The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-11-05
LAW AND PROTECTION.


it was decided. was heard in the
Police Court. a gentleman living
in house in the suburbs, that the
police make no show of protecting,
keeps female dog. This animal
has proved itself faithful as
watcher. to the satisfaction of its
owner, who has to be in store in
town all day attending to his duties
as salesman. Lately the brute has
fallen possessor of litter of pups,
which makes her watchfulness only
keener against intruders. 1t appears
some young scamps had made a
practice of teasing the dog through
the fence, putting her in a rather
unamiable temper. The other day
one of the principals in this mis-
chief happened in an adjoining yard,
and the dog, recognizing her tor
mentor, bounded at him over the
fence and bit him. Some busy
body, who evidently desires hood
lums and robbers to be protected,
and respectable people to be left to
look out for their persons and pro-
perty as they like, seized with
avidity upon the case and caused an
action to be brought against the
owner of the dog. The law was
clear. There are no precedents for
going behind the Immediate offense.
1t being established that the dog,
when off its owners premises, had
bitten person, the magistrate had
only one course to pursue. A res
pectable householder, on account of
the best available protection he
could procure for his property, had
to pay-in fine, costs and damages
an amount of twenty-five dollars.
This is warning to all who may be
disposed to provide against similar
circumstances to those of the gen.
tleman in question, that they cannot
protect themselves at the smallest
risk to even those who wilfully in
vite damage. 1t would be an ac-
ceptable warning, if it was coupled
with any kind of assurance that the
authorities would protect the per-
sons and property of the commu-
nifty. Unhappily, there is, on the
contrary, reason daily and weekly
augmenting for general feeling Of
insecurity among residents. Burgla-
ries, sneak-thieving, fruit stealing,
roost robbing, and even highway
robbery, have of late been alarm
ingly rife, yet with very few excep-
tions the offenders go unwhipped of
justice. Chinese peddlers and vag-
rants are taking advantage of the
utter absence of police protection in
suburban localities, and there is no
knowing where their audacity will
end. Cases have occurred, recently,
| where Cinnamon have walked un-
hidden all through private dwell
ings, when they believed no men
were about, and where they have
deliberately stripped rare fruit from
trees before the eyes of helpless
women. Now, good watch dogs are
about as mild species of protec-
tion for premises in such situations
as could be thought Of, and good
watch dog is not one without spirit
enough to resent injury or menace
to itself. There is, however, as will
be gathered from the above case, q
probability that a dog worth his
food may cost more than he comes
to" in legal liabilities in which he
may involve his owner. Before
however, advising our readers tc
dispense with canine vigilance, We
should recommend a general cam
paign against the graceless young
hoodlums, for whose idle hands
Satan finds nothing better to dc
than spelling the tempers of dog
that are putting the police to shame
by their faithful guardianship. A
the same time we would recommen,