The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1864-08-13
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
AUGUST 10.

been taken up almost exclusively with the dis
cussion OF the articles imposing property quail
fcations both on Representatives and on voters,
the King being present at the sessions since
Monday. After two days warm discussion, the
section referring TO Representatives passed IS
below
AsrIcLE 81. No person shall be eligible fOr a Representative
male subject Of the Kingdom. who shan have arrived st the full
who shall understand accounts-and shan have resided in the
kinsdom' FOR at lessi three year.; immedlaiely preceding us
Of q clear valve. over and above all Membranes, of At leAs;
Ieas, one huadred and Any dollars. derived from any properly,
or some lawful employment or who shall at any timehase 6een
been clearly sho~n ihA; he was not guilty, and he shall have
The change is one which will give general salts
faction to all parties. As the article now stands,
it will be necessary for every Representative TO
show that he is possessed of FIVE hundred dollars
worth of property, or an income of $50 a
year. Had the restriction been still greater, it
might work even better, for any man who has
tact enough to secure an election, will probably
be able 10 show that he is possessed of one OF
those requirements, whether it be true or not,
which he might not do, were the limitation
higher.
The other question-that of restricting the
right to vote to those only possessed of $50 in
property or an income of $60-creates more diff
ference of opinion. That elections here have
been open to abuse, affords no argument for the
change because elections are in every country
subject 10 abuse, and nowhere more than in
those in which the right of voting is most
restricted. The property qualifications viii ap-
pear 10 foreigners 30 small as to be Insignificant;
but their application will be solely TO the ma
tives. and will operate to exclude from the polls
a large portion, perhaps one-half or even two
thirds OF the present voters, because not one in
q hundred of the native kuleQnas or lands are
valued at $50, and a large proportion are held
in the names # the wives or mothers, and not
by males.
Again. every male subject, between Is and 80
years, is taxed $500 no matter how poor he
may be,-the same tax that his neighbor with
a salary of $4,000 pays. The tax was imposed
because he was allowed TO vote, and thus share
in the government and making of laws. If the
right to vote is taken away, should not the tax,
too, be abolished SO far as it applies to these
poor men, who if they can't raise their dues,
are arrested, thrown in prison, tried and con-
demned to work out the tax with the costs Of
court, at a rial or a quarter per diem?
1t is the principle involved in the question that
causes opposition to the change. \ man cannot
be too poor or too ignorant to comprehend the
privilege of suffrage. He knows that when he
casts his vote, it is to elect a Representative who
is to assist in making the laws, regulating his
taxes as well as other matters. So long, then,
as each poor man is taxed five dollars, SO long
should he have the privilege of aiding in the
of those who are charged with the in
or decreasing of the burden of taxes
on him.
The Mobiles should lock at this matter intelli-
gently. 1t is a right that pertains to the COM
mon people erclusirely. They have yielded one
Of the ttro points, which they have been asked
10 give up. They have assented to imposing a
qualification of $500 on their Repre-
The other they think they cannot
7ield, because they have enjoyed it for II years,
without injury to themselves, or to the King
nd Nobles-but ON the other hand they claim
t has been one of the strongest incentives in
improving them, and elevating them in the
ocial scale The MOBILES. then, in the spirit of
ompromise, should be willing to yield in this
natter to the Delegates, whose rights alone are
allied in question, and assent to the adoption Of
he present system, as embodied in the 18th Arti-
lie of the Constitution Of 1852.
The system Of registration of voters, which it !
proposed to adopt, is a good one. and will {
rObably result in correcting the abuse of cleo :
Ons. Most certainly, if the officers are vigil
1t will be all that is necessary to give US
lr and impartial elections, as no man can then
unless he Is registered as u Taxpayer, and 7
rs paid his tar. !