Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1881-03-05

WE desire to call attention to sections 3lS
and 3l9 of the Civil Code. The former, 3ls,
enacts that "The Marshal and Sheriff, and in
all other districts than Honolulu and Lahaina,
the several District Justices, shall ex-offico
act as Coroners. Section $40 provides that as
soon as any Coroner shall have notice of the
death of any person, within his jurisdiction,
supposed to have come to his death by
"poisoning, violence, or IA any suspicious
manner" he shall forthwith issue his sum
mons, ETC.
Now it seems to us that this law was not
complied with in the case of the man Louis
Young, who was picked up in the street in
sensible and died in the police station the fol-
lowing morning, in the course of last week.
Had it not been for the urgent representations
of the Deputy Attorney General, and the
ready assistance of the Marshal, there would
have been no post mortem examination held,
and the cause of death would be still un-
known. The autopsy revealed tho cause of
death, viz, the fracture of n rib and the con-
sequent injury of the intercostal artery, but as
To how the man came by these injuries, is
still an unascertained matter. Two reports
are extant-one stating that the man while
drunk was injured by passing hack, and tho
other that lie fell sideways on the curb of the
sidewalk, and thus received his death blow.
These are questions which should not be
left open to doubt, and an inquest seems to be
the only satisfactory way OF settling them.
Section 3l9 instructs the Coroner to ascertain
by verdict of jury when. hom, and by Uhot
means the man came to his death. In the
case in question, no one knows either how or
by what means the man came to his death. 1t
ia not enough to learn by post mortsm exami-
nation the physical causes which extinguished
life, but ,chen, hor, and By ,chat means those
causes or agencies were brought into action.
Section 3ls provides that except in Honolulu
aud Lahaina the "several District Justices
shall ex-oflicio act as Coroners," while section
329 DEGREES that "When any Coroner shall
take an inquest upon the dead body of a
stranger, or, being called for that purpose,
shall not think IL necessary, on view of the
body, that any inquest should be held, he shall
cause tho body to be decen'ly buried" We
do not care to argue out the logic Of phrase
such as this, which prescribes that when any
Coroner "shaH take an inq.esf," lie may de-
eide himself, il he pleases, that he "does no
Mink necessary, on view Of such body, Ma
any inquest shall Be taken" ETC., but merely
| point out that this section 500 destroys any
usefulness conferred by all the preceding en-
actments on the subject. from 3ls UPWARDS.
With all due Difference to our District JUS
tices, we cannot help thinking it a mistake to
authorize any one man to decide upon the
question of, shall or shall not an inquest be
holden, in the case Of man coming to his
death in a Suspicious manner" The District
Justice may be q mill-owner, and may by
carelessness or negligence have been actually
criminally contributary to the death Of man
by his machinery, and in this case tho law
provides he shall cause the body to be de-
Gently buried. We hope our Legislators will
examine this strange section, and when oppor-
tunity offers, sec to its amendment or extnc-
tion.