693742-1875-Appropriation-S--Ordinance-1873-Confirmed- — Page 1

Į

DIE

MON

DROIT

THE HONGKONG

Government Gazette.

No. 8.

No. 1.

Published by Authority.

VICTORIA, SATURDAY, 20TH FEBRUARY, 1875.

[L.S.] A. E. Kennedy.

PROCLAMATION.

VOL. XXI.

By His Excellency SIR ARTHUR EDWARD KENNEDY, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Hongkong and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same.

Whereas the Commands of Her Most Gracious Majesty The QUEEN, conveyed through the Right Honourable The Earl of CARNARVON, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, have been received, approving of and confirming the following Ordinance; namely:-

No. 4 of 1874, entitled-An Ordinance enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the Advice of the Legislative Council thereof, to authorize the Appropriation of a Supplementary Sum not exceeding Thirty-two thousand Dollars, to defray the Charges of the Year 1873: Now, therefore, it is hereby declared, that the said Ordinance has been so approved and confirmed, as aforesaid.

By His Excellency's Command,

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.

Given at Victoria, Hongkong, this 18th Day of February, 1875.

No. 26.

GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.

J. GARDINER AUSTIN, Colonial Secretary.

The following Report from the Captain Superintendent of Police, for the year 1874, is published for general information.

By Command,

J. GARDINER AUSTIN, Colonial Secretary,

Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 15th February, 1875.

No. 13.

CENTRAL POLICE BARRACKS, VICTORIA, HONGKONG, 30th January, 1875.

SIR,-I have the honor to forward, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, the Annual Police Report, Statistics for the Blue Blook, and Returns of Crime for the

year 1874.

2. The returns show a decrease of crime to the extent of 22.96 per cent on all cases reported, or of 11.47 per cent in serious crimes, and 25.45 in minor offences: as has always been the practice the percentage has been calculated on the number of cases reported, and not on the number of prisoners. 3 Two cases of murder occurred, for one of which on British Kowloon four men were sentenced to death, but this penalty was commuted to Penal Servitude for life. in Sai-Ying-Pún, and the suspected man escaped on to the Mainland of China, he was however traced The second case occurred down, and on application being made to the Chinese Authorities, he was by them arrested and convicted.

4. The execution of criminals takes place in the Magistracy Compound, which is situate in the centre of the European portion of the City. Whether this extreme publicity in executions is desirable is very doubtful. Independent of the disgust felt by many respectable people at seeing the scaffold standing in so conspicuous a place, it is found that the crowd of spectators rarely num-