The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1865-10-07
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
OCTOBER !


Our remarks Of last week, concerning the
administration Of justice in the Police Court,
have been pretty generally commented upon,
and have caused some severe structures 10 be
passed upon the incumbent Of that Court. 1t
seems that several individuals have been cogni-
zant of the stretch of authority exercised, but
none saw Il; 10 ~criticise. and thus save an
unfortunate from imprisonment.
The question naturally arises, were none Of
the officers of His Majesty's Government know
ing u the unwarrantable course Of the Police
Justice? 1t is reasonable TO suppose that the
Attorney General should know Of it, called
upon, as he doubtless has been, to prosecute
ON behalf of the crown, and we have good
authority for stating that he was knowing to
the practice and none can doubt for a moment
that he also knew it to be illegal, and that it
was his duty to protect any and all Of His
A1ajesty's subjects from unlawful Imprisonment.
We have heard it rumored that the Attorney
General did call the attention of the Police
Justice to the illegality of the act, but that
there wes a difference of opinion in the matter,
which should have been Immediately referred to
the Supreme Bench for n decision, but, prob
ably owing to the more important private
matters of the Attorney General, the subject
was overlooked and the malpractice was con-
tinued. The liberty of every subject should
be respected-but more particularly a class who,
by circumstance of birth and education, have no
distinct idea of their rights as guaranteed to
them by the Constitution and laws of the
kingdom-and by none more religiously than
by those placed in authority over them.
Imagine the same act of injustice and hardship
perpetrated upon-a foreigner, who had q full
knowledge of his rights, and who had, through
the badgering of an attorney, perhaps, from
being misunderstood by an interpreter, been led
to make some contradiction to his direct tes-
timony, Immediately snapped up by a Judge
aud told that he was guilty of perjury, and
that it was a contempt of Court, and for it
he should commit him to prison for thirty days.
Would not the Judge be made to suffer in
case the party was confined, even for a day?
But we are knowing to a case oe peculiar hard
ship, none the less so because the parties were
natives. a man was brought up for an offence,
for which, if found guilty, he could but suffer
a fine of five dollars, and in his defence called
upon his wife for her testimony, and for some
misstatement of facts she was imprisoned for
thirty days, or was go sentenced, but has not
as yet served out the full period. Let the
party be black or white, and grant that the
separation of a native-born Hawaiian from his
wife is no great hardship, still the principle
is the same, and such reasoning is or should
be foreign to the point at issue.
Is the Police Justice not liable to n suit
for damages for false imprisonment, or would
the Attorney General 90 into Court with an
armful of authorities, and pray their HonOrs
of the Supreme Bench that the case be ruled
out of Court on the ground of the offence being
merely an error of Judgment?
We have heard it stated, as n reason for
this course on the part Of the Police Justice,
that it was useless TO send n native on m
indictment for perjury before a native jury;
that he would be acquitted nine times out of
ten and that consequently the officer consti-
tuted himself Judge and jury, and thus robbed
n subject of His Majesty OF n sacred right,
that Of trial by jury. as well as depriving him
of his liberty. Granted that the Witnesses do
perjure themselves, two wrongs never made one
right.
Whether the Police Justice he fortunate
enough to escape a suit for damages or not, n
reprimand from the Supreme Bench would not
come amiss. and would prove to His Majesty's
subjects than when offences are committed by
n public servant, and complaints made to those
having authority, they will receive the con-
sideration and attention which they have a right
to expect.