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Rh slave trade and slavery extend by their own proper force and authority to Hongkong, and that these Acts will be enforced by all Her Majesty's officers civil and military within the Colony.' The secretly underlying insinuation that Hongkong bond-servitude belongs to the category of slavery as defined by the Slave-trade Acts was a pure fiction, put forward only to gloss over the defeat of the Government in attempting to meddle with Chinese national customs. The general question as to what English laws were in force in Hongkong was dealt with by Ordinance (August 19, 1845, and May 6, 1846) when it was laid down somewhat vaguely that all laws of England that existed when Hongkong first obtained a local legislature (April 5, 1843) should be deemed in force in the Colony 'when applicable.'

Unfortunate as the Governor was as a legislator, riding rough-shod over the whole community, both European and Chinese, he was even more unfortunate in his dealings with the local representatives of British judicature. From the time of the arrival of the Chief Justice (J. W. Hulme) and the establishment of a Supreme Court, there was a standing feud between the Governor and the Chief Justice. It arose first of all out of the mistaken view of their position, adopted by the local Police Magistrates (Major Caine and Mr. Hillier) who supposed themselves to be rather executive officers under the direct orders and control of the Governor, than independent expositors of the law. The Chief Justice did not conceal from the Governor his disapproval of this anomalous connection existing between the Magistrates and the Head of the Executive. The result was for the first few years merely a straining of the relations between the Chief Justice on the one hand and the Governor and the Magistrates on the other hand. Soon the community began to take sides with the former against the latter. Great indignation was expressed by the whole British community when the Police Magistrates, at the order of the Governor who appeared to be simply desirous of obliging the Macao Governor by complying with an informal request of the latter, signed a warrant (August 25, 1846) for the arrest and extradition,