Pitcairn's Island  Notes  Source  Whalesite

Colonial Office minutes regarding proposal
to send a Judicial Commissioner to Pitcairn
(May 31, 1898)

Mr Cox,

The Admiralty raise difficulties as to the proposed method of trying Christian, which they say will involve one of HM's Ships going twice to Pitcairn (1) to bring Christian & the witnesses to Fiji & (2) to take the witnesses back after the trial is over.

      They ask the S of S to consider whether it might not be possible to send a special Judicial Commissioner to the Island, after it has been brought within the scope of the Pacific O in C, to hold the trial on the spot, which would necessitate only one journey of a ship of war, and would, they think, be more conducive to a satisfactory result.

      On 5084 Mr Wingfield said the trial must certainly take place in Fiji, as the Judicial Commissioner could not be spared to go to Pitcairn, and the sentence would certainly have to be carried out in Fiji. But I think the O in C enables the Admiralty's plan to be substituted for the one originally proposed, and already communicated to the High Commissioner in the desp. in 7650.

      Art. 8 (2) of the O in C provides for the appointment by the High Commissioner of a Judicial Commissioner "for particular purposes or for a particular time", being a person of legal knowledge & experience, when the attendance of a Judicial Commissioner holding office is impracticable or would be inconvenient. Art. 66 provides that "where a person is charged before a Court elsewhere than in Fiji with a crime punishable with death ... the court, on being satisfied by information or evidence on oath that there is reasonable ground for putting such person upon his trial for such crime (which could be supplied in this case by Captain Dyke, to whom the man confessed) shall, if arrangement can be made for his trial, at or near the place where he is charged, by a Judicial Commissioner, arrange accordingly " ... The trial by Art. 68 should be by the Court with assessors, unless the prisoner consents to be tried summarily without assessors.

      The only difficulty that I can see in adopting this method is that the Pitcairners might be unwilling to act as assessors, but they seem to have taken a very proper view of the case hitherto, and I don't think a failure of justice need be apprehended on that score and by art. 98 assessors can be dispensed with if absolutely necessary, or may 'belong to a British ship'.

      There is no doubt that the plan proposed by the Admiralty would be far less expensive, and would cause much less dislocation of Pitcairn business. The Chief Magistrate of the Island & another senior member of the Council might act as assessors or some of the officers of the ship which takes the Judicial Commissioner. If Christian was convicted and (as Mr Chamberlain suggested) the death penalty commuted for a very long term of imprisonment, he could be taken back to Fiji & there imprisoned under Art. 78. On the whole I am inclined to favour the Admiralty's suggestion, unless any [grave] reason can be discovered against it.

Mr Wingfield

I think we must act as the Admiralty desire.

? (1) Inform Admiralty that this will be done

(2) Inform the High Commissioner & ask him to take the necessary steps on arrival of the ship at Fiji.

As to the Judicial Commissioner, has the High Commissioner a spare man? Had we not better direct him to nominate a man & shall we send some one from here or Australia.

      I agree – my chief reason for proposing that the accused should be tried at Fiji was the difficulty of providing a Judicial Commr

      Write to Admy as proposed.

      Telegraph to High Commr the change of plan and say that if Berkeley cannot be spared he must appoint a Judicial Commr ad hoc under s 8 — and if there is no one in Fiji whom he can appoint he should ask Govr of N.S. Wales to recommend some one.

      Sir Henry Spencer Berkeley, (1851–1918), Chief Justice, Fiji (1889-1902) and Attorney-General of Hong Kong.

      Harry Albert Christian was born on Pitcairn Island on Mar. 11, 1872, one of 12 children of Alphonso Downs Christian and Sarah McCoy. In the early 1890s a relationship developed between Harry and Julia Warren. A daughter, Eleanor Linda Warren, was born to the couple on Aug. 14, 1895. Some time later Harry's attentions turned to another woman. On Jun. 17, 1897, Harry killed Julia and the child and threw their bodies into the sea. Though the bodies were never found, the crimes were found out, and Harry admitted to them. Harry was tried on Pitcairn and found guilty of murder. He was taken on H.M.S. Royalist to Suva, Fiji. There, on October 8, 1898, in the Suva gaol, he was hanged for the murders.
Source: Pitcairn Islands Study Center "Who Are the Pitcairners?"

      H. Bertram Cox was Assistant Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. He was recognized as a 'legal expert'.

      Sir Henry Francis Wilson (1859-1937) distinguished. British
colonial administrator; was private secretary to Joseph Chamberlain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1898.

      Sir Edward Wingfield KCB (1834–1910), was a British barrister and civil
servant who held the position of Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1897 to 1900.

Document no. 110. May 31, 1898. "Colonial Office minutes regarding proposal to send a Judicial Commissioner to Pitcairn". Pages 1670 to 1675.

Pitcairn's Island  Notes  Source  Whalesite