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other proper official, the captain superintend. ent of police if preferred, all imports and exports of arms and ammunition; (5) to keep proper stock books; (6) to make periodical returns ; (7) to submit to examination at all reasonable times of their books and godowns by some responsible official, and to subject themselves to penalties for any breaches of the law.
5. But the importers and wholesale dealers submit that no licence fee should be levied be yond what is necessary to cover the Government expenditure; that any higher rate is not a licence fee but a tax imposed upon the trade and an infringement of the freedom of the port, and that the additional trouble and ex- pense thrown upon the importers and dealers by the stringent provisions of the Ordinance and the certain diminution of the local trade. is in itself a sufficiently heavy tax. A fee of $100 for a licence to import and to deal in arms wholesale is ample; a fee of $10 or $20 per | annum is a sufficienf licence fee to impose on retail dealers, whose business is likely to be seriously affected.
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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[February 17, 1900.
(a) A man carrying a revolver in his belt ready loaded
(b) A coolis carrying a revolver in a case from one shop to another or to a customer, or for re- pair;
14. Under the existing Ordinances this ex- amination of Books and checking of stocks has never been enforced. If it had been there would have been no need for the present Bill.
15.-Retail dealers sell in all quantities, a single rifle, or fowling piece or pistol, or a pack- (c) A Chinaman from the mainland who has age of ammunition, or a pound of powder or a bought a dozen rounds of ammunition or a box box of caps value 50 cents. It renders that trade | of caps, are all in the same position and all impossible, or forces them into illegal trafficking equally need a licence to carry or posseER, in arms, to require every purchaser of the small.
6. Úender section 6 sub-section (”), if a non- est quantity of ammunition or of the smallest | resident foreigner or Chinese wants to buy even tire-arm or part of a fire-arm to hold a permit | a box of caps to take on board his ship or junk to possess or carry arms or to export. It would ❘ and not for use in the colony the vendor be far better to say at once that it is intended must obtain an export permit before he can to suppress the entire trade in arms than to supply what is wanted. harrass it in this way. Thousands of Chinese come to Hongkong daily by the steamers from Canton and Macho, and by junk. Many of them aro either entitled by permit from the Chinese Mandarins to have arms, or are for | their own protection absolutely compelled to provide themselves with arms. Many of them are here on business only for a day. Many come one day and return the next. It is impor... 6. The importers and wholesale dealers sub-sible for them in the time to get permită to mit that, if godowns and stores are registered possess, or carry, or export, and in the time and are open to the police inspection, together what chance have they (strangers in the Colony) with their books, there is ample security that no of getting sach permit from the Captain arms will be sold or disposed of by them for export Superintendent of Police. He is too busy to or to licensed dealers, and all the restrictions attend to them. He would refuse the permit on the removal and conveyance of arms and until he had time to make inquires and verify ammunition in the colony, so far as they are
their statements. concerned, are needless.
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16.-If the provisions of the present Bill become law and are euforced, the retail trade in arms will be killed dead, and with that retail trade a considerable and a
7. They suggest that any arms or ammun- ition that it may be necessary for them to mora in the colony whether for export or from go. down to godown, or delivery to other dealers in | raluable portion of the wholesale trade will be the colony on sale, shall be sufficiently protected destroyed too, for the aggregate sale of arms if the coolie carrying the arms or ammunition and ammunition in the colony by retail is very is provided with a statement properly authen-considerable in a year. The retail traders will ticated in writing of the kind, number and more to Macao, and the import and wholesale quantity of the arms or ammunition or both that | trade will follow and will fall into the bands of are being moved, of the name of the dealer unscrupulous persons who will make it their moring the arms, etc., and of their immediate sole business, with the probable result that the destination, such statement to be made on a ill-disposed both here and on the mainland will form supplied on payment by the Government find it still more easy to procure both arms and to each dealer. Where there are more coolies ammunition. The import into the colony of than two employed a head coolie should accom- arms and ammunition in small quantities by pany them bearing the certificate. The require. junk or boat from Macao cannot be checked. ment of the Bill that no arms or ammunition shall be moved without a removal permit or ex- ported without an export permit is an unnecess ary impediment in the way of business in Hongkong. It takes two or three days to get a permit as a rule, and from noon on Saturday until 10 sm. on Monday and on holidays no permit can be applied for or obtained. Much business is now doue by wire, steamers remain in port but a very days, and much valuable business is lost by the necessity of getting an export or removal permit.
8. The forfeiture of arms being moved for any purpose unaccompanied by a certificate such as is above mentioned will be in nearly all cases a more than sufficient punishment for any ne- glect.
9. An effective use by the police of the power to inspect books and examine and check stocks will prevent any improper disposition of either arms or ammunition.
10. With refereuce to the export of arms and ammunition to China in foreign-built ships and steamers, the importers and dealers submit that there should be no restriction whatever. They can only go to open ports, and the Im perial Maritime Customs are fully competent to protect Chinese interests at these ports and to enforce the laws of China with reference to contraband.
