and

Colony. to imprisonment for a terin not exceeding six months, unless he proves that he was compelled to commit suchi contravention by reason of stress of weather or other cir- cumstances over which he had no control.

when

(2.) If without the permission required by section 2 of Power to the Principal Ordinance an aircraft flies or attempts to fly compel over or above any portion of the Colony or of the waters compliance of the Colony or in the case of an aircraft coming from aircraft any place or ship outside the Colony or the waters of the disobeys Colony fails to comply with any of the conditions as to signal. landing which may be prescribed by an order made under the last foregoing sub-section, it shall be lawful for any officer, designated for the purpose by regulations made by the Governor, to cause such signal as may be prescribed by those regulations to be given, and, if, after such signal has been given, the aircraft fails to respond to the signal by complying with such regulations as may be made by the Governor prescribing the action to be taken on such a signal being given, it shall be lawful for the officer to fire at or into such aircraft and to use any and every other meaus necessary to compel compliance, and every and any such officer and every other person acting in his aid and by his direction shall be and is hereby indemnified and discharged from any indictment, penalty, action, or other proceeding for so doing.

Objects and Reasons.

The object of this Bill is to give statutory power to en- able force to be used to compel the descent of aircraft which disobey the law.

This Bill is introduced under instructions from the Secretary of State and is modelled upon the Aerial Navi- gation Act, 1913.

The scheme of the Bill is that the Governor shall have power to prescribe places within which foreign aircraft coming from outside the Colony must descend and if any aircraft which without the requisite permission by the Governor makes an ascent or any foreigu aircraft arriving from outside the Colony fails to comply with the published and public signals requiring it to descend then officers, designated for the purpose by regulation made by the Governor, may use force against such aircraft so disobeying the requirements of the law.

It heed hardly perhaps he pointed out that at a place such as this Colony which is of a fortified character the provisious introduced by this Bill are highly necessary.

JOHN A. BUCKNILL,

Attorney General,

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