PAWNBROKERS ORDINANCE, 1860

PAWNBROKERS ORDINANCE, 1860

No. 1 of 1860.

To consolidate and amend the laws relating to Pawnbrokers.
[16th April,1860.]
1. The Pawnbrokers Ordinance, 1860.
2. Every person who purchases, receives, or takes in any goods,
and pays money for or advances money upon the same, to an amount

not exceeding 500 dollars, with or under any undertaking, agree-
ment, or condition, express, irnplied, or reasonably to be inferred
from the nature or character of the dealing or the usage in respect
thereof, that the said goods in whole or in part may be afterwards
redeemed or repurchased upon any terms soever, shall be deemed
to be a pawnbroker; and the term 'Iender' in this Ordinance shall

19 and 20 Vict. c. 64 rep. Statute Law Revision Act 1875; 19 and 20 Vict. c.
94 rep. Statute Law Revision Act 1892; 19 and 20 Vict. c. 120 rep. 40 and 41 Vict.
c. 18; For the effect of these repeals see No. 31 of 1911, s. 15.
* As amended by No. 50 of 1911 and No. 51 of 1911.







be held to refer to a pawnbroker, and, as well as the word ' pawn-
brokers',shall include his representatives.
3. No person shall use or exercise the trade or business of a pawn-
broker unless he is the hoder of a prawbroker's licence.

4.-(1) Every such licence shall be gnanted by and at the discretion
of the Captain Superintendent of Police on such conditions touch-
ing fees or otherwise as may be deemed meet.
(2) A licence shall ensure for one year only, but may be renewed
at the like discretion from year to year.

(3) All such fees shall be paid in advance : Provided always that
if any licensee is unwilling to pay the whole fee in advance it shall
be lawful for him to pay it in quarterly instalments in advance
on finding security for such instalments to the satisfaction of the
Refistrar General.


5. A pawnbroker shall not,during the continuance of his licence,
carry on any other trade or occupation in his place of business as
such pawnbroker,except that of pawnbroking and the sale of pledges
forfeited under the provisions of this Ordinance.

6. A pawnbroker shall cause to be painted and kept painted in
large and legible English letters and Chinese characters, over the
door of his said place of business, his name at length, and after his
name the word 'Prawbroker'.

7. A pawnbroker shaIl, whenever required by the Captain Super-
intendent or any Inspector of Police, or by any constable bearing a
written order in that behalf under the hand of the Captain Superin-
tendent,produce for the inspection of the porson so requiring him all
or any goods pledged or deposited with him, and all books and papers
relating to the same.

8. Over and above the principal moneys lent upon any goods
pawned or pledged with the lender he may deemed,receive, and
take from the person applying to redeem the said goods before
redelivering the same, interest after the following rates:-





1st Succeed-
month. ing months
On any sum-
not exceeding 1 dollars, 10 % 3%
exceeding 1 dollar,and not exceeeding 7 dollars, 8% 3%
7 dollars, 14 5% 3%
14 42 3% 2%
42 140 2% 2%
140 2% 1 1/2%

Provided always that special rates inay be charged for cotton
quilts, shoes, leather trunks, copper, iron, lead, tin, gold and silver
watches, jade, and precious stones.

Such principal moneys arid interest shall be taken in full satis-
faction of all charges for or incidental to the loan to which the
same relate : Provided also that the first month's interest shall be
deemed to be due on the first day of the first month and may be
deducted from the amount of the loan agreed upon.

Every lender shall expose in a conspicuous place in his shop a
list, to be furnished by the Registrar General, of the rates charge
able under this section, in Enalish and Chinese.


Every lender failing to expose such list, shall be liable, on sum-
mary conviction, to a fine not exceeding 50 dollars, together with
the forfeiture of his licence if considered necessary.

9. Before any moneys are advanced on any loan, the lender shall
enter or cause to be entered in a book to be kept by him for that pur-
pose, and to be called the 'General Book,' a fair and legible state-
ment according to form 1 in the schedule.

10. The lender shall, at the time of making any loan, deliver to
the borrower a ticket containing a true and legible statement accord-
ino to form 2 in the schedule.


