every such letter, instead of being forwarded, should be detained and opened, and be either returned or given up to the sender thereof.

And whereas it is expedient that a further regulation should be made as to the letters hereinafter mentioned.

Now we, the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, in exercise of the powers reserved to us in and by the said hereinbefore recited Acts, or either of them, and of all other powers enabling us in this behalf, do, by this present Warrant, under the hands of 2 of us the said Commissioners, by the authority of the statute in that case made and provided, order and direct as follows, that is to say:

1. If any letter shall be posted in the United Kingdom addressed to the Mauritius, without any postage having been paid thereon, or having thereon or affixed thereto a postage stamp or stamps, the value of which shall be less in amount than the single rate of postage to which such letter, if not exceeding an ounce in weight, would be liable under the regulations in force relating thereto, every such letter shall, until the 30th day of September, 1859 inclusive, be forwarded, charged with the amount of the postage to which it would have been liable if the postage had been paid when posted, together with the further and additional rate of postage of 6 pence; and from and after the said 30th day of September, 1859, every such letter, instead of being forwarded, shall be detained and opened, and be either returned or given up to the sender thereof, as directed by the said recited Warrant of the 18th day of January, 1859.

2. The several terms and expressions used in this Warrant shall be construed to have the like meaning in all respects as they would have had if inserted in the said recited Warrant of the 18th day of January, 1859.

3. The Commissioners for the time being of Her Majesty's Treasury may, by Warrant under their hands, duly made at any time hereafter, alter, repeal, or revoke any of the orders, directions, or regulations hereby made, and may make and establish any new or other orders, directions, or regulations in lieu thereof.

Whitehall, Treasury Chambers, the 11th day of July, 1859. JOHN BAGWELL. E. H. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN.

ACT of the British Parliament, "for establishing High Courts of Judicature in India; " and confirming the Acts of Parliament, Orders in Council, Charters, and Acts of the Indian Government, still in force in India.

[24 & 25 Vict., cap. 104.]

[August 6, 1861.]

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. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by letters patent under the Great Seal of the Unitel Kingdom, to erect and establish a High Court of Judicature at Fort William, in Bengal, for the Bengal division of the Presidency of Fort William aforesaid, and by like letters patent to erect and establish like high courts at Madras and Bombay for those Presidencies respectively, such high courts to be established in the said several Presidencies at such time or respective times as to Her Majesty may seem fit, and the high court to be established under any such letters patent in any of the said Presidencies shall be deemed to be established from and after the publication of such letters patent in the same Presidency, or such other time as in such letters patent may be appointed in this behalf.

II. The high court of judicature at Fort William in Bengal, and at the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay respectively, shall consist of a chief justice and as many judges, not exceeding 15, as Her Majesty may from time to time think fit and appoint, who shall be selected from,

1st. Barristers of not less than 5 years' standing; or,

2nd. Members of the Covenanted Civil Service of not less than 10 years' standing, and who shall have served as zillah judges, or shall have exercised the like powers as those of a zillah judge for at least 3 years of that period; or,

3rd. Persons who have held judicial office not inferior to that of principal sudder ameen or judge of a small cause court for a period of not less than 5 years; or,

4th. Persons who have been pleaders of a sudder court or high court for a period of not less than 10 years, if such pleaders of a sudder court shall have been admitted as pleaders of a high

court:

Provided that not less than 1-3rd of the judges of such high courts respectively, including the chief justice, shall be barristers, and not less than 1-3rd shall be members of the Covenanted Civil Service.

VIII. Upon the establishment of such high court as aforesaid in the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal, the supreme court and the court of Sudder Dewanny Adawlut and Sudder Nizamut Adawlut at Calcutta, in the same Presidency, shall be abolished:

And upon the establishment of such high court in the Presi dency of Madras, the supreme court and the court of Sudder Adawlut and Foujdarry Adawlut, in the same Presidency, shall be abolished:

And upon the establishment of such high court in the Presidency of Bombay, the supreme court and the court of Sudder

Dewanny Adawlut and Sudder Foujdarry Adawlut, in the same Presidency, shall be abolished:

And the records and documents of the several courts so abolished in each Presidency shall become and be records and documents of the high court established in the same Presidency.

XI. Upon the establishment of the said high courts in the said Presidencies respectively, all provisions then in force in India of Acts of Parliament, or of any Orders of Her Majesty in Council, or charters, or of any Acts of the Legislature of India, which at the time or respective times of the establishment of such high courts are respectively applicable to the supreme courts at Fort William, in Bengal, Madras, and Bombay respectively, or to the judges of those courts, shall be taken to be applicable to the said high courts, and to the judges thereof respectively, so far as may be consistent with the provisions of this Act, and the letters patent to be issued in pursuance thereof, and subject to the legislative powers in relation to the matters aforesaid of the Governor-General of India in Council.

