Chinese Passengers Act 1855

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1855 c. 104
Year1855
Anno Regni VICTORI, Britanniarum Regin,Decimo Octavo & Decimo Nono. An Act for the Regulation ofChinese Passenger Ships.

(18 & 19 Vict.) C A P. CIV.

[14th August 1855]

'WHEREAS Abuses have occurred in conveying Emigrants from Ports in theChinese 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:

S-I Definition of certain Terms herein mentioned.

I Definition of certain Terms herein mentioned.

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.

S-II Legislature of Hong Kong to make Regulations respecting Passenger Ships, &c.

II Legislature of Hong Kong to make Regulations respecting Passenger Ships, &c.

II. It shall be lawful for the Legislature ofHong 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, 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.

S-III Governor of Hong Kong to declare Length of Voyages.

III Governor of Hong Kong to declare Length of Voyages.

III. It shall be lawful for the Governor ofHong 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.)

S-IV No Chinese Passenger Ship to clear out on Voyage of more than Seven Days without Emigration Officer's Certificate and Copy of Regulations, &c.

IV No Chinese Passenger Ship to clear out on Voyage of more than Seven Days without Emigration Officer's Certificate and Copy of Regulations, &c.

IV. NoChinese 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.

S-V Penalty of Bond, when recoverable.

V Penalty of Bond, when recoverable.

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.

S-VI Commander of Ships of War, &c. may search Ships, or require Production of Papers.

VI Commander of Ships of War, &c. may search Ships, or require Production of Papers.

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, orBritish 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.

S-VII Penalty for Neglect to comply with Regulations, &c.

VII Penalty for Neglect to comply with Regulations, &c.

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.

S-VIII Ship to be forfeited for clearing without Emigration Papers, &c.

VIII Ship to be forfeited for clearing without Emigration Papers, &c.

VIII. If anyChinese Passenger Ship clears out or proceeds to Sea on any Voyage exceeding Seven Days in Duration without such Emigration Papers as aforesaid, or if the Emigration Papers of any Chinese Passenger Ship are forged or fraudulently altered, 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.

S-IX Penalties in addition to Forfeiture.

IX Penalties in addition to Forfeiture.

IX. Every Person who commits or aids or abets in committing any Act or Default by which anyChinese Passenger Ship may become liable to Forfeiture shall be liable to a Penalty not exceeding One hundred Pounds for each Offence.

S-X Mode of enforcing Forfeiture.

X Mode of enforcing Forfeiture.

X. It shall be lawful for any Commissioned Officer on Full Pay in the Military or Naval Service of Her Majesty, or anyBritish Officer 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.

S-XI Officer not liable for any Seizure made on reasonable Grounds.

XI Officer not liable for any Seizure made on reasonable Grounds.

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