The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1857-09-17
TIE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
TBUPSDAY. September IL.

By the good will of our late beloved Sovereign,
! whose memory will never cease in the hearts of
his people, the Hawaiian kingdom enjoys a de
gree of constitutional freedom. which ranks it
foremost amang the nations that can boast of so
cial, politica3Ror religious freedom. Partaking
largely of the elements which constitute a demo-
cracy, it respects the vested right of its ancient
rulers, and maintains a limited monarchy.
The constitution of 1852 vests the supreme
power of the kingdom in the King, the Legislature
and the Judiciary. These three powers, when
fully and ably exercised, may be said to balance
each other; ON the other hand, when the infu-
ence of either predominates, the Others become
subservient, and the result which must follow will
be the injury of the public interests. For in
stance, if the power of the King becores so DOM
inant as to override the formation or acts of the
Legislature in contrayention of popular rights, or
to control the acts of the Judiciary to the open
violation of legal enactments, the result would be
clear-feuds and contentious must arise which,
all history admonishes. e~ndangers the sovereignty
itself. Or should the power of the Courts become
oppressive and venal, and their acts be in open
violation of private and popular rights, the same
result would follow. 1t is only when the three
constitutional powers named, I'LL each their APP
pointed limits, and do not exceed them, that the
greatest degree of peace and security is given to
the nation.
The constitution grants to the people a share
in the exercise of the supreme power of the king
dom. This is vested in the House of Representa-
tives. This body is or should be purely demo
cratic in contradistinetion to the House of Mobiles,
which is hereditary and aristocratic, if the ter
can be applied in this kingdom. The latter is a
bulwark to the power of the King, the former
should represent the interests and passions of the
people.
The sessions of the Legislature were formerly
annual, but at the last session in 1856 the consti-
tuition was SO altered as to make them biennial.
Whether this change is wise or not is a question
which time alone can decide.
The right conceded to the people by the con-
~stitution to share in the government by the
choice of persons to represent themselves has
never been here 50 priced as its importance de-
mands. The foreign population being sparse
compared with that of the aboriginal, the bal
ance of power is placed in the hands of the
latter, who are all, or nearly all, entitled to vote.
Foreigners have hitherto taken but very little in
terest in the formation of the representative
branch of the Legislature, and the result has
been that natives have generally filed the house,
many of them entirely ignorant of the first prin-
ciples of political economy. He who has made
any effort to become a representative, however
unqualified for the station has generally beens sue
cessful.
The importance of having an efficient and in
~telligent body of representatives is becoming every
year more observable. With them rests the de- |
cision whether matters of reform proposed shall
be approved and made legal. They should be
men beyond the influence of officers Of the gov
eminent, and should be entirely disconnected from
any government service; for such service must,
in some degree, serve TO restrain their freedom of
action The House of Representatives for the
past few years has been made up largely of per-
SONS 50 employed, and the result of their deliber-
atoms ON ministerial measures has been BIASED by
such service. In each year a large number of
judges have been returned as representatives
whose great object appears to be to increase their
salaries and the salaries of their friends. Insome
instances this increase has been resisted, in others
submitted to, till the salaries of judges through
out the kingdom are now considerably larger than
they were five or six years ago.
Our Legislatures heretofore have been little else
than a mere form, their labors being chalked out
by ministers, whose leadings have been too often
implicitly followed, without inquiring fully into
the operation of each measure proposed, or the
motives which have originated it. Nor can it be
expected that any material change will take place
while three-fourths of the lower house con-
sists Of members who know little or nothing of
the results which may follow their acts.
To remedy this, foreigners should be elected as
representatives, for they possess more intelligence
ana capacity to understand the workings of any
new measures that may be laid before them.
Although the pay attaching for the service is a
mere p~ittance to any foreigner who is capable of
acting as a representative, and cannot be called a
fair remuneration for leaving his business for two
or three months, yet those who have chosen this
kingdom for their future home should be willing
to sacrifice personal interest for the public good,
and take pride in the national prosperity.
We do not advocate the exclusion of native
representatives from the House, but maintain that
the body should comprise men Of such intelli-
gence and fitness as are suited TO the work de-
manded, whether they be natives or foreigners.
A majority of the representatives should consist
of foreigners, as carrying with them more intel
ligence than the same number of natives; and as
far as possible, representatives should not be in
the employ Of the government There can be no
injustice to the native population in the choice of
a foreigner, for the interests of the two are iden-
teal, where the latter is domiciliated for life.
Every pesson chosen to represent u district
should also be a resident Of that district, provided
a suitable person can be procured
The election FOR representatives takes place in
January next, and the Legislature meets in April
following. Important measures viii probably be
brought before that body, to some of which we