11. In order to entitle any person to redeem from the lender the
goods pledged, the ticket must be returned to the lender by the
person applying to redeem the goods, except as provided for in
section 14.






12. On the tender of any such ticket, together with the full
amount then due for principal and interest, if made within 8
months, or in the case of goods pawned in any part of the New
Territories other than New Kowloon if made within 12 months,
from the day of making the loan, it shall be the duty of the lender
to deliver up to the person tendering the ticket the goods described
therein.

13. The last section shall not extend to cases where, at or pre-
viously to such tender, the lender has had from the borrower or the
owner of the said goods notice not to deliver the same, or has had
knowledge or notice that the same have been, or are suspected to
have been, unlawfully obtained from or lost by the owner; or to
tickets as to which the borrower has taken such proceedings as are
provided by the next section ; in all which cases it shall be the duty
of the lender to withhold the goods.

14.-(1) On the application of any person representing himself to
be the borrower or the owner of the said goods or tickets,as the case
may be, and to have lost or been unlawfully deprived of the same,
it may be the duty of the lender,if the goods are still unredeemed
or unsold, forthwith to deliver to such applicant a copy of the entry
in the General Book, and the said applicant shal immediately
thereupon proceed to a Magistrate and obtain an appointment for
the purpose of verifying by lawful evidence the truth of such
representation.
(2) If the said applicant verifies the same to the satisfaction of
the Magistrate within 7 days then next following,and obtains a
certificate to that effeet, indorsed upon the said copy, it sball be
the duty of the lender, on the copy so indorsed being delivered by
he said applicant, to deliver to him,according to the circumstances
of the case and as the Magistrate may order,another ticket or the
goods, either with or without payment of the principal money or
interest, or both principal money and interest,as the Magistrate
may direct.
15.It shall be the duty of a Magistrate,upon lawful evidence
being given that there are probable grounds for believing that any
goods have been pawned without the privity of their owner,to issue


his warrant for searching any place where the goods may appear to
him to be; and if any of the goods are discovered upon such search,
it shall be the duty of the person executing the warrant to take
them or cause them to be taken into safe keeping to abide the order
of the Magistrate.

16. Subject to the provisions hereinbefore contained goods
pawned as aforesaid shall, from and after the expiration of the
periods mentioned in section 12, if the same are unredeemed,
become the property of the lender absolutely: Provided never-
the less that if at the expiration of such periods respectively the
borrower is desirous of containing the loan for a further period not
exceeding the 8 months, or the 12 months, referred to in section
12, as the case may be, he shall be at liberty to do so on paying
the interest then due. In such case a new ticket shall be issued
and a new entry made in the General Book.

17.-(1) Every person applying to borrow shall, at the time
of his application, give to the pawnbroker to whom such application
is made true information to enable him to employ with the require-
ments of sections 9 and 10.
(2) Every person applying to redeem goods or for a copy of an
entry shall, at the time of his application, give to the person to
whom such application is made a full and true account of himself,
his name, his place of abode, the name and place of abode of the
owner, and the circumstances under which his application is made.
(3) No person shall pawn, or attempt to pawn, the goods of any
other person without being duly authorised or employed in that
behalf.

18. Any pawnbroker to whom any application is made to borrow
or redeem, or for a copy of an entry, who has reasonable cause to
suspect any unlawful practice on the part of the applicant in any
of the above cases, is hereby required to seize and detain such
applicant, and the empowered to call in the aid of any other person for
that purpose; and every person so seized shall, with all reasonable
speed, be delivered into the eustody of a police constable who shall
convey him before a Magistrate.
19.-(1.)A pawnbroker shall be liable to make good all loss or
damage according to a borrower in the cases following,-






(a) where the goods pawned have been stolen, embezzled, lost, or
otherwise improperly disposed of, before the period for the redemp-
tion thereof has elapsed ; and
(b) where the goods, before the said period has elapsed, have, by
the default, neglect, or misfeasance of the Iender, or his servants,
been destroyed,damage,or impaired in value.
(2) In any of the said cases the Magistrate shall allow and award
an amount in satisfaction of such loss or damage, from which shall
be deducted the amount of principal and interest then due in
respect of such goods.

