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1323. 4 Geo. 4,

MADRAS AND BOMBAY.

LAWS. King George III, intituled "An Act for establishing certain Regula "tions for the better management of the Affairs of the East-India "Company, as well in India as in Europe, and by divers subsequent c. 71, § 7. " statutes;" and whereas the said last-mentioned charter, so far as it respects the administration of justice at Madras, has been altered or changed by virtue of the said act of the thirty-seventh year of his late Majesty King George the Third, and also by an act of the thirty-ninth and fortieth years of his said late Majesty, intituled "An Act for "establishing certain Regulations for the Government of the British "Territories in India, and the better Administration of Justice within "the same:" and whereas it may be expedient for the better administration of Justice in the said settlement of Bombay, that a Supreme Court of Judicature should be established at Bombay in the same form and with the same powers and authorities as that now subsisting by virtue of the several acts before-mentioned at Fort William in Bengal; be it therefore enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for his Majesty, his heirs and successors, by charter or letters patent under the great seal of Great Britain, to erect and establish a Supreme Court of Judicature at Bombay aforesaid, to consist of such and the like number of persons to be named, from time to time, by his Majesty, his heirs and successors, with full power to exercise such civil, criminal, admiralty, and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, both as to natives and British subjects, and to be invested with such powers and authorities, privileges, and immunities for the better administration of the same, and subject to the same limitations, restrictions, and control, within the said town and island of Bombay, and the limits thereof, and the territories subordinate thereto, and within the territories which now are or hereafter may be subject to or dependant upon the said government of Bombay, as the said Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, by virtue of any law now in force and unrepealed doth consist of, is invested with or subject to, within the said Fort William, or the places subject to or dependant on the government thereof: provided always, that the governor and council at Bombay, and the governor-general at Fort William aforesaid, shall enjoy the same exemption and no other, from the authority of the said Supreme Court of Judicature to be there erected, as is enjoyed by the said governor-general and council at Fort William aforesaid, for the time being, from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Judicature there already by law established.

1823.

c. § 17.

Powers of Courts at Madras and Bombay. (3) And be it further declared and enacted, that it 4017, hath been and is and shall be lawful for the Supreme Court of Judicature at Madras, within Fort St. George and the town of Madras and the limits thereof, and the factories subordinate thereto, and within the territories which now are, or hereafter may be subject to or de

Court at Ma

dras and Bom

same powers as bay to have the the court at FortWilliam in Ben

gal.

pendant

MADRAS AND BOMBAY.

1823.

4 Geo. 4,

c. 71, § 17.

pendant upon the government of Madras; and that it shall be lawful LAWS. for the said Supreme Court of Judicature at Bombay to be created by virtue of this act, within the said town and island of Bombay and the limits thereof, and the factories subordinate thereto, and within the territories which now are or hereafter may be subject to or dependant upon the said government of Bombay; and the said Supreme Courts respectively are hereby required, within the same respectively, to do, execute, perform and fulfil all such acts, authorities, duties, matters, and things whatsoever as the said Supreme Court of Fort William is or may be lawfully authorized, empowered, or directed to do, execute, perform, and fulfil within Fort William in Bengal aforesaid, or the places subject to or dependant upon the government thereof.

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To the chief justice at Madras.. 60,000 Madras Rs. per annum.
To the chief justice at Bombay.. 60,000 Bombay Rs.
To each puisne judge at Madras.. 50,000 Madras Rs.
To each puisne judge at Bombay.. 50,000 Bombay Rs.

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1825. 6 Geo. 4, c. 85,

do.

do.
do.

§ 1 and 2.

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.. 1,200 do.

To each of the puisne judges, after five

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PRINCE OF WALES' ISLAND, SINGAPORE, AND

MALACCA.

A Recorder's Court was established at Prince of Wales' Island by letters patent, issued on the 25th March 1807, in consequence of a petition from the East-India Company to his late Majesty. A treaty having been concluded with his Majesty the King of the Netherlands, on the 17th March 1824, by which Great Britain obtained possession of the island of Singapore and the town and fort of Malacca; and those settlements having been transferred to the Company, they were empowered

PRINCE OF WALES' ISLAND, SINGAPORE AND MALACCA. empowered by the act of the 6th Geo. IV, cap. 85, to annex such possessions to Prince of Wales' Island, or otherwise, as they might see fit. The Court of Directors, in pursuance of such authority, have annexed the said settlements to that of Prince of Wales' Island, forming the whole into a government denominated the Governor and Council of Prince of Wales' Island, Singapore, and Malacca. By the same act, his Majesty is authorized to issue letters patent, should it be deemed expedient to make any alteration for the administration of justice. The Court accordingly presented a petition to his Majesty in 1825, praying his Majesty to accept a surrender of the charter, or letters-patent, granted in 1807, and that his Majesty would be graciously pleased to grant to the Company letters-patent, establishing or authorizing the establishment of such Courts and Judicatures for the trial and punishment of capital and other offences within the said settlement of Prince of Wales' Island, Singapore, and Malacca. Letterspatent have been accordingly issued, by which a Court of Judicature is constituted, to consist of the governor and the resident counsellor, and one other judge to be called the recorder.

