The Hawaiian gazette., 1882-04-26

the working of the American Constitution
He set his individual Judgment against
their collective Judgment, and defeated
them. Is he wiser than they Has he
better opportunities for searching out rea-
sons than they In the prutracted dis
cussions in the Senate and House on tbe
Bill. were not the same reasons advanced
against the passage Of It which he cited
in the veto Of 1t II these reasons pre-
vailed with him. why not with them
The answer TO this develops the peculiar
working Of the American system. Divided
responsibility Is one thing; sole respOnsi-
bility Is another. The Congressman says:
/ did not wish 10 oppose the sentiments
OF my colleagues or he says, ] voted for
party purposes But this President stands
alone. He feels a direct responsibility, and
should he conservative. Even If he Is
governed by no purer motives than the
Congressman. his elevated position makes
him conservative and careful. Il Is by no
means uncommon for Congress TO pass
doubtful bills, for party purposes. knowing
that the bills are unwise. but leaving TO
the President the disagreeable task of null
lifying their act. In this case. the very
reasons which failed 10 operate on the ex-
on the President Why should a man who
has had no experience IL Legislation have
a better sense of what Is right. OF what Is
lawful. Of what Is fair. than Senators who
have distinguished records Wicked peO-
pie. who refuse to believe IN the distressing
virtue of American politics, say, sometimes,
that there Is seldom much difference Of
opinion. but that the passage Of bill by
Congress. and its veto by the President,
tacitly understood by and between the
parties. Is a neat way Of getting out OF an
uncomfortable piece Of business. How
ever this may be, the veto OF the Chinese
Bill Is an admirable illustration Of what
some thinking Americans call the despotic
power Of the President. To be sure,
two-thirds vote may oyerrule him, but
to get that. requires much unanimIty.
The President, generally. Is supreme.
There Is a ludicrOus side to this particular
veto 1t Is the attitude of the pedagogue
20 the small boy. Says the President TO
Congress: Don't you see. You miserable
small boys. what YOU have done Are you
not old enough to know better Here,
you 90 off and violate the plain provisions
Of treaty. Can't you read Where are
your senses I'll play the lash Of the veto
whip around your legs for awhile" What
viii snubbed Congress do2
TIE section 429 of the Civil Code reads
as follows:
The said Minister shall have the power, either
in person. or through MS chief clerk upon the ap
pication Of any alien foreigner, stating his inteu
ton 10 became permanent resident Of the king
dom. 70 administer the oath Of Allegiance to such
foreigner if satisfied that it viii be for the good
Of the kingdom. ard that such foreigner Is not Of
immoral character, nor @ refugee from the justice
Of some other country. nor cesertlns sailor,
marine, soldier Ur officer.
The said Minister" refers to the Minis
ter Of the Interior, who by the previous
section Is authorized to have the superin-
tendence and direction of the naturaliza-
ton of foreigners" This is very dan
gerous power to put into the hands Of one
man: it has been pointed out before IN
these columns, but It Is just as well to
keep the matter before the minds Of the
public, and especially Of the members Of
the Legislature The clause quoted makes
no provision for any term Of residence In
the country: II does not even ask that the
foreigner should enter into an undertak-
ing to live in the country. It simply re
duires that he should state his intention.
not a very difficult thing to do. but he
might change his intention in a week or
even IN shorter time, should he think
fit
We are importing a very large number
Of foreigners" OF all uationalities into
this country, and It Is decidedly wise for
Us to look the question of naturalization
squarely in the face; It Is one that VIII
come up before long. We cannot expect
that these people viii long continue to
live here without making a claim to exer
else political rights The atmosphere by
which they are surrounded, the keen inter
est, which all people, who belong to the
Saxon race, take In political matters viii
soon permeate their minds; and we shall
have a succession Of knocks at the portals
Of citizenship, which viii keep our Minis
ter OF the Interior pretty busy.
But it Is not only the people who viii
ask that we must beware Of: they must
and VIII come, and We cannot well refuse
them admittance. after we have induced
them to take up their residence amongst
Us. 1t Is the power Of the Minister TO
make citizens Of whomsoever he pleases.
at what time he pleases, that Is dangerous.
As long as We have careful and conserva-
tive men in the office there Is no danger:
but we need not always expect 10 have
men Of this character at the head Of
affairs; headstrong, radical men may oc-
cupy this position. men who might find
themselves completely at variance with
the conServative and property holding
party. To carry out a particularly ohnoN
ious scheme. aud Vet give IL the appear
auce Of being the unanimous desire of the
majority. such a Minister might fairly
food the country with votes He might
keep quite within the letter of the law.
for he might srZ,te nom his point of view
Il was fur "thp wnOdOf the llnClom" that
the mon should he natuaGnsi That tins
is an extreme case viii resdilN W. allowed
but 1t is a possibility II not "a probability,
and We should pro,ije against thc rossi.
mlty.
Whs, ts pcclci Is clsusc requiring a
certain timc ~ prsijuncc ip the country
Ceforc mSp can lc nstuyalaej} M5hot
that no man when under contract should
be allowed to nslUshaa This would keop
out entnN,ly thc class ~ imported lslopaT,
until they became virtual citiscn7, owning
a little property ami thus having a dis
bnct >tskc IN the prosperity ~ the country
With rcgard to Chinese thew should be
special regulations othcr countries efe
VERY much ayefre b. allowing thc natural
isaton ot cclcstlal,, and w, with our VERY
sparse population, should be ,till mogv
chary, fhere h considerable food Ron
thought IN this subject it VIII dophtle,,
he brought up for discussion a htile later
ON IN the year,
BlIOm the ReNt ISSUE, the Lrgislature
Of lSSs viii havemet, i, is almost needless
TO point out how important bearing upon
the future Of this country the actions Of
this body viii have Before the elections,
tins was pointed out by the newspapers Of
tins city, ne mstteFwhat their line Of poll
ties might he; in fact, all have been long
agreed upon this matter We are stand
ing, as it We're, ON the threshold Of mo
mentous times, Unwise or thoughtless
action may wreck the future Of these