The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-08-11
II H E
WEDNESDAY
THE LEGISLATURE.

Another short sitting is a correct rec
ord OF yesterdays proceedings in the
Legislative Assembly. Not that the
House was indisposed to work, but that
it was demoralized by the discussion
upon Mr.. Dole's resolution to expel Mr..
Kaulukou, because he had accepted the
Office of Marshal of the Kingdom. Why
a similar motion was not made when
Mr.. Kaulukou became Postmaster Gen
eral was not explained, but if Mr.. Dole's
argument was good for anything, which
is exceedingly doubtful, it was quite as
strong against his incumbency of the
one office as the other The truth APP
pears to be, however, that Mr.. Dole
wanted to kill time, and that having
spun the thread of his verbosity almost
to an end before the late recess, he
started in on a new tack as soon as the
Legislature reasonable
We say this because we do not i'm
agine for an instant that Mr.. Dole him
self believed in his own Interpretation
of the Constitution. If he had had the
faintest perception of the fitness of his
position, he would not have made the
lame and impotent speech he delivered
in support of a resolution, which put
novel construction upon the Constitu-
ton and sought to improvise Disquali-
fcation Act without the usual formali-
ties attendant upon the enactment of a
law. 1t has been our privilege, shall we
say, to listen to many weak and illogical
speeches from Mr. Dole, but his perform
ance yesterday excelled all that went
before it in these respects.
Mr.. Dole undoubtedly created for
himself great opportunity to speak
upon Constitutional law and parlia-
mentary history, but he failed to grasp
the occasion and forced the conviction
upon the Assembly that he had not
mastered the underlying principles of
representative institutions as engrafted
upon the absolutism of the Hawaiian
Monarchy. Mr.. Thurston made de-
cidedly better effort, mainly because he
confined himself to discussing the cleo
ton of Office holders to the Legislature
upon grounds of public policy. But both
speakers overlooked the point that they
were putting a strained construction
upon the Constitution while inviting the
Legislature to dispense with the organic
and statute law of the Kingdom, and
act from caprice, prejudice or passion in
arbitrarily declaring the seat of duly
elected representative of the people
vacant.
Mr.. Dickey, who spoke on the same
side, had the merit of earnest conscien-
tiousness. His is the zeal without
knowledge which is invariably hurtful
to the cause it espouses. His interpre-
tation of the Constitution was unique,
and may be passed without further com
ment. Hon. c. r. Bishop took a mod
crate view of the question, and while de-
precating the employment of members
of the Legislature in the performance OF
public duties, he recognized the fact that
there was no law to do the thing Mr..
Dole proposed to have done.
On the other side 8Ir. Kaulukou and
two or three mem bers spoke in Hawaii
an, but outside these the debate was
conducted by the Attorney General and
His Excellency Mr.. Gibson. The speech
OF His Excellency Mr.. Dare was concise,
logical and conclusive. 1t defined the
constitutional limitations of the Execu-
tive, Legislative and Judicial branches
OF the Government, and exposed the fall
lacies in Mr.. Dole's speech. Mr.. Dare
demonstrated that article 20 of the Con-
stitution did not exclude members of
the Executive from the Legislature. 1t
prohibited the Executive from doing
any Legislative act; and it prohibited,
in like manner, the Legislative or Jul
dicial branch from usurping the func-
tions of any other branch or grand di-
vision of the Civil Government. Article
Al of the Constitution makes the Privy
Council an integral part of the EXecu-
tive Government, but members of the
Privy Council hold seats in the Legis-
lature, and are eligible for election to it.
This being the case, the Constitution
clearly contemplated that the Executive
should participate in the work of Legis-
lation, the Judiciary alone being ex-