17 & 18 Vict. c. 89. 6 Secs. 2. and 4. of recited Act as to Seizures repealed. Disposal of Seizures made under the said Sections. Penalties re covered by Constabulary in cer tain Cases to be paid to Collector of Inland Revenue. Sale of Spirits (Ireland). САР. СІІІ. An Act to amend an Act of the last Session of Parliament HEREAS an Act was passed in the last Session of Parliament, Chapter Eighty-nine, to amend the Laws for the better Prevention of the Sale of Spirits by unlicensed Persons and for the Suppression of illicit Distillation in Ireland, and it is expedient to amend the said Act as herein-after mentioned :' Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows: I. So much of the Second and Fourth Sections of the said Act as directs that any Goods seized under the Provisions of the said Sections respectively shall be delivered to some Revenue Officer shall be and the same is hereby repealed. II. On the Conviction of any Person in relation to whose Offence any Goods shall have been seized under the Provisions of the said Sections respectively, such Goods shall be absolutely forfeited; or if any such Goods as aforesaid shall not within Fourteen Days after the making thereof be claimed, by Application in Writing to the Inspector or Superintendent of Police, or to the County Inspector or Sub-Inspector, by whom or within whose District such Goods shall have been seized, then, although no Conviction shall have taken place, such Goods shall be abso lutely forfeited: Provided always, that if any such Claim shall be made in the Manner and within the Time herein directed and limited in that Behalf, and no such Conviction as aforesaid shall have been or shall be made, then such Goods so seized shall be proceeded upon to Condemnation by Information before any Justice or Justices of the Peace, in like Manner as in the Case of Goods seized under the Provisions of any Act relating to Duties of Excise; and all such Goods seized which shall be absolutely forfeited or condemned on Information, as herein provided, may either be destroyed, or be disposed of and the Proceeds thereof applied in such Manner as the Commissioners of Inland Revenue shall think fit to direct in that Behalf. III. All Penalties recovered by Officers of the Constabulary by virtue of the Powers conferred by the Thirteenth Section of the said Act of the last Session of Parliament, as well as all Penalties recovered in Cases of immediate Arrest for any Offence committed against the said Act of the First and Second Years of His late Majesty, shall be paid into the Hands of the Sub-Inspector of Constabulary, or other Person appointed for the Purpose by the Inspector General of the Constabulary Force in Ireland, and by Sale of Spirits (Ireland). Chinese Passenger Ships. him handed over to the nearest Collector of Inland Revenue, for the Use of Her Majesty, after deducting and paying thereout all reasonable Expenses. 6 IV. And whereas by Section Seven of an Act passed in the Session of Parliament holden in the Third and Fourth Years of His said late Majesty's Reign, Chapter Sixty-eight, Persons applying for any Licence for the Sale of Beer, Cider, or Spirits by Retail in Ireland are required to enter into a Bond, with Sureties, conditioned as in such Section is mentioned, and it is 'expedient to relieve such Applicants from the Burden of entering into such Bond and providing such Sureties:' Be it enacted, That the said Section Seven of the said last-mentioned Act shall be and the same is hereby repealed. CA P. CIV. An Act for the Regulation of Chinese Passenger Ships. HEREAS Abuses have occurred in conveying Emigrants from Ports in the Chinese Seas: And whereas it is expedient to prevent such Abuses' Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows: I. In the Construction of this Act the Term "Chinese Passenger Ship" shall include every Ship carrying from any Port in Hong Kong, and every British Ship carrying from any Port in China or within One hundred Miles of the Coast thereof, more than Twenty Passengers, being Natives of Asia; the Word "Colony" shall include all Her Majesty's Possessions abroad not being under the Government of the East India Company; the Word "Governor" shall signify the Person for the Time being lawfully administering the Government of such Colony; the Term "Legislature of Hong Kong" shall signify the Governor and Legislative Council or other Legislative Authority of the same for the Time being; the Word "Ship" shall include all Sea-going Vessels; the Terms "Commander" and "Master" of any Ship shall include any Person for the Time being in command or charge of the same; the Term "Emigration Officer" shall include every Person lawfully acting as Emigration Officer, Immigration Agent, or Protector of Emigrants, and every Person authorized by the Governor of any British Colony to carry out the Provisions of this Act; and the Term "British Consul" shall include every Person lawfully exercising Consular Authority on behalf of Her Majesty in any Foreign Port. II. It