H. A. O'Brien

“ On the same principle, it has been found by experience that those who indulge frequently in gaming and cockfighting, are not only liable to engage in quarrels with those who have won their money, but also that they are incited to acts of fraud and robbery in order to obtain the means of amusement or of attempting to retrieve their losses; it is therefore the duty of Government to suppress both gaming and cock-fighting as far as possible without trespassing on the free will of private conduct. ”

“ Taking this as the fundamental principle for the Laws of the Settlement, it may be presumed that no local Regulation would be enacted that the society if left to themselves would not desire to see carried into effect; no public institution or source of expense would exist of which the benefit was not obvious to the enlightened part at least, if not to the whole body of the community, who would therefore soon feel that the Government was not made to tyrannize over the people, but for their protection and happiness. ”

“ On the other hand, to apply the law of Europe direct, with all its accumulated processes and penalties, to a people of whom more than nine-tenths will probably be natives of China and the Malay Archipelago, would be as repugnant to universal and natural justice as it would be inconsistent with the benevolence and liberality which has ever marked the British rule in India. ”

“ No one therefore being allowed to be a judge in his own case, or to revenge his own quarrel, arms or weapons capable of inflicting instant death as habitually worn by the Malays become unnecessary, and, by dispensing with them, the greatest temptation to and power of doing to others the greatest and irremediable wrong in depriving them of life is in a great measure removed. ”

“ Let the native institutions as far as regards religious ceremonies, marriage and inheritance be respected when they may not be inconsistent with justice and humanity or injurious to the peace and morals of society.
Let all men be considered equal in the eye of the Law. ”

“ Nothing should be endured in the Settlement, however sanctioned by the local usage of particular tribes who resort to it, that has either a direct effect, or notoriously strong tendency to endanger the safety or liberty of person or the security of property, and in the same manner no want of what are considered legal formalities in any country should debar a person from having substantial justice rendered to him, so that legal and moral obligation may never be at variance. ”

“ Under these circumstances, nothing seems to be left but to have recourse to first principles, to use every precaution against the existence of temptation to crime that is found consistent with the perfect liberty of those who have no evil intentions, and when these precautions fail, to secure redress to the injured party, when possible, and such punishment as will be most likely to prevent a repetition of the crime, either by the party himself offending, or by those who may be inclined to follow his example. ”

“ Let no man be banished the country without a trial by his peers or by due course of Law.
Let no man be deprived of his liberty without a cause, and no man detained in confinement beyond 48 hours without a right to demand a hearing and trial according to due course of Law. ”

“ Let the principles of British Law be applied not only with mildness but with a patriachal kindness and indulgent consideration for the prejudices of each tribe as far as natural justice will allow, but also with reference to their reasoning powers however weak, and that moral principle which, however often disregarded, still exists in the consciences of all men. ”

“ Both the Malays and Chinese are a reasoning people, and though each may reason in a way peculiar to themselves and different in some respects from our own way of reasoning. This germ of civilization should not be checked. Let no man be punished without a reason assigned. ”

“ Fraud with respect to the quality of articles is a crime more readily detected, and may be left to private prosecution. In giving redress to the individual, punishment ought to be annexed in proportion as the fraud is of an injurious nature. ”

“ The right of personal liberty; which consists in the power of locomotion, of changing situation or removing one's person to whatever place one's own inclination may direct, without imprisonment or restraint, unless by due course of Law. ”

“ As a great check to fraud and falsehood, a general Registry Office for all written agreements or engagements which are liable to be made the ground of dispute before a Court of Justice, should be opened for the public. ”

“ Personal chastisement is only for the lower orders who are incapable of feeling the shame of disgrace and may probably be had recourse to in cases of wilful perjury where the falsehood of the witness is palpable and his object particularly mischievous. In all cases let it be considered as no less an object of the Law to afford redress to the party injured than to punish the offender. ”

“ It is well known that the Malay race are sensibly alive to shame, and that in many instances they would prefer death to ignominy. That is a high and honourable feeling and ought to be cherished; let great care be taken to avoid all punishments which are unnecessarily degrading. ”

“ Under such a system of administration, it is not unreasonable to expect that every facility would be afforded by the mass of the population to the Executive in carrying the Laws into effect, for even the midnight robber and swindler have no desire that their own persons or property should be liable to those evils which they inflict on the rest of the community, and will readily join in their suppression when other delinquents are the objects of the terrors of the Law. ”

“ It is impossible to see who may or may not be guilty of such acts of inhuman cruelty, and therefore all should agree to lay aside the use of the weapon that is commonly employed by persons who then transform themselves to wild beasts by giving way to brutal passion. ”

“ In carrying such a system into effect, it ought to be fully understood and maintained on all occasions, that while individuals are allowed to protect themselves as far as possible against wrongs, the redress of wrongs cannot be left to the resentment or the revenge of the parties conceiving themselves injured. ”

“ It often happens too in these countries that a man who considers himself aggrieved by a particular individual and finding himself in possession of a sharp weapon, attempts the life of every one he meets indiscriminately, and without having any wrong at their hands to complain of. ”

“ If they are not frequently administered, not only will their sanction be more regarded and in this way their breach be less proportionately frequent, but of necessity much more absolutely uncommon and consequently much more certainly visited with due punishment in all cases of evidence given before a Court of Justice. ”

“ There are many important considerations that stand in the way of enacting laws against prostitution, indeed it would, in a country where concubinage is not forbidden, be difficult to draw a line between the concubine and the common prostitute; it is practicable however in some degree, and highly desirable, that the temptation to profit should not exist to induce the seduction of women into this course of life by others of their own sex ”

“ The use of spirituous liquors, though innocent in moderation, becomes vicious when indulged in to excess; the consumption may be diminished by the enhancement of price, and in this way the indulgence may be made so expensive as to be only attainable beyond the bounds of moderation by those whose means give them a station in society that induces them to be guarded in their conduct for the sake of preserving the respect of those whose eyes are turned upon them ”

“ No man should be allowed to receive any money either directly or indirectly for conducting a gaming table or cock-pit, and winners of money at such places should be compelled to restore the amount to the losers, and should on no account be permitted to enforce payment from those with whom they have gambled on credit.
Intoxication being a source of personal danger to the community, and the indulgence in that vice being a frequent cause of betraying those who are addicted to it to the commission of acts of dishonesty, it is the duty of a good Magistracy to throw every obstacle in the way. ”

“ All deeds which may be so registered should have an avowed preference over one that is not so registered, unless the holder of the latter can shew a clear, distinct and satisfactory cause why he has not been able to have his deed registered and the onus of establishing this ought decidedly to rest on him. ”

“ All house-holders should be registered and all houses numbered; auctioneers and pawnbrokers should be placed under specific regulations, and none allowed to act as such without giving security for complying with the same and taking out a license for the purpose. ”

“ Nuisances generally speaking may be safely left to the complaint of individuals in each particular instance where the cause of nuisance is not obvious to all, or directly injurious to particular individuals, as crowding the river with vessels, &c., when it may be made subject of special regulation. ”

“ There seems no reason for denying corresponding rights to all classes of people residing under the protection of the British Flag at Singapore, the Laws of the Land being such as are or may be enacted under the provisions of Regulation No. ”