Polynesian., 1845-01-18
thein ny all good men, much less ought they
to expect it from untutorcd natives.


The Able Castan is next found in a court
OF justice at Eva, with a number of Witness
cs whom he had brought before the Judge to
tastcn upon those two natives the crime of
insulting him. | shall examine the nature
OF this crime presently. But first it bchoovcs
me to consider the AbbG's christian spirit, as
manifest throughout. The Inferior Judge at
Eva is no more a lurist than the generality
of common magistrates or Justices of the
peace in other countries, and having been
instructed that the Bible, as translated into
the Hawaiian tongue, is the word of God,
and that in administering the oath TO Witness
es or jurors, he must present them with that
sacred volume for confirmation of the oath,
he did not, nor could it be expected that he
would, critically investigate the meaning of
the use of bible at all, in swearing a wit
ness to tell the truth. He had always before
presented to his witnesses the Palapala He
molelc, or Christian Bible, and no one before
had ever objected to its being used by him
in swearing witnesses. But the Able Cas-
tan's witnesses were Catholics, and he wish
ed them sworn upon his Latin Bible, instead
of the Palapala Hemolele, and the magistrate
naturally enough thought this would be wrong
because a departure from the usual mode
The magistrate, not investigating the reason
for using the bible, not considering that the
bible was used simply to strike the witness
with religious awe, and thus doubly bind him
to speak the truth. Not knowing that, whether
any bible was used or not, the witness who
was simply e%nioined in open court to speak
the truth, would be equally liable to the pains
and penalties ofperjury ifhc told a falschood;
not knowing that in England, the United
States, and in France, Mahomedans were
sworn upon the Alkoran, Jews upon the Pen
tateuch, Quakers, by the uplifted hand and
covered, Protestants, upon the protestant
translation of the Four Evangclists, Catho-
lies, upon the Holy Cross, and that Atheists
were not admissible at all as witnesses, be-
cause they have no belief of a future state of
rewards and punishments; the Judge at Eva
refused to comply with Able Castan's rea-
sonable request, and would use no other book
than the Palapala Hemolclc. This was strict
ly wrong in the Eva magistrate, and ought
in future to be corrected. A witness or a
Juror ought always to be sworn according to
his most sacred religious belief or fancy, so
as to place him under the most imperative
necessity of telling the truth, and thus sub
serve, in the greatest possible degree, the
cause of Justice in criminal and civil cases.
If Il witness were sworn upon the Dictionary
or upon the Almanac-he believing these
books to be of divine inspiration-it would
be proper, but if the witness believed them
not to be of divine origin, his obligation to
tell the truth would be greatly lessencd. 1t
would depend solely upon the punishment
annexed to perjury in this world-hc might
not consider his obligation a religious or sa-
cred one. Hence, every party to a lawsuit,
and every party accused of a crime, a mis-
dcmeanor, or a tort, has an indcieasiblc right
to have the witnesses arrayed against him,
or whom he introduces to support the truth of
his cause, placed under that obligation to
speak the truth which the party litigant has
reason to believe the witness will be most
impressed with. TO deny him this, is, in a
measure, to deny him Justice, and the Gov
crnmcnt should cautiously avoid in future a
iastidious adherence to one only and eXclu-
siyc form Of administering oaths in its courts
ofiusricc. But the Able Castan, as a Chris
tian, should not have flown into a passion
about so natural a departure from the usual
rule in this respect, by the Eva magistrate,
who could not be expected to clearly under
stand these subtle distinctions. Neither
ought the reverend Able to have appealed
to diplomacy and the vengeance of his native
country, for so vcnial an offence. His hay
ing lone so, ~cyinccs an ovcrbearing and CO.
crcivc spirit, unbccoming the christian char
actcr. Nor is this c~ocrcivc spirit solely
in.crcntial. 1t appears from the testimony
that the Reverend Able, when the Palapala
Hemolelc was rendered to the Witnesses, in
open court, struck at it, and pushed it aside
with his cane, telling the magistrate that it
was a hetcrodoy book, and, therefore, he
would not have the oath administered upon