LEGAL AND JUDICIAL BIOGRAPHIES.
THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF HONGKONG, His Honour Sir Francis Taylor Piggott, has been
from his early years in the profession a writer on International Law, and he is recog- nised as an authority upon the rules which govern the relationships and control the intercourse of one country with another. His career has furnished him with many opportunities of perfecting his knowledge in this particular direction, and his opinions, based upon facts, many of which have come within his personal experience, are embodied in several sturdy volumes and held in high repute by the members of his profession. Born in London on April 25, 1852, he is the son of the Rev. Francis Allen Piggott, of Worthing. His early education was obtained first at Worthing College, and then for some time in Paris, and afterwards at Trinity Col- lege, Cambridge. Always an_ enthusiastic rifle-shot, he represented his University on three occasions in the Inter-’Varsity shooting contests at Wimbledon, and, one year, was a member of the English eight in the competi- tion for the “Elcho” Shield. Still retaining his interest in the sport Sir Francis is now a member of the Hongkong Rifle Association. Having graduated, and taken the degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Laws, he was in 1874 called to the Bar by the Inner Temple. In 1887 he attended the Colonial Conference, in connection with a scheme for the enforcement of Colonial judgments in England, which he had put forward, and in the same year was employed by the Foreign Office to draft a convention with Italy for the mutual execution of judgments, the negoti- ations in connection with this subject being carried on in Rome. Afterwards he was selected by Sir Julian Pauncefote, on the application of the Japanese Government, as legal adviser to the Prime Minister of Japan, in connection with the drafting of the consti- tution. He resided in Tokyo from 1888 to 1891, and named his second son, who was born in Japan, after his chief, Count (now Prince) Ito. During his stay in the Island Empire Sir Francis collected the data for his books, “The Garden of Japan” and the “Music and Musical Instruments of the Japanese,” published a few years later. In 1893 he assisted Sir Charles Russell, then Attorney-General, in drafting the British argument for the Behring Sea Arbitration, and as secretary to Sir Charles attended the sittings of the Tribune in Paris, and a series of letters from his pen, on the subject of the arbitration, appeared in The Times.
_ Appointed Procureur and Advocate-General for Mauritius in 1894, he held that position until 1905, acting for two years as chief justice during 1895-96. In 1897 he revised the laws of the Colony, and completed a second and more comprehensive revision before leaving the Colony. He also published, in two volumes, a complete and _ revised collection of the “Imperial Statutes applicable to the Colonies.” After coming to Hongkong as Chief Justice, he received the honour of knighthood in 1905. Besides those works already mentioned, Sir Francis has published a series of books on foreign judgments : “Principles of Law of Torts,” 1885; ‘“Ex- territoriality and Consular Jurisdiction,” 1892 ; “Service out of the Jurisdiction,’ 1892; “ Nationality and Naturalisation and the Eng-
lish Law on the High Seas and Beyond the Realm,” 1904. In Hongkong his chief recreation has been golf; he is a member of the Golf Club, the Hongkong Club, and the “ Thatched House,” London. Sir Francis married Mabel Waldron, eldest daughter of Jasper Wilson Johns, J.P., D.L., and has two sons.
HIS HONOUR MR. ALFRED GASCOYNE WISE, Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court, Hongkong, was born at Colombo, Ceylon, on August 15, 1854, and was a son of the late Mr. Alfred Wise, a _ well-known planter. Educated at Repton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1878, and at the age of twenty-eight came to Hongkong, and on January 1, 1884 was appointed Police Magistrate. In 1892 he became Registrar, Official Administrator, Official Trustee, Registrar of Companies, and Registrar in the Colonial Court of Admiralty, and three years later he entered upon his present appointment. Twice he has acted for the Attorney-General and twice for the Chief Justice. In 1902 he was elected chairman of the Squatter’s Board. He is married to Augusta Frances, a daughter of Mr. A. N. C. R, Nugent. He is a member of the Conservative, Thatched House, and Hongkong Clubs.
MR. ARATHOON SETH, I.S.O., the Regis- trar of the Supreme Court, Hongkong, was born in 1852. When only sixteen years of age he was appointed Hindustani interpreter to the Magistracy, Hongkong, having acquired a knowledge of the language in Hongkong, and, except for a comparatively short interval when he was attached to the Peninsular and Oriental Company, he has been in the Civil Service ever since. He re-entered the Magistracy as third clerk in September, 1872, and received steady promotion, be- coming first clerk in 1875, and Clerk of Councils and chief clerk in the Colonial Secretary's office six years later, He was created a Justice of the Peace in 1882, and was called te the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1893. After serving as Superintendent of the Opium Revenué and of Imports and Exports, was appointed Secretary to the Board, under the “Taipingshan Resumption Ordinance,” and .subsequently received the thanks of the Government for his services. He has held a variety of other posts from time to time, including those of Acting Assis- tant Registrar-General, Official Receiver in Bankruptcy, Acting Registrar of the Supreme Court, Acting Land Officer, Acting Registrar of Companies, Official Administrator, and Official Trustee ; was appointed to his present position in October, 1903. Mr. Seth is a member of the Hongkong Club anRoad.
MR. HENRY HESSEY JOHNSTON GOMPERTZ, the first Police Magistrate and Coroner of Hongkong, has spent nearly twenty years in the Civil Service, his appointment as a cadet dating from 1890. For nearly seven years he was in the Straits Settlements, and during that time he acted in a magisterial capacity on several occa- sions, and also as Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court, Penang. He came to Hong- kong in August of 1897 as Assistant Regis trar-General, and served on the Commission appointed to report on the interpretation scheme. Before receiving his present posi- tion, in October of 1907, he was for two years president of the Land Court, and had acted as Police Magistrate, Attorney-General, and Puisne Judge. He is a Bachelor of Arts of Oxford and a member of the Bar (1899). He speaks the Tie-Chin, Hok-kien and Can- tonese dialects.
MR. FRANCIS ARTHUR HAZELAND, the second Police Magistrate of Hongkong, was appointed Clerk to the Puisne Judge in November, 1878, and subsequently discharged the duties of First Clerk of the Supreme Court and Marshal of the Colonial Court of Admiralty, Acting Chief Clerk in the Colonial Secretary's office and Acting Clerk of Councils, and Deputy Registrar. While on leave in 1899 he was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn. Since his return to the Colony in the following year he has served for several long terms as Acting Police Magistrate and Coroner. His present substantive appoint- ment dates from Igol.
THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL.—A_biographical sketch of Mr. William Rees-Davies, the Attorney-General, will be found under the heading “Executive and Legislative Councils.”
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MR. FRANCIS BULMER LYON BOWLEY, Crown Solicitor and Notary Public, was born
in 1868, at Bristol, and received his educa- tion at the Bristol Grammar School. He was admitted a Solicitor in London in 1890, and in 1893 came to Hongkong to join Mr. H. L. Dennys. Seven years later he was appointed Crown Solicitor in succession to Mr. Dennys, and at the same time undertook the duties of Secretary, Librarian, and Curator at the City Hall, which he fulfilled for six years. He is on the committee of the Hong- kong Law Society.
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MR. GEORGE HERBERT WAKEMAN, who has been in the Hongkong Government Service for about seven years and has held the position of Land Officer and Official Receiver in Bankruptcy since August, 1905, was born on June 15, 1866, and educated at Caius College, é ridge. He was appointed Assistant Land Officer on June 29, 1900, and was made a Justice of the Peace in the same year. Mr. Wakeman is an enthusiastic rifle- shot, and in 1906-7 was honorary secretary of the Volunteer Reserve Association, founded by Sir Matthew Nathan.
