Page:HKGovGazette Old Series No 77.pdf/1



G. Æ. No. 4 of 1855.

BY His Excellency Sir John Bowring, Knight, LL.D., Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Hongkong and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same, Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary and Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British Subjects in China, with the advice of the Legislative Council of Hongkong.

[3d March, 1855.]

WHEREAS many illegal acts have resulted from the improper use of Registers granted at Hongkong under the provisions of the Imperial Acts to vessels employed solely in trading with the mainland of China, and it is necessary that legal trading should be protected and illegal trading prevented:—

I. Be it therefore enacted and ordained by His Excellency the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof, that from and after the passing of this Ordinance no ship or vessel whatsoever owned by a British Subject shall be an Imperial at liberty to trade in any of the harbours of this Colony unless in the case of an outward trading ship or vessel she be provided with a Certificate of Registry in conformity with the Imperial Acts of Parliament on that behalf; and in the case of a China trading ship or vessel she has in all respects complied with the requirements of this Ordinance.

II. And be it further enacted and ordained, That henceforward when any person or persons shall be desirous of obtaining a Register for a ship or vessel in this Colony, it shall be necessary for such person or persons to forward to the Colonial Secretary a declaration in writing stating whether the ship or vessel for which such Register is sought is intended to be employed solely in trade with China or on more distant voyages, and that according to such statement a Register shall be granted to such ship or vessel either an Imperial Register as prescribed by the Imperial Acts in that behalf or a Colonial Register as laid down in this Ordinance: provided always that should such declaration be false or the ship or vessel to which it relates not be employed in conformity with it, the Register thereby obtained whether Imperial or Colonial shall ipso facto become null and void.