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April 19, 1856.] THE LEADER. 373
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A LITTLE CURRENCY QUESTION. Though littl...
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MR. LOWE'S NEW BILL. Mr. Lowe has re-int...
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PROPOSED REFORM OF THE JUDICIAL ESTABLIS...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Steam Communication With Australia. Colo...
This island , however , xs no more than a lowlying reservoir of coral , containing an extensive lake of brackish water . The widfli of the outer shell does not exceed half a mile , and so little is it elevated above the level of the sea , that in stormy weather the waves break right over the intervening barrier and pour into the inner lake . The only production of this island are cocoa-nut-fcrees , which serve as a beacon to mariners at & distance of fifteen miles . A
very great preliminary expense would therefore be indispensable , in order to erect a lighthouse , and to construct coal yards , marine stores , and the other details of a new colony . It has , consequently , been proposed by others that the Mauritius should "be selected in preference to I > iego G-arcia , as there everything already exists which , could possibly be required . The island , besides ., may be seen from afar , the climate is extremely salubrious , the trade worthy of encouragement , and—rnot the least cogent reason—the inhabitants have offered an annual contribution of £ 14 , 000 towards establishing a steam communication with Aden . But there is one great objection to both of these courses , the frequency of terrific hurricanes . There remain yet two other routesthe one by Ceylon , Singapore , and the Straits of Sunda , the other by Singapore and Torres Straits . By the Straits of Sunda the passage may be completed iii 64 days . The other line is said to be more rapid , but suitable only for . small steamers . The real choice , therefore , lies between the Caje of Good Hope and the Isthmus of Panama , and as matters now stand the Colonists have good reason to prefer the former . Ultimately we may not doubt but that a vast network of steam-ships will connect Australia , China , the chief seaports of the Indian empire , the Cape , the Mauritius , and the Red Sea . But in the meantime we simply demand that the steam postal service with Australia be immediately re-established by the most eligible route .
April 19, 1856.] The Leader. 373
April 19 , 1856 . ] THE LEADER . 373
A Little Currency Question. Though Littl...
A LITTLE CURRENCY QUESTION . Though little , it is serious , and involves the interests of a , large and important community . The Government arid the Legislative Council of India have taken measures to introduce into the Straits Settlements—Singapore especially —the Indian rupee currency , with its subdivisions . The people of Singapore have been accustomed to use dollars ; and if it were a mere matter of Conservatism against innovation , we should have nothing to urge in their behalf . But it concerns their commercial prosperity . Their dollar is divisible into a hundred copper cents ., with half and quarter cent , pieces , "highly appreciated" by the native tradors . This dollar , with" its subdivisions , is the established circulating medium throughout the Eastern Archipelago , and the neighbouring regions , particularly China , whence the greater part of the Singapore trade is derived . But what is the amount of the trade of Singapore , sometime a little fishing station of savages ? Upwards of nine millions sterling , entirely transacted in dollars and cents . ; and what is the convenience of the local government , the whole expenditure of which does not exceed £ 56 , 000 , oompared with that of the merchants who carry on this surprising commerce 1 Hitherto , the trading relations of the Singapore community with the races of the islands and of China have gone on rapidly prospering ; their port has become tl » o favourite of the farther oast , greater than Batavia is , greater than Johore over waB . But the natives of Eastern Asia , the Chinese ^ especially , aro worshippers of ancient customs , and can scarcely bo persuaded to transact their oxchanges with the Indian rupee * . As for Pice
they value them no more than an English artisan would value a cowry . Is it , then , reasonable or just for the sake of a pedantic uniformity to injure an important commercial settlement , by forcing upon it a currency which may drive a large portion of the trade into " dollar ports ? " Of course , other trading communities will take every advantage of the innovation , and will persuade many a trader to desert Singapore , where he is paid in the unpopular rupees , and resort where the familiar dollars and cents prevail . A serious interest is involved in the
decision of the Home Government upon this question . No one who is acquainted with the habits of mind , the prejudices , the inveterate monotony of the Eastern mind , can doubt that to pay an Asiatic in a coin obnoxious to him , is to cause immense losses on the exchange of money , and to impose a check upon a growing trade . How can he take our merchandise , if he dislikes our money 1
Mr. Lowe's New Bill. Mr. Lowe Has Re-Int...
