Page:The Friend of China and Hongkong Gazette (vol 3, no 197).pdf/2

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, Governor and Commander in Chief of the Colony of Hongkong and its dependencies Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary and Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British Subjects in China with the advice of the Legislative Council of Hongkong.

20th day of November, 1844.

to empower the Governor of Hongkong with the advice of the Executive Council thereof in cases of exigency, to place any Districts or Public or Military Stations of the said Island under Martial Law.

WHEREAS, it has been found that from the vicinity of the said Island to the mainland of China a facility is afforded to armed and predatory parties of landing in considerable numbers on the said Island of Hongkong: And whereas from the yet unformed state of the Colony a considerable Police force is not of sufficient ability to afford Her Majesty's Subjects resident thereon adequate protection.

1.—Be it therefore enacted and ordained by the Governor of Hongkong with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof that from and after the passing of this Ordinance it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor with the advice of the Executive Council of the said Island when and so often as the exigency of the case may seem to him and them to require such procedure, to declare by any public proclamation or proclamations made in the usual manner and form that in and throughout any certain District or in any Public or Military Station of the said Island Martial Law shall prevail, or that such place shall be under the control and government of such Law by the force and effect of such proclamation.

2.—And be it further enacted and ordained that any such Proclamation shall from and after the publication thereof have the full force and effect as of an Ordinance passed by the said Governor with the advice of the Legislative Council of the said Island.

Governor, &c., &c.

Y His Excellency JOHN FRANCIS DAVIS, Esquire, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Hongkong and its Dependencies Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary and Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British Subjects in China with the advice of the Legislative Council of Hongkong.

for licensing the Sale of Salt Opium Bhaang Ganja Paun Betel and Betel Leaf within the Colony of Hongkong and for the licencing of Pawnbrokers and Auctioneers with a Table of Fees on official Licences and Signatures.

[26th day of November, 1844.]

WHEREAS, it is expedient to raise such funds as may be necessary to defray the Civil expenses of the Colony of Hongkong and its Dependencies.

1. Be it therefore enacted and ordained with a view to the part performance of such object by His Excellency the Governor of Hongkong with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof. That no person shall within the said Island of Hongkong or its Dependencies of the waters thereof carry on the trade or occupation of a weigher or broker of Salt or sell or retail any Opium Bhaang Ganja Paun Betel or Betel Leaf in a smaller quantity than one chest for consumption without having previously obtained a licence for that purpose from the Governor for the time being in Council.

2. And be it further enacted and ordained that it shall be lawful for the Governor for the time being in Council to grant by licence to one or more persons the exclusive right and privilege of exercising the trade or occupation of a broker or weigher of Salt and of selling or retailing any Opium Bhaang Ganja Paun Betel or Betel Leaf for consumption in any quantity less than one chest within the said Colony and its Dependencies and the waters thereof.

3. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said licence or licences shall be granted to the highest bidders to be ascertained either by Public Auction or by lenders to be sent in, in pursuance of public notice to that effect and on such conditions relative to the giving of Security for the payment of the sum tendered and for the maintenance of good order and the prevention of riots or disturbances among the persons engaged in the Salt-trade or on the premises of persons retailing or selling Opium Bhaang Ganja Paun Betel or Betel Leaf for consumption within the Colony of Hongkong or its Dependencies or the waters thereof and subject other regulations in all respects as from time to time to His Excellency the Governor with the advice of the said executive Council may seem fit.

4. And be it further enacted and ordained that if any person without obtained such licence as aforesaid or the permission or authority of the person so licenced as aforesaid shall exercies or carry on the trade or occupation of weighing Salt within the Colony of Hongkong and its dependencies or the waters thereof or shall sell or retail Opium Bhaang Ganja Paun Betel or Betel Leaf for consumption in any quantity less than one chest or shall infringe any of the Regulations from time to time established by the Governor in Council under the authority of this Ordinance he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 500 dollars to be recovered in a summary manner before any Magistrate of Police and in default of the said penalty being duly paid after conviction the same shall be levied by distress in the usual manner on the offender's goods and chattels and if there be no sufficient distress every such offender shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.

5. And be it further enacted and ordained that it shall and maybe lawful for the said Governor in Council from time to time to make such further regulations or orders as to him shall seem fit respecting the weighing or vending of Salt or Opium Bhaang Ganja Paun Betel and Betel Leaf with a power to enforce the same by such penalties as shall seem expedient, provided always that such penalties shall not exceed those hereinbefore imposed.

6. And be it further enacted and ordained that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor with the advice of the said Council to make hereafter all such rules and regulations as to him may seem expedient concerning the farming selling and retailing of Bhaang Ganja Paun Betel and Betel Leaf and that in the making and enforcing of such rules and regulations he shall be vested with all and singular the powers and authority hereby vested in him with respect to the farming selling and retailing of Opium.

7. And be it further enacted and ordained that no person shall exercise or carry on the trade or occupation of a Pawnbroker or of an Auctioneer or shall keep a public billiard table without having previously obtained a licence from the Governor for the time being in Council which licence shall endure for the space of one year from the date thereof provided always that every person taking out a Pawnbroker's or an Auctioneer's licence or licence for a public billiard table shall pay into the Colonial Treasury such sums as to His Excellency the Governor with the advice of the Executive Council may seem fit the said sums to be paid previous to the granting of such licence or licences.

