Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

without unnecessary delay to the destination to which they have contracted to proceed.

6. The Emigration Officer shall not give his certificate until he shall have mustered the passengers, and have ascertained to the best of his power that they understand whither they are going, and comprehend the nature of any contracts of service which they have made; he shall also take care that a copy of the form of such contracts, or an abstract of their substance, signed by himself, is appended to the said certificate: if any of the passengers are in bad health, or insufficiently provided with clothing, or if the contracts are unfair, or if there is reason to suspect that fraud or violence has been practised in their collection or embarkation, he may detain the ship, and, if he shall think fit, may order all or any of the passengers to be re-landed.

SCHEDULE (B.)-Emigration Officer's Certificate, &c.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

female children, such children being between the ages of one and twelve years; that the space set apart and to be kept clear for the use of such emigrants is as follows:-On the upper deck, superficial feet, being [here describe the space], and in the between decks superficial feet, being [here describe the space]; that the ship is properly manned and fitted, and that the means of ventilating the part of the between decks appropriated to passengers are as follows [here describe the means of ventilation]; that the ship is furnished with a proper quantity of good provisions, fuel, and water for days' issues to the passengers according to the * annexed dietary scale, and with a proper quantity of medicines, instruments, and medical comforts according to the * annexed scale of medical necessaries; that I have inspected the contracts between the emigrants and their intended employers (the terms of which are annexed to this certificate), and consider them reasonable; that no fraud appears to have been practised in collecting the emigrants; and that there are on board a surgeon [and Interpreter] approved by me, and desig

These scales must be those prescribed by the Regulations in Schedule (A.). + In case the ship has been authorised to proceed without an interpreter, omit the part between brackets, and add, "and that the ship has been authorised to proceed without an interpreter."

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

SCHEDULE (C.)-Form of Bond to be given by the Masters of C. P. Ss.

Know all men by these presents, That we are held and firmly bound unto our Sovereign Lady Queen Victoria, by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, defender of the faith, in the sum of one thousand pounds of good and lawful money of Great Britain, to be paid to our said Sovereign Lady the Queen, her heirs and successors; to which payment, well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves and every of us, jointly and severally, for and in the whole, our heirs, executors, administrators, and every of them, firmly by these presents.

[blocks in formation]

Sealed with our Seals.

Whereas by the C. P. Act, 1855, it is enacted, that before any C. P. S. shall clear out or proceed to sea on a voyage of more than seven days' computed duration, the master thereof shall, with two sufficient sureties to be approved by an Emigration Officer, enter into a bond to Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, in the sum of one thousand pounds.

[ocr errors]

whereof

Now the condition of this obligation is this, that if (in respect of the ship is master) all and every of the requirements of the said C. P. Act, and of the regulations contained in Schedule (A.) to the said Act annexed, or enacted by the Legislature of Hong-Kong, shall be well and truly observed and performed [†in like manner as the same ought to be observed and performed in case the said ship were a B. S., and the said a B. subject], then this obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and effect. Signed, sealed, and delivered by the above-bounden

and

in the presence of

The part between brackets is to be inserted or not, as may be required. + This clause to be inserted only in the case of a foreign C. P. S.

276

CHAPTER VI.

JURISDICTION, PRIVILEGES, AND IMMUNITIES.

THE jurisdiction of a Consul only extends over the subjects of the

nation he is nominated by, either resident in, or arriving at, the place in which he has been appointed to reside. In countries where there are Embassies as well as Consulates, the jurisdiction of the latter generally only extends over the seafaring subjects of her nation, at the same time it watches over her commercial interests. That of a ConsulGeneral presides over the Consul, and that of a Consul, in most instances, over the Vice-Consuls. The Consular jurisdiction depends more entirely into what country the Consul may be sent. Thus, foreign Consuls in England have no judicial authority whatever. British Consuls, however, in most countries, have judicial power, and consequently their jurisdiction becomes either retrenched or extended, according to the nature of the stipulations of the ratified treaty. The following are those entered into by Great Britain, relating to the Consular service; none, we regret to say, being so explanatory and efficient as they ought.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

When the Consul is appointed he is always provided with copies of the Conventions with the country he is sent to. In regard to the privileges and immunities a Consul enjoys, there have always existed doubts whether he may be considered exempt from the civil jurisdiction of the state to which he is nominated; and although many others have laid down to the contrary, still it may be maintained and in perfect conformity with the law of nations, that where the regular exequatur has been accorded to the Consul, he ought to be exempt from the civil jurisdiction of the state to which he is accredited. By the exequatur the sovereign acknowledges him as the Consular representative of his

JURISDICTION, PRIVILEGES, AND IMMUNITIES.

