THE
HONGKONG GAZETTE.
| Vol. 1. | SATURDAY, MAY 1st, 1841. | No. 1. |
PUBLIC NOTICE.
Captain William Caine, of Her Majesty's 26th (or Cameronian) Regiment of Infantry, is appointed Chief Magistrate of the Island of Hongkong, pending Her Majesty's further pleasure, and all persons repairing thither are required to respect the authority in him vested, agreeably to the annexed Warrant.
Charles Elliot,
Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary,
Charged with the government of the Island of Hongkong.
WARRANT.
By Charles Elliot, esquire, Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c., &c., charged with the government of the Island of Hong Kong:
Pending Her Majesty's further pleasure, I do hereby constitute and appoint you, William Caine, esquire, Captain in Her Majesty's 26th (or Cameronian) regiment of Infantry, to be the Chief Magistrate of the Island of Hongkong; and I do further authorixe and require you, to exercise authority, according to the laws, customs and usages of China, as near as may be (every description of torture excepted), for the preservation of the peace, and the protection of life and property, over all the native inhabitants in the said Island and the harbors thereof.
And I do further authorize and require you, in any case where the crime, according to Chinese law, shall involve punishments and penalties exceeding the following scale in severity, to remit the case for the judgement of the Head of the government for the time being.
Scale:—Imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for more than 3 months; or penalties exceeding $400.
Corporal punishment exceeding 100 lashes.
Capital punishment.
And I do further require you, in all cases followed by sentence or infliction of punishment, to keep a record, containing a brief statement of the case, and copy of the sentence.
And I further authorize and require you, to exercise magisterial and police authority over all persons whatever (other than natives of the island, or persons subject to the mutiny act, or to the general law for the government of the fleet), who shall be found committing breaches of the peace, on shore or in the harbors of this island, or breaches of any regulation to be issued from time to time by this government, according to the customs and usages of British Police Law.
And I do hereby authorize you, for the police purposes herein-before specified, to arrest, detain, discharge, and punish such offenders, according to the principles and practice of general British Police Law.
And all persons, subject to the mutiny act, or the general law for the government of the fleet, found committing police or other offences, shall be handed over to their proper military superiors for punishment.
And I do further authorize and require you, to detain in safe custody any person whatever, found committing crimes and offences within the government of Hongkong, amounting to felony, according to the law of England; forthwith reporting your proceedings herein, and the grounds thereof, to the Head of the government for the time being. And for all your lawful proceedings in the premises, this Warrant shall be your sufficient protection and authority.
Given under my head and seal of office at Macao, this thirtieth day of April, in the year 1841.
Charles Elliot.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND DECLARATION.
∵ The following notice is published for general information. But the necessary particulars not having yet been obtained regarding the portions of land already surveyed, the blanks relating to number and extend of allotments, and period of sale, cannot yet be filled up.
Arrangements having been made for the permanent occupation of the island of Hongkong, it has become necessary to declare the principles and conditions, upon which allotments of land will be made, pending Her Majesty's further pleasure.
With a view to the reservation to the crown of as extensive a control over the lands as may be compatible with the immediate progress of the establishment, it is now declared, that the number of allotments to be disposed of, from time to time, will be regulated with due regard to the actual public wants.
It will be a condition of each titles that a building, of a certain value, hereafter to be fixed, must be erected, within a reasonable period of time, on the allotments; and there will be a general reservation of all Her Majesty's rights.
Pending Her Majesty's further pleasure, the lands will be allotted according to the principles and practice of British law, upon the tenure of quit-rent to the crown.
