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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 11TH MAY, 1861.
Assessors on the trial of crimes committed by British subjects.
Consuls may award
conviction.
cause the deposition of every such witness to be reduced to writing, and the same to be read over, and, if necessary, explained to the party accused, together with any other evidence that may have been given against him during the course of the inquiry; and shall require such acensed party to defend himself against the charge brought against him, and, if necessary, advise him of the legal effect of any voluntary confession; and shall take, in like manner, the evidence of any witness whom the accused party may tender to be ex- amined in his defence; and every witness, being a British subject, so examined as afore- said, in case of wilful false testimony, may by the said Consul be convicted and punished for the crime of wilful and corrupt perjury; and when the case has been fully inquired into, and the innocence or guilt of the person accused established to the satisfaction of the Consul, the Consul, as the case may be, shall either discharge the party accused from custody if satisfied of his innocence, or proceed to pass sentence on him if satisfied of his guilt; and it shall be lawful for any Consul, having inquired into, tried, and determined, in the manner aforesaid, any charge which may be brought before him, to award to the party convicted any amount of punishment not exceeding imprisonment for one month, or a fine of two hundred dollars.
XX. And it is further ordered, that if the crime or offence whereof any person, being a British subject, may be accused before any of Her Majesty's Consuls as aforesaid, shall appear to such Consul to be of such a nature as, if proved, would not be adequately pu- nished by the infliction of such punishment as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for such Con- sul to summon two, or not more than four, British subjects of good repute, residing with- in his district, to sit with him as Assessors for inquiring into, trying, and determining the charge against such person; and the Consul who shall try any such charge with the assistance of Assessors as aforesaid, shall, if he is himself convinced of the guilt of the party accused have power to award any amount of punishment not exceeding imprison- ment for twelve months, or a fine of one thousand dollars, and the Assessors aforesaid shall have no authority to decide on the innocence or guilt of the party accused, or on the amount of punished to be awarded to him on conviction; but in the event of the said Assessors, or any of them, dissenting from the said conviction of, or from the amount of punishment awarded to, the accused party, the said Assessors or any of them shall be authorized to record in the Minutes of the proceedings the grounds on which the said Assessors or any of them may so dissent, and the Consul shall forthwith report to the Consul-General the thet that such dissent has been so recorded in the Minutes of the proceedings, and shall, as soon as possible, lay before the Consul-General copies of the whole of the depositions and proceedings, with the dissent of the Assessor or Assessors recorded therein; and it shall be lawful thereupon for the Coustil-General, by warrant under his hand and seal, addressed to the Consul by whom the case was heard and deter- mined, to confirm or vary, or remit altogether, as to the Consul-General may seem fit, the punishment awarded to the party accused, and sach Consul shall give immediate effect to the injunction of any such warrant.
XXI. And in order more effectually to repress crimes and offences on the part of deportations on second British subjects within the dominions of the Tycoon of Japan, it is further ordered, that it shall and may be lawful for any of Her Majesty's Consuls to cause any British subject who shall have been twice convicted before him of any crime or offence, and punished for the same, and who, after execution of the sentence of the Consul on any second con- viction, shall not be able to find good and sufficient security, to the satisfaction of the Consul, for his future good behaviour, to be sent out of the dominions of the Tycoon of Japan; and to this end any such Consul as aforesaid shall have power and authority, as soon as may be practicable after execution of the sentence on such second conviction, to send any such twice-convicted party out of the dominions of the Tycoon of Japan; if a native of the territories formerly administered by the East India Company to some port of the said territories; and if such party is not a native of such territories, to England; and, meanwhile, to detain him in custody until a suitable opportunity for sending him out of the said dominions shall occur: and any person so to be sent out of the said do- minions as aforesaid shall be embarked in custody on board one of Her Majesty's vessel of war, or, if there should be no such vessel of war available for such purpose, then on board any British ship or vessel bound to any such port as aforesaid or to England; and it shall be lawful for the commander of any of Her Majesty's ships of war, or of any British ship or vessel bound to any such port as aforesaid, or to England, to receive any such person as aforesaid under a warrant from the Consul to him addressed, and there- upon to convey him in custody to any such port as aforesaid or to England, in the same manner as if he were a distressed British subject, unless he shall be willing and able himself to defray the expenses of his passage.
Consuls may, in cer- tain cases, award de- portation on first con- viction.
XXII. And it is further ordered, that in any case in which any British subject shall be accused before any of Her Majesty's Consuls of the crime of arson, or house- breaking, or cutting or maiming, or stabbing or wounding, or of any assault endanger-
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