11. Importers and wholesale dealers holding licence and registered as such should not, of
course, sell arms or ammunition retail in the colony, but only to licensed retail dealers.
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17-The following suggestions are made for the amendment of the Bill now before the Council:-
1.--That it be divided into three parts. One dealing with the importers and wholesale dealers. One dealing with the retail dealers. One regulating the carrings and possession of arms; and that the regulatious applicable to each be worked out separately.
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Why should not the purchaser, if any one, obtain this export permit? But as already pointed out any attempt seriously to enforce this rule will kill the retail trade in the colony most effectual- ly, and will not prevent one single bad character who wants to purchase waspous from providing himself with them.
7. Section 7 requires a Chinsman from the mainland who comes here one day in a junk and returns the next day and who buys a box of caps to tako with him to his home to get an export permit, and then when he gets on board his junk to deliver the caps to the custody of the master or mate of the junk and must return the receipt and the permit to some officer of Government. The clause is impracticable and can properly only affect wholesale dealers. There is no pro. vision in the rdinance providing for the case of a man who buys a weapon in the colony for the sole purpose of taking it out of the colony for use in his own home.
8. Clause 8 is far too wide. It affects every person-wholesale dealer, retail dealer, person privileged or licensed-to carry arms-overy one. No member of council can send his fowl- ing piece to the gunsmith's to be cleaned or re- paired, without a removal permit.
9. With reference to clause 10 it should be so modified so that in the case of a person suspect. ed of carrying arms he should be taken at once before an inspector and searched, so that, if the suspicion was unfounded he might at once be discharged from custody, other wise a perfectly innocent man might be detained from Saturday- till Monday.
10 The Captain Superintendent of Police should not be the person to grant or refuse licences to dealers
Boch and importers. licences should be granted by the Colonial Secretary. And there should be two classes of licences-one for importers and wholesale dea- lers and one for retail dealera.
11. The amount of the fee payablo has al- |be|ready been discussed.
2. That the expression to carry arms defined and limited to the carriage of arms on the person for use or realy for use, and that some other expression be introduced and defined to cover the carrying of arms in the sense of conveying them from place to place as a coolie carries arms or ammunition from shop to go. down or boat, or a servant carries a gun or a belt of cartridges for his master's use. No one should carry arms in the first sense. No person conveying arms or ammunition in the second souse should be required to have more thau authorisation of the owner of the arms, who should be responsible if anything
was wrong.
3.-"Possession" is a word that also needs definition. There is the possession of the owner, who remains in possession, even when the arms
are in the actual custody of his servant. There is the possession of the servant which, if duly authorised by a person empowered to possess, ought to go free of any penalties.
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4. The Captain Superintendent of Police is probably the proper person to grant licences to carry or have possession of arms. He has probably the best means of knowing who may 12. It is submitted that the Ordinance would safely be permitted to carry arms, but the period be much improved if these two classes of deal-covered by the licence, the conditions on which ers-the importers and wholesale dealers and it is granted, and the power of revocation. the retail dealers--were dealt with separately. should be regulated by law or by rules and 13. As to the retail trade, it is suggested regulations made by the Governor-in-Coun- that no wholesale dealer should be at liberty | cil. to sell or dispose of any arms or ammunition An appeal shoull lie to the Governor-in. | except to licensed dealers. That all retail Council from any refusal to grant a licence, the dealers should be licensed and registered and Captain Superintendent of Police being oblig-. their names and addresses be published in Theed by law on demand to state in writing his Gazette. That they should be required to keep reasons for his refusal. books and furnish returns like the wholesale dealers, and that their books and stock should be periodically examined and checked.
5. The provisions of paragraph 3 of the Bill are by no means clear, and want defining. Under its provision-
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12. Tuere should be no power to cancel, any licence once issned, except for breach of the conditions on which the licence was issued, or of some provision of the law, aud after convic tion. Any refusal to grant a licence should be subject to appeal, the applicant being entitled to have in writing the reasons for the refusal.
All arms and ammunition being conveyed from any part of the colony to another, unless accompanied by a licenced person or with certi- Bcate from the owner-a privileged persou, a licensed wholesale dealer, or a licensed re- name of the owner, the tailer-giving the quantity and kiud of arms or ammunition con- reyed, and the destination; otherwise arms liable to be forfeited, and the bearer if unable to account for his possession punishable,
Removal permits impracticable. Think of a removal permit being required to enable a man to get a packet of cartridges conveyed by a coolie from a store to his house.
The requirement of a certificate will render boxes and labels unnecessary.
Section 20 should be so modified us to au- thorize any police constable to convey any sus- pected person to a station, there to have his box or package opened and searched.
Section 22 requires modification to provide for the case of European passengers of standing and position, persons licensed or privileged to carry arms in Hongkong from being exposed to have their persons examined and their baggage searched for arms. It puts it in the power of s disagreeable ship's captain to grossly insult and annoy a passenger against whom he had any ill-feeling. It is too big a power to give any man, especially when coupled with the power to arrest. It is given to all masters of all vessela of any nationality, even Chinese juuks, and
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