shall be lawful for the Legislature of Hong Kong, by any Ordinance to be by them enacted for that Purpose, to make Regulations respecting Chinese Passenger Ships, and, in the Case of British Ships, respecting the Treatment of the Passengers therein while at Sea, and until such Enactment the Regulations contained in Schedule (A.) to this Act annexed shall be in force: Provided always, Chinese Passenger Ships. always, that no such Ordinance shall come into operation until Her Majesty's Confirmation of the same shall have been proclaimed in Hong Kong by the Governor thereof. III. It shall be lawful for the Governor of Hong Kong to declare, by Proclamation, for the Purposes of this Act and of the said Regulations, what shall be deemed to be the Duration of the Voyage of any Chinese Passenger Ship, and by such Proclamation to alter the Scales of Dietary, Medicines, and Medical Comforts contained in the aforesaid Schedule (A.) IV. No Chinese Passenger Ship shall clear out or proceed to Sea on any Voyage of more than Seven Days Duration until the Master thereof shall have received from an Emigration Officer a Copy of the aforesaid Regulations, and a Certificate in the Form contained in Schedule B. to this Act annexed, or in such other Form as may be prescribed by the said Legislature, which Copy and Certificate, with any Documents to be attached thereto (herein-after designated as Emigration Papers,) shall be signed by the said Emigration Officer, nor until the Master shall, with Two sufficient Sureties, to be approved by the said Emigration Officer, have entered into a joint and several Bond in the Sum of One thousand Pounds to Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, in the Form contained in Schedule C. to this Act annexed, or in such other Form as shall be prescribed by the said Legislature. V. The said penal Sum of One thousand Pounds shall be due and recoverable notwithstanding any Penalty or Forfeiture imposed by this Act or by the aforesaid Regulations, and whether such Penalties or Forfeitures shall have been sued for and recovered or not. VI. It shall be lawful for the Commander of any of Her Majesty's Ships of War, or for any Emigration Officer, Custom House Officer, or British Consul, to enter and search any Chinese Passenger Ship (being a British Vessel or within British Jurisdiction) so long as such Ship shall have any Passengers on board, and for Forty-eight Hours afterwards, and in case such Ship shall be engaged on a Voyage of more than Seven Days Duration, to require the Production of the Emigration Papers of such Ship, and to examine all Persons on board of the same, in order to ascertain whether the Provisions of this Act and of the Regulations aforesaid have been complied with; and any Person who refuses to allow, attempts to avoid, or obstructs any such Entry, Search, or Examination, or who knowingly misleads or deceives any Person lawfully making any such Search or Examination, or who, being the Master of the Ship or having the Emigration Papers in his Custody, fails to produce the same when required as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of a Misdemeanor. VII. In case of any Neglect or Refusal to comply with any of the Provisions of this Act or any of the Regulations aforesaid, or to perform any Stipulation in any of the Contracts made with the Passengers, the Master of the Ship, and any other Person who may have been guilty of or have aided or abetted such Neglect or Refusal, shall each be deemed for each Offence guilty of a Misdemeanor. VIII. If Chinese Passenger Ships. VIII. If any Chinese Passenger Ship clears out or proceeds to Ship to be forSea on any Voyage exceeding Seven Days in Duration without feited for clearsuch Emigration Papers as aforesaid, or if the Emigration Papers ing without of any Chinese Passenger Ship are forged or fraudulently altered, Papers, &c. Emigration such Ship shall, if she is a British Ship, or if, not being a British Ship, the Offence is committed and the Ship is seized in Her Majesty's Dominions or in the Territories of the East India Company, be forfeited to Her Majesty. addition to IX. Every Person who commits or aids or abets in committing Penalties in any Act or Default by which any Chinese Passenger Ship may become liable to Forfeiture shall be liable to a Penalty not exceed- Forfeiture. ing One hundred Pounds for each Offence. feiture. X. It shall be lawful for any Commissioned Officer on Full Pay Mode of enin the Military.or Naval Service of Her Majesty, or any British forcing ForOfficer of Customs, or any British Consul, to seize and detain any Ship which has become subject to Forfeiture as aforesaid, and bring her for Adjudication before the High Court of Admiralty in England or Ireland, or any Court having Admiralty Jurisdiction in Her Majesty's Dominions or in the Territories of the East India Company, and such Court may thereupon make such Order in the Case as it thinks fit, and may award such Portion of the Proceeds of the Sale of any forfeited Ship as it thinks