Page
August 21, 1895.]
MR. WODEHOUSE ON THE FIRE INQUIRY ORDINANCE.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT,
II.
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135
Was
"held a judicial investigation and given aning obstacles to its amendment. But action "order in any matter under section 5 of this was deprecated, as "to do anything effectually "Ordinance shall conduct the preliminary "in the matter would occupy much prepara- "inquiry upon any such charge of crime,"tion, and much time, and would involve a Au important point in connection with the
"but the same shall be conducted by another very considerable outlay." That procedure at fire inquiries was raised at an
"Magistrate." With only one Magistrate officialdom. The Sanitary Board has never inquiry held on the 13th inst. by the Hon. H. it would be impossible to comply with that committed itself to any such outrageous E. WODEHOUSE. The case itself is still subsection. The services of the Marine Magis-sentiment as that. Then the Colonial Sur- judice and it would be improper to express trate might, it is true, be availed of, but geon's report for 1874 was burked altogether, any opinion on its merits, nor, in fact, has under existing circumstances that officer on the principle that where ignorance is bliss the inquiry proceeded far enough to allow of would not have time for the duty, nor does 'tis folly to be wise, and it was not until an opinion being formed. The point of it seem desirable, on general grounds, that 1878 that that famous document became procedure, however, has nothing to do with it should be thrown upon him.
public property. No such charge of sup- the merits of the case and may fairly bo
pressing information cau be laid to the discussed. Prior to the passing of the Fire The remarks made by the Hon. H. E. charge of the Sanitary Board. Dr. AYRES Inquiry Ordinance of 1888 fires had for WODEHOUSE on Friday in justification of blames the Board for obstructing sanitary some time been remarkably frequent and it the view he entertains of the Fire Inquiry reform in the interests of the landlords. was suspected that the greater number of them Ordinance, and of the rights of the represen- The landlords themselves tell a very different were due to the premises being purposely tatives of the Insurance Companies to cross-tale and some of them would be glad to com- Bet on fire with a view to defrauding the examine the witnesses, are entirely uncon- pass the destruction of the Board, hoping Insurance Companies. It was believed vincing. Mr. WODEHOUSE seems so com- for a resumption of the lenient treatment that if an inquiry into the origin of each pletely at sea on the subject that it is they received in the old days of fire were held it would exercise a wholesome
difficult to discuss his views seriously. As a uncontrolled officialdom. Reference is also check on the erime of incendiarism. This
sample of his confusion of mind the following made by Dr. AYRES to the inaction belief was justified by the result, for after extraordinary dictum may be quoted :- of the Board in regard to overcrowding. the passing of the Ordinance there was a «Cross-examination must be on evidence But long before the plague brought things great falling off in the number of fires. The
"that has been previously given and cannot to a crisis the Board had recognised the whole object of the Ordinance was to pro- "be carried out ou points not yet raised evil, had fully and laboriously investigated vide a ready means of ascertaining whether during the inquiry." If this is Mr. WODE- it, and had passed by-laws for its suppres- the fire was the result of crime, and it is HOUSE's deliberate opinion he must be sion, which, however, had not been brought provided that where, upon consideration of ignorant of the very ABC of the law of into force. Dr. AYRES might have men- the police report, the Magistrate is clearly evidence. There are no restrictions on cross-tioned that the ovil had been fully recog of opinion that the fire was caused by examination except that it must be on points nised before the days of the Sanitary Board, accident no inquiry need be held. It is relevant to the subject of the inquiry, and but that the Government declined to take further provided that in relation to investi-alike in criminal and civil cases it is not an any active steps in the matter. Dr. AYRES gations held under the Ordinance the unusual thing for a witness to be placed in touches, too, on the question of a Municipal Magistrate is to have all the powers the box to afford the defence au opportunity Council. He thinks such an institution possessed by a Magistrate in relation to of cross-examining him, although he may impossible, on account of the want of the holding of preliminary inquiries in not have been called upon to give any evi- responsible men who possess the confidence cases of indictable offences; and, in a
dence-in-chief. Re-examination must be ou of the public and who would be willing to previous section, that "It shall be law-evidence that has previously been given, give up their time for the purpose. That is ful for auy Inspector of Police, or for any but that is quite a different thing from a view held by many others, unofficials as "interested person present at such investi- cross-examination. As to the object of the well as officials. It is said merchants gation, with the leave of the Magistrate, to Fire Inquiry Ordinance, Mr.. WODEHOUSE have no time to devote to public affairs, "examine the witnesses, and to cause such
