The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-08-23
THE PACIFIC
Commercial AoOertiser
SATURDAY. AUGUST %.
THE DEPARTMENT OF THE JUDI
CARY.

I'LL ALL = VI 49, NN0
CIARY.
No country cln prosper in the long run,-no
temporary prosperity Is secure.-without 4 wise
administration Of tie laws. Mistakes in govern
mental policy or in Legislative action may occur
but a. long ~ there u a well organized, Inde-
pendent judiciary. with a Constitutional basis
guaranteeing to all the protection Of law, 90 long
the community are assured that their essential
rights will be secured. With such protection
capital Il safely invested, the rights Of labor will
not be encTOachei upon. and government obtains
thar confidence which is It's greatest strength.
The oil maxim Of English law. that The King
can DO no wrong, means, that the scales Of JUS
ticc shall be evenly held by his Ministers Of
Law, 20 that no one shall wrong another or in
jure society with IMMUNITY.
From considerations like these, we invite the
attention Of thinking men in our community TO
the proposition Of some notifications Of our
present judicial system. \ more uniform adj
mInistratiOn Of law can be effected even on the
present appropriation for the Department Of the
Judiciary, by which this arm Of the government
would be made more efficient.
For instance, we have three Justices Of the
Supreme Court resident in Honolulu, whose time
would be better utilized if they were required to
perform some Of the duties now performed by
poorly paid Circuit Judges and by District and
Police Justices. Our system Of double appeals
is expensive and open to serious objections. The
Circuit Judges have no original jurisdiction ex-
cept in Probate matters and therefore serve
merely as intermediate appellate courts, by which
costs and expenses accumulate, evidence is lost
and witnesses are more likely to be tempered
with. Any party can appeal from a District or
Police Justice to a Circuit Judge, and again to q
Circuit or the Supreme Court. This is worse
than useless. We should say that there should
be a Justice Of the Supreme Court resident in
each circuit, and that appeals should lie directly
from the decision of 4 Magistrate to a jury on
facts, or to the Supreme or Circuit Court with
out jury, on the law, with the usual writs Of
error and bills of exceptions to the Supreme
Court in banco.
The bancO terms Of this court could be held
here semi-annually by all the Justices, with
power in the Chief Justice to call a special quar-
terly term, whenever the needs of justice require.
The District Justices could be made similar to
English Justices of the Peace, by diminishing
their present jurisdiction both in civil and GRIM
inal causes, giving them power to try matters of
less Importance than they now try, and to bind
over parties for trial at the jury terms. We
should have then a more uniform and intelligent
administration of justice upon the circuits than
is possible under the present system. In lessen
ing the work Of the District Justices, their sala-
ries could be reduced accordingly. The present
twenty District Justices would well be paid an
average salary of $500, instead Of $500 as now.
The Police Courts of HiiO and Lahaina could be
sustained by District Justices with n salary of
$500, instead Of their present salary of 81 900.
The offices Of Circuit Judges being abolished,
these changes would permit S., 800 annually to
be transferred to two more Justices of the Su-
preme Court. This would give US five Justices
for our highest Tribunal, who would sit in banco
at stated terms in Honolulu, and would hold all
trials at Nisi Prius, in Equity, Probate and Ad-
miralty on the circuits to which they are as
signed, besides trying many of the causes now
brought before the lower magistrates.
These suggestions of course would require full
consideration, and undoubtedly would receive
further modification. But we think they furnish
4 basis of improvement. The economy of pub
lie funds in costs and fines alone which would re-
suit from abolishing double appeals, would more
than compensate for any increased expenditure
which such changes might at first involve. But
the saving to private parties would he still
greater.
We have no faith IN hasty legislation, more
especially in such matters but we believe in
using our money and our men to the best adyan-
tage. This is not a question of the convenience
or the necessities of individuals, but of the
whole country, and as such we commend it as
worthy Of consideration.