MR . LOWE'S NEW BILL . Mr . Lowe has re-introduced his measure for the regulation of Joint-Stock Companies , with the title of " The Joint-Stock Companies Act of 1856 . " It provides that all associations containing not less than seven , and not more than twenty members , may be incorporated into a company , with or without limited liability . But after the 3 rd of November next , no association with more than twenty members , unless empowered by special act or charter , or under the Stannaries' Laws > can be incorporated unless under the new Act . To legalise the provisional registration , Mr . Lowe proposes to enact that seven or more persons shall sign a memorandum of Association , to be lodged with the Registrar , specifying the name of the projected company , its objects , the amount of capital , the number and amount of shares , and . whether it is to be formed on the limited or unlimited principle . Immediately upon the deposit of this document with , the Registrar , the subscribers and
all the subsequent shareholders become a corporate body , with a perpetual succession , a common seal , and the privileges of a Joint-Stock Company . If the company frames no set of regulations for itself , under the approval of the Registrar , it must abide by the rules contained in a schedule appended to the Act . It must keep a list of shareholders , and an account of money paid and due , which must be accessible to the proprietary free of charge , and to all other persons on the receipt of a fee of one shilling . Special regulations , not
contrary to the tenox of the Act , may be passed by three-fourths of the shareholders ; but , within fifteen days , such new rules must be submitted to the Registrar . One-fifth of the shareholders may , at any time , apply to the Board of Trade , foi the appointment of an Inspector , who shall examine and report upon the company ' s affairs - or , the shareholders generally may appoint an inspector , the officials being bound , under penalties , to furnish him with all necessary facilities for the investigation .
In companies with limited liability , the responsibility of shareholders will continue for one year after withdrawal , and in companies with unlimited liability for three years . The company may be dissolved by the resolution of a general meeting , when business has been suspended for one year , when it is unable to pay its debts , when three-fourths of the capital have been lost , or when only seven shareholders remain . If a debt exceeding £ 60 duo by the company remains unpaid three weeks after a logal claim has been made , the company ia to bo considered insolvent . This is a very important clause .
We reserve , for the present , the criticisms suggested by this- measure , which has been considerably modified since Mr . Lowe withdrew it , before the Easter recess .
Proposed Reform Of The Judicial Establis...
PROPOSED REFORM OF THE JUDICIAL ESTABLISHMENTS -OF INDIA . The report of tlfe Commission appointed to inquire into " the jurisdiction , powers , and rules of the existing Courts of Justice and Police Establishments" in the territories under the government of the East India Company , is now presented to the public in a Blue Book of some 258 pages . The Commissioners propose to amalgamate the Supreme Court of Judicature , in Calcutta , with the Sudder Dewanny and Nizamut Adawlut , and to give to this new
tribunal the style and title of the High Court . They are not unanimous in their suggestions , but the majority are of opinion that this change should be effected by constituting a Court consisting of eight members , of whom three should be appointed by the Crown , and the rest by the Governor - General in Council . The Crown Judges must be barristers of England and Ireland , or members of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland , of not less than five years ' standing . But what experience does a barrister acquire in five years calculated to fit him foi
the bench , in a country of whose laws , language , and people he can know nothing until after a long residence ? What follows is still more objectionable . The Governor-General in Council may select from the preceding class > or from members of the Covenanted Civil Service of not less than ten years' standing , or from members of the Uncovenanted Civil Service employed for not less than ten years in the judicial service of the Government , or from persons who have been vakeels for not less than ten years , or from persons who have belonged to the two last-named . classes for periods amounting together to not
less than the same term of years . Now , a Civil Servant of ten years' standing has virtually only eight years' experience , for during the first two years after his arrival in the country he is engaged in acquiring tte languages , and in . learning the technicalities of his profession Not are the remaining eight years entirely devoted to judicial or magisterial pursuits . During a part of the time he is employed in the revenue department , buE this is so far of advantage that it enables him to obtain a more intimate knowledge of the people , of their manner of living , and peculiar modes of thought . The members of the Uncovenanted Service and
the Vakeels , or Native Barristers , are likely to prove far more competent than their more favoured brethren , though at first they will have to encounter some prejudices on account of the false position they occupy in the very absurd and artificial society of British India . The Manchester party , whose conscientious sentiment is only equalled by their profound ignorance on Indian subjects , will
no doubt , rejoice with exceeding great joy at the new prospect opening out for the natives . They assert , and perhaps believe , that natives are too little employed by the British Government , and , that when employed they are invariably underpaid . But how stands the case in reality ? In 1849 thore were 2 , 813 natives in the receipt of Government salaries varying from . £ 24 to , £ 1 , 5 ( 50 per annum , namely : — 1 at £ 1 , 500 a-year . 8 „ 840 to £ 960 a-yoar . 12 „ 720 „ 840 68 „ 600 „ 720 „ 69 „ 480 „ 600 „ 58 „ 300 „ 480 „ 277 „ 240 „ 360 1 , 173 „ 120 „ 240 „ 1 , 147 „ 24 . „ 120 „ But the value of a rupee to a native living
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 19, 1856, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_19041856/page/13/
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