277

empire, bearing her appointment, and protected by her passport; and, as regards the nature of his mission, only resident for a short time at the state. Under these circumstances, he ought to be exempt.

Vattel says, l. iv., c. vi., §. 75 : “Si ce prince envoie un agent avec des lettres de créances et pour affaires publiques, l'agent est dès-lors ministre public, le tître n'y fait rien."

In many treaties, however, it has been stipulated to the contrary, and they will be found in the Appendix. The former argument will not, however, hold good if the Consul be a merchant belonging to the country; as it has been the custom to nominate some Consular authorities from among the subjects of the country in which the other' Government wishes to have a Consular authority. Nor can it hold valid when a Consul engages in mercantile pursuits, for he then renders himself amenable to the laws of the country he is in, and by his mercantile transactions enrols himself, as it were, among the citizens of the country. Engaging himself in such pursuits, it would be unjust to the mercantile community of the state he was in, if he, a merchant like themselves, enjoyed privileges which they could not, and which might give him power to monopolise many advantages. A Consul being a native of the country he is sent out for, and having his appointment in order, is generally allowed to pass all his luggage without duty into the state he is accredited to. During his residence, if he does not engage in commercial pursuits, he is exempt from all taxes; but the moment his Consular duties diverge into mercantile transactions he loses this privilege. A Consul in any other country but England has also the privilege of calling in the assistance of a guard in any cases he may require one for the maintenance of discipline, and the arrest of criminals and insubordinate seamen. In the Levant, Turkey, and China, much greater privileges are accorded, which have been treated of in the chapters relating to the same.

name.

In countries out of Europe, or where there is no Embassy, the Consul enjoys the same privileges as an Ambassador, and is de facto the Ambassador or representative of his Sovereign, only under another He can perform all acts of a Notary Public; all deeds executed by him being held to be valid, and acknowledged in our Courts of Law. He can attend all levees of the Sovereign after receiving his exequatur, and either after having been presented to the Sovereign by the Ambassador, or in his absence by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Consulate is generally considered as the territory of the Power by which it is tenanted, and all deeds, acts, and any other documents executed under the seal of the Consul are valid in the country from which he has been sent. At the same time it must be perfectly underissued by the Consul are, with a few excep

stood that all acts thus

tions, not valid in the country in which he resides, except there be a special Convention to that effect. All documents, required to be valid before the tribunals of the country he is in, ought to be made out by the proper lawyers appointed for that purpose; for it cannot be expected that where a Consul is only authorised as judicial authority for his own country, that his acts should be acknowledged and received as legal instruments in the tribunals of the country he is accredited to, although his acts should be respected; as it might be possible that they could be grounded upon quite a different lex mercatoria, and could not therefore be taken in evidence against documents 'perhaps quite opposite in a legal point of view, and it would be unjust to allow them to be received.

In respect to the special privileges a Consul enjoys in certain countries by Treaty, we have annexed an annotation of them in the list of Treaties at the close of the work. We will conclude this chapter with an earnest wish that the British Government will, by Treaty, endeavour to give their Consuls the same authority as the French have appointed by their recent Convention with America.

CHAPTER VII.

SALARIES, FEES, AND RANK OF CONSULS.

N the year 1825 the British Government, after repeated representa

Itions had been urged relating to the inadequate and bad arrange

ments previously made for the payment of British Consuls, and after committees had been appointed, deemed it expedient to bring in an Act to regulate the payment of salaries and allowances to British Consuls in foreign parts, and the disbursements at such ports for certain public allowances (6 Geo. IV., cap. 87), by which his Majesty was authorised, by Order in Council, to regulate and appoint fixed salaries to British Consuls-General and Consuls, the stipends of whom had been formerly paid out of the third class of his Majesty's Civil List. The preamble of this Act goes on to state that such salaries shall be paid without fine or deduction, and paid to them during their residence at the place they are appointed, or on leave of absence may receive part or whole at the King's pleasure. That in consequence of such salaries, Consuls shall not receive or take any fee from merchant seamen or vessels, except in the Schedule annexed, and in default shall forfeit one year's salary, or less, at His Majesty's pleasure, and for the second offence shall forfeit their appointment.

« ZurückWeiter »