says it is to ascertain the cause of fires, an and that they prefer that officials should be persons to be examined as may give due indisputable proposition, but it stops short paid to attend to them. The view is a com- "and proper information touching such case of the final conclusion, which is, that the prehensible one, but if adopted it must be " of fire." The intention appears to have object of ascertaining the cause of fires is to adopted with all its disadvantages. It is been that the investigations should be con- ascertain whether there has or has not been not less true of communities than of indi- ducted, generally speaking, in the same way crime. That is the point that ought to be viduals, that if you want a thing done as preliminary inquiries in criminal cases, present in the Magistrate's mind throughout well you must do it yourself. In Shang- including the right of interested parties to and to which the investigation should be hai the community manages its own affairs cross-examine the witnesses. Mr. WoDE directed-crime or no crime? Where it isund manages them much better than the HOUSE, however, held otherwise, his ruling clear from the beginning that there has affairs of Hongkong are managed. We do on Tuesday being to the effect that a solici- been no crime the Ordinance does not not believe Shanghai would willingly see tor representing an Insurance Company had require an investigation to be held, but in its Municipal Council swept away, as Dr. no right of cross-examination, that he was
doubtful cases, where there is a possibility AYRES seems to think, in order that it only present to watch the inquiry, and that his the fire may have been caused by incendi might be replaced by a system of un- presence was subject to any restrictions the arism, the Ordinance directs the holding of controlled officialdom. Magistrate in his discretion wight think an investigation for the elucidation of that fit to impose. This appears to Us to be
very point. And for that purpose evidence opposed both to the spirit and the letter as to the amount of the insurance and the of the Ordinance, but assuming it to be ups value of the goods in stock is most material.. held as good law, then the Ordinance stands in need of amendment. It is already provided that interested parties have a right, with the leave of the Magistrate, to examine wit- nesses. It ought to be made clear, if there
DR. AYRES ON THE SANITARY BOARD.
The colony is indebted to Dr. AYRES for is any doubt on the point, that the Insur- some highly amusing if not very instructive anco Companies, through their represen-reading concerning the Sanitary Board and tatives, have as full a right to cross-ex-its shortcomings, which he has incorporated amine the witnesses as they would have in his annual report. That the Sanitary a criminal prosecution. Otherwise the Ordinance is likely to be shorn of a good deal of its utility. The crime of arson is occasionally perpetrated s a means of revenge, but in the generality of cases the object is fraud and the Iusur- ance Companies are the people to be de- frauded. They are therefore the most interested people in fire inquiries and their right to cross-examine the witnesses ought to be established, both for their own protec- tion and that of the public. Should any amendment of the Ordinance be deemed necessary on this point occasion might also be taken to amend section 7, which provides that "No Magistrate who has
Board has been guilty of sins of omission and commission cannot be denied, but with all its defects it has proved a vast improve- ment on the system, or want of system, that preceded it. The Colonial Surgeon is affected with the common official jealousy of the unofficial element on the Board, but his own report affords material for a compari- son that works out very unfavourably for officialdom. He reproduces two reports he made within five months of his arrival in the colony, in 1874, which disclosed a most lamentable and disgraceful state of things. There was no Sanitary Board in those days on which to throw the blame for allowing such a state of things to arise or for impos-
SPAIN AND THE JAPANESE AC-
QUISITION OF FORMOSA.
It may be accepted us a sign of the marked interest with which the Spanish Government regard the acquisition of Formosa by Japan that the Spanish Minister in Tokyo should have telegraphed to Madrid the fact that a protocol has been concluded between China and Japan in which the limit of Formosa is recognised as the centre of the Bashee Channel, without pretensions to the islands to the south and south-east. The islands to the south of the Bashee Chamuel, including the Basbee Islands, form the province of Batanes in the Philippines, and this consists principally of the Batan group. It will be seen therefore that the Spanish Government had good reason to feel an interest in the definition of the boundaries of Formosa as taken over by Japan. At a moment when a serious civil war is raging in Cuba, the Pearl of the Antilles, which is taxing all the energies of Spain to suppress, it is only natural that she should regard with some anxiety the prospects for the future of the Philippines, her most valuable colonial possession. This magni-
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