The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-06-04
Legislative Jottings.

The proceedings of the Assembly for the present
week possess more than ordinary interest, par
! ticularly the debates on the Master and Servant
Law. They are given as fully as our space will
admit, and should be read by all, especially the
two principal speecbes-thOse of the Attorney
General and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. 1t
was not generally known what the opinions of the
Attorney General were, until he spoke ON Monday
last, although it was generally believed that he
did not favor the law. And his position on the
question was undoubtedly known to his associates
in the Cabinet, Notwithstanding the public asser-
tons to the contrary of the Minister of Foreign
Affairs.
1t is we'll for the Hawaiian people that there is
one man in the Cabinet, capable of viewing this
great question in a disinteTested light, as every
Judge should be capable of acting on every ques-
ton that comes up before him. The Attorney
General has not taken an active part in this dis
cussIon, before it came up in the House, because
his is an advisory Office and probably nc would
not have done so in the House, had not his silence
been construed into Il support OF the law as 1t
stands on the statute book.
We honor the man, whoever he may be, who
can rise above the restraints of political bondage
ana DOiQly ucCldTC IudI u INV milSh LO DOiO'S
! preiudicial to the interests of one class of the
people, ought to be repealed or amended. And
sad day will it be for the liberties of Hawaii nei,
when every public officers opinion of right or
wrong must be controlled Dy one who assumes to
dictate to all-when none can sit in the councils
of the nation but such as are willing to sell them
selves, body and soul, like Esau of old, for the
cmoluments of office.
The argument of one Of the honorable members
from Hilo, to the effect that if the Constitution
stands in the way of the Masters and Servants
Law remaining on the statute book, the Consti-
tuition ought to be set aSide-has a very bad look.
We have once in our day seen the Constitution
q set aside 8" because it did not suit the whims of
Ministers. The next time it is set aside,'
Hot 5f tbggWt9bb fffeRp hfiEAfr fg Of Hawaiian independence will
The debate on the expenditure of the whole APP
preparation Of So 900 for the late NJ. Kekuanaoa,
who died before the first year of the appro-
p%riation bill had expired, has been quite interest
ing, showing as it does that native lIawaiians
begin to understand the principle Of ministerial
responsibility. There was no legal authority for
expanding one cent of his salary beyond the day
Of his death, and if the balance of S. 800 OF
that appropriation was spent, unauthorized, the
Minister should be held accountable therefor,
and, unless the mistake is r%ectifed, perhaps
censured.
The effort to bring the American Consul before
the bar of the Assembly to answer for alleged
Irregularities, either betrays an objectionable
ignorance of international right or Il determine
ton to insult a friendly power. Fortunately the
good sense of the Assembly checked the effort of
certain parties disposed to create trouble in this
matter.