629593-1899-Bills-read-first-time--Piers-Naturaliz — Page 6

1008

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 24TH JUNE, 1899.

Short title.

Amendment of sec. 5 of

8 of 1895.

A BILL

ENTITLED

An Ordinance to amend the Arins Consolida-

tion Ordinance, 1895.

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

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Arms Amend- ment Ordinance, 1899.

2. Section 5 of Ordinance 8 of 1895 is hereby amended as follows, namely:-

3.

Importer or dealer to take and

out licence and register. (Substituted

for section

10 of 8 of 1896.)

(i.) By deleting the words "or Civil" between the

word "Military "and the word, “Servises,” and

(ii) By substituting the words "any Justice" for the

word "Justices", and

(iii.) By deleting the following words, or to Special or Common Jurors, or to such persons as are exempted by law from serving on a Jury on account of their avocation or profession."

Section 10 of Ordinance 8 of 1895 is hereby repealed, in lieu thereof the following section is substituted :-

Every importer of or dealer in arms shall take out a licence annually and shall register his name and place of business for the time being and any godown, warehouse, or other place in which he stores or intends to store arms, at the Office of the Captain Superintendent of Police. Any importer of or dealer in arms not taking out such licence as aforesaid or not registering as aforesaid shall be liable, on sum- mary conviction, to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months. From and after the commencement of this Ordinance the fee payable for such licence as aforesaid shall be $1,200 per annum, payable in advance, but no person, who at the date of the commencement of this Ordinance possesses a valid and unexpired licence for importing or dealing in arms, need take out a new licence under this Ordi- nance until the expiration of his current licence.

Objects and Reasons.

Clanse 2 of this Bill takes away the privilege of carry- ing arms which has hitherto been accorded to members of the Civil Service and to Jurors, or persons exempted from serving on Juries.

There seems no sufficient reason for the possession of such a privilege by either of the above classes, and a case occurred in which a Juror very seriously abused that privi- lege.

The object of substituting a new section for section 10 of Ordinance 8 of 1895 is a threefold one, namely

(i.) To provide for the registering by an importer or dealer of the places where arms are stored by him in addition to his name and place of business, and (ii.) To provide for such registration being made at the Office of the Captain Superintendent of Police, who is responsible for the peace and good order of the Colony, instead of at the Registrar General's Office as heretofore, and

(i.) To raise the annual licence fee from the sum of

ten dollars to twelve hundred dollars.

HENRY E. POLLOCK,

Acting Attorney General.