1857-05-18 — Page 1

Monday, 18 May, 1857.

Present:

His Excellency The Governor,

The Honorable The Lieutenant Governor,

The Honorable The Chief Justice,

The Honorable The Acting Colonial Secretary,

The Honorable The Attorney General,

The Honorable The Colonial Treasurer,

The Honorable The Chief Magistrate,

The Honorable J. F. Edger, Esquire,

The Honorable J. Jardine, Esquire,

The Honorable G. Lyall, Esquire.

The Council met today by special summons.

The minutes of the last Council were read and approved.

His Excellency proposed and it was adopted unanimously by the Council.

That the Attorney General be requested to draw up, to be submitted for the consideration of Honorable Members, Rules and Regulations for the proper conduct of the business of the Council.

His Excellency having read to the Council the 23rd Article of Her Majesty's Sign Manual Instructions, bearing date the 6th April 1843, giving the Governor of Hong Kong the power of passing any Ordinance in opposition to the votes of the Legislative Council, and having stated that he feet considerable difficulty in subjecting the Colony to the expenses connected with certain clauses of the Registration Ordinance No. 6 of 1857 not having the aid of a Parliamentary Grant to discharge the heavy outlay to which the Colony had been exposed, would submit to the Council a Resolution in which he desired, the opinions Seriatim of Honorable Members.

Resolution proposed "That in the opinion of this Council it is desirable, under the present circumstances of the Colony, that an Ordinance be prepared granting to the governor in Council the power of suspending Clauses VII (with the exception of the numbering paragraph), VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII of the Ordinance No. 6 of 1857."

The Council divided.

Ayes 1

The Acting Colonial Secretary

Noes, 8

Mr. Lyall,

Mr. Jardine,

Mr. Edger,

Chief Magistrate,

Colonial Treasurer,

Attorney General,

Chief Justice,

Lieutenant Governor.

At His Excellency's request the Honorable Members recorded their views in writing, and they were delivered in as follows:

By Mr. Lyall

"I consider the question as "laid before the Council is simply one of expense for I "cannot imagine that an Ordinance of this nature which it was considered "necessary to pass only two week's ago can be unnecessary now. To my mind, the "Ordinance is of Natal importance and I consider that an additional expense of "£700 or £1,000 which it might entail in the carrying out, should not for a "moment be allowed to weigh against it."

"(Signed) "George Lyall."

"Council Chamber",

"18th May 1857."

By Mr. Jardine

"Ordinance No. 6 of 1857 having been duly considered in all bearings and "passed almost unanimously by the Council, I do not consider it expedient on the "scare of expense to make any alteration in its provisions."

"(Signed)" J. Jardine."

"18th May, 1857"

By Mr. Edger

"I vote against the suspension of any portion of the Ordinance No. 6 of "1857, simply because I consider that no circumstances in the state of the Colony "have changed since the Passing of the Ordinance."

(Signed)"J. F. Edger,"

"HongKong 18. May 1857." "M. L. C."

By the Chief Magistrate

"I say no to the above resolution because I think that as this Colony exists "chiefly at all times for Imperial purposes, Parliament cannot at any time be "surprised at being called upon to pay towards its maintenance; and as the "Registration Ordinance was passed only 2 week's since with the approval of all "those who are esteemed to be best acquainted with the Chinese Character and for "an end now emphatically of imperial importance, no consideration of expense "however great much less when the probable expenditure entailed by the "Ordinance is only £700 a year and however certain it may be that the Colonial "funds will not meet it, should cause the repeal of a measure so lately passed."

(Signed) "M. Tudor.Davies,"

"Member of Leg. Council,

"and Chief Magistrate."

By the Colonial Treasurer

"Having been but a few days in the Colony I am not prepared to give an "opinion as to the expediency or otherwise of repealing the several clauses of the "Registration Ordinance to which His Excellency The Governor has drawn the "attention of the Council but viewing the matter solely as one of expenditure as "one of "£. s. d. I do not anticipate that the contemplated expenditure as provided "in the Ordinance will be in excess of the Revenues the more so as knowing our "Position Her Majesty's Government will in my opinion be prepared to afford this "Government every pecuniary assistance our position may necessitate and, the "fact that His Excellency The Governor has not, as yet. received any reply to his "application for assistance from Her Majesty's Treasury shows no reluctance to "give us the assistance called for but simply that the Home Government were not "in a position to send a reply to His Excellency's Despatch on the subject."

(Signed) "T. Torth."

"18. May, 1857"

By the Attorney General.

"I desire to record my reasons for assenting to the decision of the majority "of the Legislative Council on the subject of the proposal made by His "Excellency to suspend the execution of the Registration Ordinance which passed "the Council at the beginning of the present month.

"I. The only reason alleged for that proposal was the apprehension that the "increased expenditure involved in the execution of the Ordinance may not find "funds to meet it. I entirely deny that the question before the Council some of "finance. It is a question of public safety were the Treasury in solvent the public "safety must still be provided for and the Ordinance in question was proposed by "His Excellency upon the assumption I would rather say the conviction, arrived at "after mature reflection upon the proofs laid before him by the proper "departments, that the long neglected Registration of the enormous Chinese "population of this island could not longer be delayed, if the public safety were "worth carry for; the handful of our European people being proved by the late "events to be wholly inadequate to the undertaking.