XVI. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, if at any time hereafter Her Majesty see fit so to do, by letters patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom, to erect and establish a high court of judicature in and for any portion of the territories within Her Majesty's dominions in India, not included within the limits of the local jurisdiction of another high court, to consist of a chief justice and of such number of other judges, with such qualifications as are required in persons to be appointed to the high courts established at the Presidencies hereinbefore mentioned, as Her Majesty from time to time may think fit and appoint; and it shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by such letters patent, to confer on such court any such jurisdiction, powers, and authority as under this Act is authorized to be conferred on or will become vested in the high court to be established in any Presidency herein before mentioned; and, subject to the directions of such letters patent, all the provisions of this Act having reference to the high court established in any such Presidency, and to the chief justice and other judges of such court, and to the Governor-General or Governor of the Presidency in which such high court is established, shall, as far as circumstances may permit, be applicable to the high court established in the said territories, and to the chief justice and other judges thereof, and to the person administering the government of the said territories.

XIX. The word "barrister" in this Act shall be deemed to include barristers of England or Ireland, or members of the faculty of advocates in Scotland; and the words "Governor-General and Governor" shall comprehend the officer administering the govern

ment.

BRITISH TREASURYWARRANT, fixing the Rates of Postage on letters transmitted to or from the Ionian Islands, and between those Islands and British Colonies and Foreign Countries. May 14, 1863.

WHEREAS, by an Act of Parliament passed in the 4th year of the reign of Her present Majesty, intituled "An Act for the regulation of the duties of postage,' power is given to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, from time to time, by Warrant under their hands, to alter and fix any of the rates of British postage payable by law on the transmission by the post of Foreign or Colonial letters or newspapers, or of any other printed papers, and to subject the same to rates of postage according to the weight thereof, and a scale of weight to be contained in such Warrant.

And whereas it is expedient that regulations should be made for the transmission by the post of the letters hereinafter mentioned.

Now we, the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury in exercise of the powers vested in us, in and by the said recited Act, and of all other powers enabling us in this behalf, do, by this Warrant under the hands of 2 of us the said Commissioners by the authority of the statute in that case made and provided, order and direct as follows:

1. On every letter, not exceeding of an ounce in weight, posted in the United Kingdom, addressed to the Ionian Islands, or posted in the Ionian Islands, addressed to the United Kingdom, and transmitted by the post between any part of the United Kingdom and any place in the Ionian Islands, viâ France and Italy, there shall be charged and taken a rate of British postage of 1 penny.

2. On every letter not exceeding of an ounce in weight, transmitted by the post between the Ionian Islands and any of Her Majesty's Colonies or any Foreign country through the United Kingdom, viâ France and Italy, there shall be charged and taken a British rate of postage of 1 penny for the conveyance of every such letter between the Ionian Islands and any part of the United Kingdom; and for the conveyance of every such letter between the port in the United Kingdom of the departure or arrival of the packet-boat or vessel (not being a packet-boat) conveying the same, and the British Colony or Foreign country to or from which the same shall be forwarded, such a further or additional rate of postage as shall from time to time be charged and payable for British postage

*See Vol, 5, Page 248.

on letters posted or delivered at the port in the United Kingdom of the departure or arrival of the packet-boat or vessel (not being a packet-boat) conveying the same, and transmitted between such port or any such Colony or Foreign country; provided that in all cases where such additional rates include both inland and sea services, there shall be deducted therefrom the sum of 1 penny, in respect of the inland conveyance under this clause, of every such letter sent through the United Kingdom.

3. All such respective letters so transmitted as hereinbefore in this Warrant mentioned, if exceeding of an ounce in weight, shall be subject to the several further and additional and progressive rates of postage hereinafter mentioned, that is to say:

On every such letter, if exceeding of an ounce, and not exceeding of an ounce in weight, there shall be charged, taken, and paid, 2 rates of postage.

And on every such letter, if exceeding of an ounce, and not exceeding of an ounce in weight, 3 rates of postage. And on every such letter, if exceeding

of an ounce, and not exceeding 1 ounce in weight, 4 rates of postage.

of

And for every additional of an ounce in weight of any such letter above the weight of 1 ounce, there shall be charged, taken, and paid, 1 additional rate of postage, and every fractionalparto such additional of an ounce shall be charged as an additional an ounce in weight, and each progressive and additional rate chargeable under this clause shall be estimated and charged at the sum which any such letter would be charged with under this Warrant, if not exceeding of an ounce in weight.

4. Nothing herein contained shall be construed in anywise to annul, prejudice, or affect any of the exemptions or privileges granted by or under the said recited Act, or by or under any other Acts of Parliament relating to the Post-Office or any of the privileges which officers, seamen, and soldiers employed in Her Majesty's service, are by law entitled to, of sending and receiving by the post letters subject to the regulations and restrictions in respect of the same.

5. The respective letters, transmitted by the post, under the provisions of this Warrant, shall be subject to the several orders, directions, regulations, and rates of postage respectively contained in a certain Warrant of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, under the hands of 2 of the said Commissioners, bearing date the 19th day of February, 1855,* relating to redirected rates of postage upon letters which shall be redirected and again for warded by the post.

6. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to extend to any letters transmitted by the post, between the United Kingdom and the Ionian Islands via France (the sea conveyance, but in the Mediterranean, being by French packet-boat).

See Vol. 10, Page 289.