20. No pawnbroker shall receive any goods in pawn from any
person under the age of 10 years.

21. It shall not be lawful for any pawnbroker to receive in pawn
any goods having upon them any mark or sign denoting them to be
or to have been the property of the Crown or of any public depart-
ment.

22. No goods shall be pawned or redeemed before 6 a.m. or after
8 p.m.

23. All adjudications and certificates under this Ordinance shall
be summarily held, determined and granted by a Magistrate and
enforeed according to the laws relating to the jurisdiction of
Magistrate .

24. In eacb of the following cases, that is to say,-
(1) if any person is convicted of feloniously taking or fraudulently
obtaining any goods and chattels, and it appears to the Court that
the same have been pawned with a pawnbroker ; or
(2) if, in any proceedings before a Magistrate, it appears that any
goods and chattels brought before him have been unlawfully pawned
with a pawnbroker,
the Court or Magistrate, on proof of the ownership of the goods and
chattels, may order the delivery thereof to the owner, either on
payment to the pawnbroker of the amount of the loan advanced by
him thereon, or of any part tbereof, or without payment of such
loan or any part thereof, as to the Court or Magistrate, according







to the conduct of the owner and pawnbroker and the other circum-
stances of the case,may seem just, and fitting.

25. For every offence against this Ordinance, there shall be
imposed the penalties following,-
(1) under sections 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 to 14, a fine not exceeding 200
dollars, together with the forfeiture of the offender's licence, if the
Magistrate so directs:
(2)under section 17 ,imprisonment for any term not exceeding
2 years;
(3)under section 18 or 20, a fine not exceeding 50 dollars,
together with the forfeiture of the offender's licence, if the
Magistrate so directs;
(4) under section 21,a fine not exceeding 500 dollars, together
with the forfeiture of the offender's licence, if the Magistrate so
directs;
(5)under Section 22, a fine not exceeding 100 dollars.
[s. 26, rep. No. 50 of 1911.]
27. Nothing in this Ordinance shall affect the right of appeal
against any adjudication, or the judisdiction of the Snpreme Court,
or any of the laws relating to crimes or offences.

28. Nothing in sections 27,28,39, and 40 of the Summary
Offences Ordinance, 1845, shall affect pawnbrokers.

SCHEDULE.

FORM No. 1, [s. 9.]
Entry in General Book.
The day of Month of Year of


NOTE.-Numbers of loans to continue through one month,and to
commence anew with each succeeding month. Short title. Definition of pawnbroker. Licence. Grant and duration of licence. Restriction of trade of pawnbroking. Notification of place of business. Inspection of goods, books, etc. Interest on loans. List of rates to be exposed in the shop. Book to be kept by pawnbroker. Ticket to be given to borrower. Return of ticket on re-delivery of goods. Delivery of goods on production of ticket and repayment. Exceptions. Provision for case of lost goods or lost ticket. Issue of search warrant for goods pawned without privity of owner. Unredeemed goods to become the property of lender. Information to be given by applicant. Pawnbroker to seize applicant suspected of unlawful practice. Liabilities of pawnbroker. Pawning by children. Taking Crown property in pawn. Hours of business. Procedure. Delivery to owner of property unlawfully pawned, with or without compensation to pawnbroker. Penalties for offences. Appeal. Certain provisions not to apply.

Short title. Definition of pawnbroker. Licence. Grant and duration of licence. Restriction of trade of pawnbroking. Notification of place of business. Inspection of goods, books, etc. Interest on loans. List of rates to be exposed in the shop. Book to be kept by pawnbroker. Ticket to be given to borrower. Return of ticket on re-delivery of goods. Delivery of goods on production of ticket and repayment. Exceptions. Provision for case of lost goods or lost ticket. Issue of search warrant for goods pawned without privity of owner. Unredeemed goods to become the property of lender. Information to be given by applicant. Pawnbroker to seize applicant suspected of unlawful practice. Liabilities of pawnbroker. Pawning by children. Taking Crown property in pawn. Hours of business. Procedure. Delivery to owner of property unlawfully pawned, with or without compensation to pawnbroker. Penalties for offences. Appeal. Certain provisions not to apply.

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