8. And be it further enacted and ordained that if any person shall without having obtained such licence as aforesaid carry on or exercise the trade or occupation of a Pawnbroker or Auctioneer or keep a public Billiard Table or either or any of them or shall be convicted of exposing for sale or putting up any thing whatever to public Auction or of taking any thing whatever in pawn he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 200 dollars to be recovered in a summary manner before any Police Magistrate and in default of payment the same to be levied by distress of his goods and chattels.

9. And be it further enacted and ordained that the Governor in Council if he seessee [sic] fit shall be empowered to levy an Auction duty of 2½ per cent on all sales by Auction within this Colony.

10. And be it further enacted and ordained that every person who shall act as an Auctioneer in the said Colony shall make and give at the Office of the Colonial Secretary once in every three months a faithful and true Return on oath of all the sums received at sales made by him as Auctioneer within the said three months and that every such Auctioneer shall from every sum received by him on the sale of any article by him to that capacity deduct the sum sanctioned under this Ordinance and pay the amount thereof into the Colonial Treasury quarterly and it is hereby declared that any such Auctioneer failing duly to comply with the provisions of this Section shall be considered to have forfeited his licence and such licence shall be absolutely void by such neglect or default.

11. And be it further enacted and ordained that the following Official fees as set forth in the annexed table shall be levied and made payable from and after the passing of this Ordinance all fees so levied to be paid into the Colonial Treasury.

A fee amounting to ½ per cent on the annual value of salary of any Commissions or appointments by His Excellency the Governor.

Governor, &c., &c.

His Excellency the Governor &c. is pleased to direct that publicity be given in English and Chinese to the annexed dispatch from Hwang-ta-jin, Treasurer of Canton Province, renouncing all claim on the part of the Emperor to Land tax from Hongkong.

sends the following communication.

A previous letter from you the Honorable Envoy, respecting a certain man surnamed Tang of Kin-teen village (of Canton Province) to exempt him from the paying of the land tax (formerly due from Hongkong) has reached me. Whilst therefore dispatching an Official personage to investigate the matter in conjunction with the Singan Magistrate, minutely and truly, I previously also drew up an official answer, as is on record.

According to the report of Woo, a candidate for a Magistracy, which was conjointly made by the Singan Magistrate Tang, they have ascertained that the said Tang's fields are situated within the jurisdiction of Hongkong, and the Chinese Mandarines consider it not proper to exact the tax from Tang, because Hongkong is made a possession of your Honorable Country.

I have therefore addressed the local Mandarins to consult maturely, to make up the original amount of money and rice, and take measures to that effect, without demanding it any longer from Tang. Whilst communicating this for the information of You the Honorable Envoy, I wish you a full measure of happiness, and address this important paper.

To,

Chinese Secretary.

reference to the notice dated the 1st inst. it is hereby notified that the rates of exchange for the ensuing month of December are fixed.

For Bills on India at Two Hundred and Twenty Rupees (220) for 100 Mexican Dollars; and for Bills on England, at Fifty pence Sterling (50) for One Mexican Dollar.

EDWARD PINE COFFIN, C. G.

Victoria, November 30th, 1841.

—Can you inform me whether it is usual in England to allow bricks and other Building materials to be placed on a public Road, so long as they do not materially interfere with the thoroughfare. I ask this information as I have to-day received notice from the Police to remove certain piles of Bricks required for a Building now in cause of erection, not in a public port of the Town, and looking at the state of the Queen's Road, I can only conclude this notice has been served to gratify private pque.—I am your obdt. Servant. X.

The mystery connected with the wounding of Mr. Cook, has happily been cleared up, a European having come forward and declared that he fired the shot, of course without the idea of doing an injury to any one. It is satisfactory to know that such is the case; satisfactory to the party wounded, who otherwise might have continued under the impression that a secret enemy was seeking his life, and also satisfactory to the public, there having been doubts as to whether the Chinese had not got into the habit of using fire-arms for the purpose of assassinating those against whom they had a grudge.

In our last issue the death of Mr. Robert MacNalley was inserted, in consequence of a notice sent to this office in the letter bearing the signature of John R Scott. We have been requested by Mr. MacNalley to contradict the report, and have already done so by a circular to our local subscribers.

It is a necessary for us to say much on the subject. The author of such a mischievous and cruel hoax, if discovered, will be punished by law, and if he is not discovered, the consciousness that he has committed such and outrage on decency will bring its own punishment. We have heard of such a paltry tricks elsewhere, but did not expect that among our limited community, any one could be found who would attempt to wound the feelings of a parent, by conveying to her, through the medium of a public Journal, a false announcement of, her son's death.

We hear that, it is the intention of Government, to grant the land upon which the Marine Magistrates office is now built, as a site for and Episcopal church; the ground upon which the present temporary Church is erected being added to the Military parade. The site for the new Church is certainly a very beautiful one, and as the hill is to be cut down considerably, it will be of easy ascent as well as occupying a central position. The preserving of a piece of land for a parade ground, is doubtless advantageous, both to the Military and the public, who will through the courtesy of the Officers, be often enlivened by music from the bands of the regiments who may be in this garrison.

Our correspondent X asks, whether it is customary to permit building materials to be laid down in streets for building purposes? Customary—of course it is customary.—Look at the whole length and breath of the Queen's Road? Don't we there see building material for public and private purposes piled up? But lately, did we not see the principal street open for months in carrying on government works, and the earth piled up so as almost to hide the houses on one side of the street from those on the other? Do we not see houses built in the great thoroughfare of the town, said