686938-1879-Certificates-of-Policemen-on-their-retirement- — Page 3

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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 17TH SEPTEMBER, 1879.

to do with it. You may rest assured

“ that if a Chinaman, bent on depredations

“ in this Colony, knew that if caught he

"would receive a lash for every cent he

“paid for his passage-money, he would

"confine his thieving propensities to his

own country. By public flogging, crime

“ would rapidly decrease, and the hordes

"of thieves at present hiding here would “quickly disperse."

4. That there has been an increase of crime

for some time past cannot be denied, but it can hardly be attributed to me, for it commenced before I arrived.* To-day, there are 512 prisoners

in the Hongkong Gaol. On the 16th of October, 1876, there were 545. That there has been in this Colony an increase in crimes of violence

since the beginning of the year 1875, is noticed by the Acting Chief Justice in his report on Public Flogging, dated 3rd of August, 1878, which was enclosed in my Despatch No. 95 of the 28th September, 1878. Six months before

my arrival, Governor Sir ARTHUR KENNEDY warned Lord CARNARVON that the criminal re- turns of 1876 would “indicate a serious increase

of crime." He attributed this “apparent out- break among the population of Hongkong" to the influx of predatory classes from Canton, owing to cheap fares in the river steamers. Those cheap

fares have continued ever since, but I am disposed

to agree with the gentleman I have just quoted,

Mr. MACEWEN, that the increase of crime is not

to be accounted for by the cheap fares alone.

Mr. MACEWEN seems to think that the severe

distress which exists in the neighbouring province

of China has a good deal to do with it.

5. To those two causes it might be fair to add some others, such as the natural increase of the population, defects in the Hongkong prison system, by which the system was neither suffici- ently severe to act as a deterrent, nor based on any good mode of dealing with old offenders, and pos- sibly the fact that the police beats have not been changed since 1874, and have been ever since

then inadequately filled, as the Captain Superin- tendent now admits.

6. The imputation of undue leniency is not supported by the following facts :---

. I have considerably reduced the Prison dietary scale that had been framed by the Gaol Commis- sion and approved by my predecessor.

Instead of Criminals convicted of a third or fourth felony receiving perhaps three months' imprisonment only, they now receive three years' peñal servitude, in consequence of a suggestion I made last year to the Police Magistrates that incorrigible old offenders might be committed to the Supreme Court, where a severe sentence could be inflicted.

* 22nd. April, 1877.

鳥藏定

兹

推逞

所查

原

水

其

言饑日者

未食

出是

此此矣

弊馬

即之

不欲

虎仙

章所

五

笞使

逞有

537

香惟

定必减少且現在港内 衆之刑多則犯罪案情 而來矣如果用鞭笞示 狠之志者將不敢越境 藏匿之匪徒定必倏然 兹查水脚之便宜由當H以迄今兹已如是矣據馬嬌雲意 本部堂亦謂馬嬌雲所言未嘗不是但不止此耳

鞭爲度則欲肆其虎 本部堂於去歲九月二十八日所呈第九十五號公文內附 見所稱香港鄰近各省饑饉情事都亦生出此種弊端來卽

以來港輪船水脚一仙 逞强作惡之案自一千八百七十五年以來遞年增益卽如 推原其故即因有竊癖者乘輪船水脚便宜每多由省抵港

香港作奸犯科者使曉 堂蓋本部堂未蒞任時已然矣查現在港獄繫囚五百一十 逞强作惡之愆所增多甚又云本港居民見有妄作違例者 藩政大臣嘉嘗將一千八百七十六年犯罪之數附呈聲明 是言案本部堂未蒞任時六個月先前任港督部堂堅呈 副按察司去年八月初三日報章所稱鞭笞示衆情事亦如 一經拿獲定必鞭笞計 有二而前二年十月十六日時繫囚至五百四十有五本港 港居民亦生齒日繁 惟要知倘有華人欲在 案邇來犯罪者多斯語未嘗不是惟此事要不能責在本部 其餘平心而論亦可

鳥獸散矣如此云

實不敷用

自認巡邏之區差役 更變且照巡捕亦 七十四年以來未嘗 邏之區自一千八百 匪此外或因差役巡 因而法未足以馭積

凡有不傻積犯宜解臬署訊斷庶可 奴工都以本部堂去歲力勸巡理府 不過三閱月而此輩現在敗作三年 人經被定罪至三四次者斷案繫獄 准行而本部堂則更爲減少向例有 委員所定獄囚伙食前任總督經已 當觀以下情事便可了然曩時察獄 致 有謂本部堂太恕都其言未免過

實自

意港

重凡奴不

辦

港十

且港

蓋港居

居更餘

獄民有平

未未規亦别心

足條生端而

卽論

如亦

積獄盡