the moral habits of men, human institutions will ever contain within themselves the seeds of death and annihilation. The political code which should be respected by us as the Palladium of our liberties, and under which the prosperity, greatness, and happiness of every Dominican should bud forth and flourish, demands from all, individually and collectively, its fulfilment and observance. Fathers of families, from you it is expected, that by modelling the character of your children, and by strengthening their mental faculties they may in the next generation present in their moral conduct an example to their offspring, and at the same time be the staff of your own declining years; so that by obedience to the laws they may be the support of the fatherland, as well as of that independence purchased at the inestimable price of the blood of our fathers, of the life of our brothers, relatives and friends, of the smoking ashes of our cities and towns, of the sepulchral silence of our fields, of the general tranquillity and happiness! Functionaries of the public Government, from you are expected the faithful discharge of your duties, and the incorruptible justice of your awards! Legislators, it is for you to decree what is calculated to secure the welfare of the nation! Judges, your duty is to afford to the innocent the aid of the law, to punish the violators of it, to divest your minds of every passion, and to cover yourselves with the immaculate mantle of your ministry! Venerable prelates, ministers of a God of peace, love and clemency, it is for you to preserve order, morality and justice, the only firm and immutable supports of every Government; to inculcate a spirit of general union, conciliation and love, that brotherly chain which, uniting man to man and man to God, forms all into one family, under one sole father! Soldiers, companions in arms, living examples of magnanimous privations and self-denial, it is for you to be ever ready to defend your native country! Dominicans, it is for me, in my capacity of your chief magistrate, to execute and cause to be executed the Dominican Constitution and laws, and as your fellow-citizen to be the foremost to die in defence of the majesty of our institutions and the independence of the nation. SANTANA. BRITISH ORDINANCE, "to provide for the more effective carrying out of the Treaties between Great Britain and China, in so far as relates to Chinese Subjects within the Colony of Hong Kong."-Hong Kong, March 20, 1850. [13 Vict. No. 2. (Colonial) of 1850.] WHEREAS, by the Treaties between Great Britain and China provision is made for the rendition for trial to officers of their own country of such subjects of China as have committed crimes and offences against their own Government, and afterwards taken refuge in Hong Kong: ART. I. Be it therefore enacted and ordained by his Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof, that if any complaint or information, or any communication by any officer of the Chinese Government be made or forwarded to any magistrate or court (other than the Supreme Court), desiring the arrest of any person being a Chinese subject and then within the said colony of Hong Kong, and alleging that such person has committed, or is charged with having committed, any crime or offence against the laws of China, or if it shall appear, in the course of any investigation before such magistrate or court, that any person being a subject of China has committed any such crime or offence, it shall and may be lawful for such magistrate or court to issue a summons or warrant for the appearance or apprehension of such person; or if such person be already in custody, it shall be lawful to detain such person, and to investigate the alleged crime or offence in the same manner as if such person were charged with a crime or indictable offence committed within the said colony II. And be it further enacted and ordained, that in any such warrant of arrest, or any subsequent warrant of committal or other warrant, it shall be sufficient to describe the crime of offence of such person in terms the same as, or similar to, those contained in such complaint, information, or communication aforesaid. III. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if at the close of the said investigation it shall appear to the said magistrate or court, that such person as aforesaid is a subject of China, and that there is probable cause for believing that the said person has committed such crime or offence, it shall and may be lawful for such magistrate or court to commit such person for safe custody to prison, and to direct the gaoler to detain such person in prison until the said gaoler shall receive some order or orders from the Governor of Hong Kong, relative to the further detention, discharge, or transmission of such person to the nearest Chinese authorities, or to such other Chinese authorities as to the said Governor shall seem fit: and the said magistrate or court shall, upon making such committal as aforesaid, transmit to the said Governor of Hong Kong the minutes of such investigation, and all documents in his or its possession connected with the charge against such person, in order that such person may be dealt with according to the Treaties aforesaid. IV. And be it further enacted and ordained, that it shall be lawful for the said Governor to issue his Warrant or Order to any magistrate, gaoler, or officer of police, for the apprehension, detention, examination, transmission, or otherwise of such Chinese subject. V. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if any action be brought against any magistrate, gaoler, officer of police, or any other person, for anything done in obedience to any such Warrant or Order issued by the said Governor of Hong Kong, the proof of such Warrant or Order shall be a sufficient answer to such action, and the defendant or defendants, on such proof as aforesaid, shall be entitled to a verdict or judgment in his or their favour, and shall also be entitled to his or their costs as between attorney and client. VI. And be it further enacted and ordained, that in the construction of this Ordinance, the term magistrate shall be held to apply to each and all magistrates of police and Justices of the Peace for the Colony of Hong Kong. S. G. BONHAM. Passed the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, this 20th day of March, 1850. L. D'ALMADA E CASTRO, Clerk of Councils. BRITISH ORDINANCE, relating to Wills made by Chinese [19 Vict. No. 4, (Colonial) of 1856.] WHEREAS the laws relating to wills and testamentary writings prescribe certain formalities touching the signing, acknowledging, and attesting thereof, and for avoiding all wills and testamentary writings signed, acknowledged, or attested in any other manner: And whereas the provisions of the said laws in that behalf, if enforced, will tend to the avoidance of all wills and testamentary writings made in the Chinese manner: Be it therefore enacted and ordained by his Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong, with 1 the advice of the Legislative Council thereof, in manner following; that is to say: I. Any written will or testamentary writing heretofore, or to be hereafter made or acknowledged by a Chinese testator or testatrix (whether a native of, or domiciled in this colony, or the Empire of China) shall, if the same be proved to have been made or acknowledged and authenticated according to the Chinese laws or usages so as to be effectual for the transmission of property according to such laws or usages, be deemed and taken to be lawfully made and acknowledged, and to have the same virtue and effect as if the same had been made and acknowledged according to Act of Parlia ment. II. This Ordinance shall not affect or apply to any judgment or decree heretofore made by any court, or any suit or action now pending therein, in which suit or action the validity of any will or testamentary writing hath, or shall, come in question, nor any rights heretofore acquired under and by reason of the laws in force relating to wills or testamentary writings at the time of the passing of this Ordinance. JOHN BOWRING. Passed the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, this 5th day of March, 1856. L. D'ALMADA E CASTRO, Clerk of Councils. |