The Hawaiian gazette., 1883-12-26

WHEN a government organ lays down
such a proposition as that in the Idcsriiser
Of the 18th inst, VIZ: that if the Constl-
tuition Of this country gives the Judges Of
the Supreme Court any power to call in
question the acts Of His Majesty in Cabi-
net Council, the sooner It Is amended the
better for everybody" 1t becomes indeed
a question more important TO the country
than the sale Of bonds:
The Premier and his amanuensis of the
idrsrrissr need some enlightenment on sew
eral subjects First, what Is the relation
ship between a king and the officers of
Justice in the kingdom. pre- cminently with
the Judges Of the Supreme Court. Black
stone tells US: As a King cannot misuse
his power without the advice Of evil coun-
sellOrs. and the assistance Of wicked Min
isters, these men may be examined and
punished. The Constitution has therefore,
provided, by means OF indictment, and
parliamentary impeachment, that no man
shall dare TO assist the crown in contra
dicti0n to the laws of the land Again,
in reference TO the relationship of q king
10 the justice of the country, the same au
thority says: BY the fountains Of justice
the law does not mean the author or origi-
nal. but only the distributor. Justice Is
not derived from the king as his free gift
but he Is the steward of the public, TO dis
pense il TO whom II Is due He Is, not the
spring but the reservoir 3 the original
power Of judicatTe, by the fundamental
principles of society, Is lodgedin the soci-
ETY. at large"
Having seen how the letter and spirit Of
the law provide for the respective positions
and powers of the king and judges, it may
be well to cite few instances from the
history of Constitutional Monarchy, to
show how these have been carried out.
In the reign of Charles /, a country
gentleman. John Hampden, refused TO pay
tax which he believed to be Illegal, the
King. autocrat as he was. or strove TO be,
had resource to the Courts of law. OF the
twelve Judges, who then held their posts
during the royal pleasure, five pronounced
in his favor. leaving the scantiest possible
majority in favor of the Crown, and of this
says Clarendon, the judgment proved of
more advantage and credit to the gentle
man condemned than to the kings seyice.
Here, however unrighteously, the judges
decided between King or Ministers and
COmmoner.
When James ii, as autocTatic in intent,
as his father, endeavored to put down the
Protestant Church of England, and sent
10 the Tower seven bishops who had pre-
sented arespectful petition which he chose
to prosecute as libel, he was obliged to
act according to law which put the cues
ton in the hands of jury by whom the
prisoners were acquitted and released, and
the cheers which arose on the pronoun
ciation Of the words Nor GUILTY, We're
first heard by james from the camp which
he had established few miles ont of Lon
don for the express purpose of oyerawing
public opinion in the capital city.
In this case a tyrant tried. but failed tC
make the law his tool.
In the reign of George III. member
of the House of Commons, John Wilkes
was arrested 10y general warrant for hbe
at the instance of George Grenville theI
at the head Of the administration. Wilke:
was gsent to the Tower, his papers wer,
seized. and carried to the Secretary ot
State Here then was private individual
/ against the law officers OF the Crown SCI
IN motion by the First Minister OF tbs
/ Crown What was the resultl The aTrest
was pronounced unlawful by the Court o.
Common Pleas and the prisoner was dis
charged Nor was this all. Wilkes instituted
an action for the seizure of his papers
| against the UuisT Secretary Il STATE. The
| jury gave him a thousand pounds dam
ages. How does this agree with the MIN
isterial irresponsibility propounded by the
Idrerissr3 Indeed the Wilkes episode bort
fruit more important still. 1t hastened
the downfall of the Grenville Ministry, and
among the first acts of Its successors wa.
the passage of Resolution by the HOUSE
of Commons condemning the use of gen
ersl warrants, and the seizure of papers IL
cases of libel
To the plea of the Ideorisar that the
King and the Ministry are the elected OF
the people, and that, they are thus the
embodiment of the viii, OF the wishes Of
of the people, it requires no great effort Of
memory to take us back to the time when
the forces of foreign men-of-war were all
that stood between the electors and the
elected. The Aicerfiscr alone Is response
bic for reference 10 this deplorable page
in Hawaiian history
The new theory seems to be that Minis
! tiers are to be taken 10 task, reminded OF