right to the Officer bringing in the same for Adjudication, or to any Persons damaged by the Act or Default which has rendered the Ship liable to Forfeiture. XI. No such Officer as aforesaid shall be responsible, either civilly or criminally, to any Person whomsoever, in respect of the Seizure or Detention of any Ship that has been seized or detained by him in pursuance of the Provisions herein contained, notwithstanding that such Ship is not brought in for Adjudication, or, if so brought in, is declared not to be liable to Forfeiture, if it is shown to the Satisfaction of the Judge or Court before whom any Trial relating to such Ship or such Seizure or Detention is held that there are reasonable Grounds for such Seizure or Detention ; but if no such Grounds are shown, such Judge or Court may award Payment of Costs and Damages to any Party aggrieved, and make such other Order in the Premises as he or it thinks just. Officer not liable for any Seizure made on reasonable Grounds. XII. It shall be lawful for the Court before which any Ship Fine may be liable to Forfeiture under this Act is proceeded against to impose substituted for such a pecuniary Penalty as to the same Court shall seem fit, in Forfeiture. lieu of condemning the Ship, and in such Case to cause the Ship to be detained until the Penalty is paid, and to cause any Penalty so imposed to be applied in the same Manner in which the Proceeds of the said Ship, if condemned and sold by Order of the Court, would have been applicable. XIII. All Misdemeanors and other Criminal Offences punishable Mode of Prounder this Act shall be dealt with, tried, and judged of in the cedure in Crisame Manner as Misdemeanors and other Offences punishable minal Cases, under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, and all the Rules of Law, Practice, or Evidence applicable to the last-mentioned Misdemeanors and Offences shall be applicable to Misdemeanors and other Offences under this Act. XIV. Any Application of Written Declarations of Commanders, &c. primâ facie Evidence. Short Title. Commencement of Act. Chinese Passenger Ships. XIV. Any Court, Justice, or Magistrate imposing any Penalty under this Act for which no specific Application is herein provided may, if it or he thinks fit, direct the whole or any Part thereof to be applied in compensating any Person for any Wrong or Damage which he may have sustained by the Act or Default in respect of which such Penalty is imposed, or in or towards Payment of the Expenses of the Proceedings; and, subject to such Directions or specific Application as aforesaid, all Penalties recovered in the United Kingdom shall be paid into the Receipt of Her Majesty's Exchequer in such Manner as the Treasury may direct, and shall be carried to and form Part of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom; and all Penalties recovered in any British Possession shall be paid over into the Public Treasury of such Possession, and form Part of the Public Revenue thereof. XV. In any legal Proceeding taken under this Act or in respect of the Bond herein-before required any Document purporting to be the written Declaration of any British Consul, or of the Commander of any of Her Majesty's Ships of War, or to be a Copy of the Proceedings of any Court of Justice, shall, without any Proof of Signature, be received in Evidence, in case it shall appear that such Copy or Declaration, if produced in the United Kingdom, was officially transmitted to One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, or, if produced in any Colony, was officially transmitted to the Governor thereof: Provided always, that no Person making such written Declaration as aforesaid shall be capable of receiving a Share of any Penalty or Forfeiture which shall be procured by such written Declaration. XVI. This Act may be cited for any Purpose whatever under the Name of the "Chinese Passengers Act, 1855." XVII. This Act shall come into operation as soon as it shall have been proclaimed in Hong Kong by the Governor thereof, or if not so proclaimed, on the First Day of January next ensuing. SCHEDULE (A.) REGULATIONS RESPECTING CHINESE PASSENGER SHIPS. Note. The wilful and fraudulent Breach of any of these Regulations by the Person in charge of any Chinese Pas senger Ship is punishable by Forfeiture of the Ship, and every Person concerned in such Breach is liable to a Fine of One hundred Pounds for each Offence. I. No Chinese Passenger Ship shall clear out or proceed to Sea on any Voyage of more than Seven Days Duration without a Certificate from an Emigration Officer; and such Certificate shall be in the Form provided by the Chinese Passenger Act, 1855. II. No Emigration Officer shall be bound to give such Certificate in respect of any Chinese Passenger Ship till Seven Days after receiving Notice that the Ship is to carry Passengers, and of her Destination, and of her proposed Day of Sailing, nor unless there are on board a Surgeon and Interpreter approved by such Emigration Officer. III. After |