Government Notification in the Hong Kong Government Gazette of the 22nd November, 1856

Government Notification in the Hong Kong Government Gazette of the 22nd November, 1856"II. By Proclamation issued in Chinese on the afternoon of the 21st "November 1856' it was made Known to the Chinese inhabitants of Hong Kong "then engaged in demonstrations described as 'seditions and treasonable', that 'it is "the determination of Her Majesty's Government within this Colony to take "instant measures for putting in force the provisions of the Registration "Ordinance No. 7 of 1846,' and that, 'as soon as the said Ordinance shall be "brought into full operation all unregistered Chinese will be required to depart "from the Colony' on the 29th of the mouth the 'Proclamation of His Excellency "Sir John Bowring, issued to reassure the good citizen, and to intimidate the idle "and disorderly,' informed the same people, that 'it is expedient for the protection "of the peaceful citizen against the large member of idlers and bad characters in "this Colony, that some system of registration be adopted forthwith, simply to "enable the Government to distinguish the good from the evil.' The Registrar "Generalship was then conferred upon Mr. Caldwell with a view to the execution "of the measures so announced. "Errors and defects being discovered by him in "the obsolete Ordinance of 1846, at that time having force of law, an amended "Ordinance was directed to be prepared; and this amended Ordinance, after much "consideration, passed into a law on the 5th instant, nemine contradicente, and, "but for the minute of protest afterwards prepared by the Acting Colonial "Secretary, with the unanimous assent of that body. It is now Ordinance No. 6 of "1857.

Government Notification in the Hong Kong Government Gazette of the 29 November, 1856

Government Notification in the Hong Kong Government Gazette of the 29 November, 1856

"In the course of the debates on that Ordinance the question of expense was "certainly objected to one portion of the measure that namely which relates to the "registration of inmates of harbor small craft but, after hearing the evidence of the "Registrar General, who believes that the whole amount to which it will be "necessary for every purpose of the Ordinance to increase his staff of servants, "will not exceed the number of three or four men, the objection was not "considered a vital one, and the measure received the assent of His Excellency. I "do not understand from the statements now made that my new light has been "thrown upon this question of expenditure, which shone not upon our late "deliberations. and, as the Knowledge which we then had of this trifling increase "of yearly expenditure being necessary to the carrying out of a plan of police, "expedient to enable the Government to distinguish the good from the evil; did "not prevent the Draught Ordinance from being passed into a law, I do not think "that the shrewd miscreants for whose repression it is intended will consider that "any misgiving on that subject can be the true reason why the Ordinance now that "it is law is not forthwith' put in force.

Government Notification in the Hong Kong Government gazette of the 25 April 1857.

Government Notification in the Hong Kong Government gazette of the 25 April 1857."They will on the contrary see in our present vacillation only another "instance of that unsteady cowardice as they conceive it, over which they have "been so recently rejoicing; if I may believe the important disclosures obtained "through the interception of the statepapers of the sun on Mandarinate by "Commodore Elliott. They will continue to exult over our, 'proclamations issued "once a day, and three sets of regulations every two days, people taken up in "haste, and discharged with equal precipitation!'

III. "If this were a were question of finance, I should still object to the "measure proposed, as affording a mischievous precedent. The deficit in the "Treasury, however arising, and the demands of the public service have little in "common to arrest this Council's attention, so long as the Imperial Parliament is "determined to provide for the latter, and to supply the first. It has nowhere been "said that this Colony is to support itself even in ordinary times, and the present "times are not ordinary. If the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, exceeding the "vigilance of the House of Commons of the united Kingdom, be determined to "lay down such a rule in the case now before it, where, it may be asked, is the "application of that rule to stop? The department of public justice miserably "enough no doubt is still defrayed out of the yearly estimates. Suppose the "present deficit in the Treasury to continue, after this new precedent is once "established, and I deny that the Legislative Council can afterwards refuse to "follow it, or to suspend, upon a plea of economy, the salaries of the Chief Justice "the Attorney General, and the Registrar and Officers of the Supreme Court, by a "similar measure for suspending all Ordinances relating to the Administration of "Justice."

(Signed)"T. Chisholm Anstey," M. L. C.

"The Attorney General for Hong Kong."

"Council Chamber,"

"18. May, 1857."

By the Acting Colonial Secretary "I am in favor of the resolution proposed because I "consider the sections there by suspended to be of an impracticable character "were it merely a question of finance I am not prepared to state that I should not "vote differently."

(Signed)"W. T. Bridges,"

"A.C.S."

"18/5/57."

By The Chief Justice:

"I give my vote in the negative to the Resolution proposed by His "Excellency The Governor, and concur generally in the views taken by the "Attorney General."

(Signed)"John Walter Hulme"

By the Lieutenant Governor:

"The expenditure for fully carrying out the Registration Ordinance only "shows as per schedule now on the Table, about 700£, in addition to the previous "expenditure of the Department, I am of opinion that the expenditure should be "granted in full, and the Registration Ordinance as passed be continued in its "entire integrity I would further respectfully remark that this Council has been "informed by Mr. Caldwell that the Registration Ordinance has met with the "approval of the respectable portion of our Chinese Community."

(Signed)"W. Caine,"

"Lieutenant Governor."

"Council Chamber"

"18th May, 1857"

The Colonial Treasurer, with the concurrence of the Acting Colonial Secretary, expressed a wish that His Excellency The Governor would be pleased to instruct the Clerk of Councils to furnish each member of this Council with a printed copy of Her Majesty's order or orders in Council constituting the Island of Hong Kong a British Colony also, with a printed copy of Her Majesty's Charter of Hong Kong. This wish on the part of the Colonial Treasurer was followed by a suggestion from the Attorney General that copies of the Instructions under Her Majesty's Signet and sign manual and of other instructions under the same, should also be furnished to each member of Council.

The Governor stated that he was willing to comply with the above request in so far as it should be found compatible with the instructions of the House Government.

The Council then adjourned.

(Signed) John Bowring,

Governor.

Read and approved, this 1 day of June, 1857.

(Signed) L. d'Almada e Castro,

Clerk of Councils.