LAWS.;

LAWS.

(1) And whereas under and by virtue and accord- Administration ing to the effect of an act passed in the forty-second of justice in Singapore and year of the reign of his late Majesty King George Malacca. c. 85, § 19. the Third, intituled, "An Act to authorize the

1825.

6 Geo. 4,

"East-India Company to make their Settlement at Fort Marlborough in the East-Indies a Factory subordinate to the Presidency "of Fort William in Bengal, and to transfer the servants, who on "the Reduction of that Establishment shall be supernumerary, to "the Presidency of Fort St. George;" and an act passed in the fifth year of the reign of his present Majesty King George the Fourth, intituled "An Act for transferring to the East-India Company "certain Possessions newly acquired in the East-Indies, and the "Removal of Convicts from Sumatra, the Island of Singapore in the East-Indies, and the Town and Fort of Malacca and its Dependencies, and all the Colonies, Possessions, and Establishments "ceded by his Majesty the King of the Netherlands to his said "present Majesty King George the Fourth, by a Treaty, concluded "between their said Majesties on the Seventeenth Day of March One "thousand eight hundred and twenty-four," have become and now

66

are

PRINCE OF WALES' ISLAND, SINGAPORE AND MALACCA. are factories subordinate to the presidency of Fort William in Bengal, and thereby, by virtue of an act passed in the thirty-ninth and fortieth years of the reign of his said late Majesty, King George the Third, intituled "An Act for establishing further Regulations for "the Government of the British Territories in India, and the better "Administration of Justice within the same," are subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Fort William aforesaid; and it may be expedient that some other provision should be made for the administration of justice within the said island and other places aforesaid; be it therefore enacted, that it shall and may be lawful to and for his Majesty, his heirs and successors, by letters patent under the great seal of Great Britain, or in any other lawful manner, to make such provision for the administration of justice in civil, criminal, ecclesiastical, and admiralty matters, arisen and to arise within the said island of Singapore, and the said town and fort of Malacca and its dependencies, by his and their royal prerogative, as he or they might have done if the said last-mentioned act had never been made or passed; and in case any such provision shall be made by his Majesty, his heirs and successors, then the said island, and the said town and fort and its dependencies, from the time or several times when such provision shall take effect, or from any other time or times to be appointed by his Majesty, his heirs or successors, and all the inhabitants of the said island, and the said town, fort, and its dependencies, and other persons being thereon, shall cease to be subject to and shall be wholly exempt from the jurisdiction of the said Supreme Court; the said last-mentioned act, or any other law or statute, to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding.

LAWS.

1800.

39 and 40 Geo. 3,

c. 79.

COURTS OF JUDICATURE

FOR THE

TRIAL IN ENGLAND OF OFFENCES COMMITTED

IN INDIA.

In the act of the 24th Geo. III, cap. 25, by which the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India was first established, provision was made for the erection of a Court of Judicature in England for the Trial of Offences committed in India. The court was to consist of three judges, one appointed from each of the three courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, four peers, and six members of the House of Commons. The four peers to be taken out of a list of twenty-six, to be chosen at the commencement of each

S

TRIAL IN ENGLAND OF

each session; and the six commoners out of a list of forty members chosen in the same manner; liberty being given to the party accused and to the prosecutor to challenge a certain number of the same. All depositions of witnesses taken in India, and all writings received by the Court of Directors, and copies of those sent out by them were to be received as legal evidence. The judgment of the court is made final, and to extend to fine and imprisonment, and to the declaring the party incapable of ever serving the Company in any capacity whatever. The bill likewise provided, that every servant of the Company should, within two months after his return to England, deliver in upon oath to the Court of Exchequer, an inventory of his real and personal estates; and a copy thereof to the Court of Directors for the inspection of the proprietors; and in case any complaint should be made thereupon by the Board of Commissioners, the Court of Directors or any three proprietors, possessing stock to the amount conjunctively of £10,000, the Court of Exchequer were required to examine the person complained of upon oath, and to imprison him until he answered the interrogatories put to him to their satisfaction, and any neglect or concealment was punishable by imprisonment, forfeiture of all his estates, both real and personal, and an incapacity of ever serving the Company. Considerable opposition was offered to the bill. The compelling persons to swear to the value of their property upon their return from India, was represented as harsh and rigorous. In defence of that provision it was said, that there was no other effectual mode of putting an end to the peculation and extortion which had so long prevailed; and as a further defence it was urged that as the oath was not to be required till 1787, those who were already in India and might be affected retrospectively, would have an opportunity of avoiding its operation by returning to England before that time: and those who should go out subsequently, would know to what test they would be subject when they returned.

The new Court of Judicature was strongly objected to, especially as not allowing Indian delinquents a trial by a jury of their peers, which was represented as the birthright of every Englishman. It was observed in reply, that many per

sons

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