The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-07-20

law to impose special tax on
Chinese before this Assembly takes
action on it,
(2.) Copy of the bill in ques-
ton.
(3.) Report of the select commit
tee TO which said bill was referred.
The demand made for an opinion
by the honorable Assembly must be
considered to be made under Article
40 of the Constitution, which pro-
vides that the Legislative Assembly
shall have the authority to require
the opinions of the Justices of the
Supreme Court upon important
questions of law.
We respectfully submit the fol-
lowing considerations for the basis
of our opinion:
The subject upon the constitu-
tionality of which we are asked to
pass is not law but proposed
bill. 1t. is liable to amendment,
and our opinion of the constitution
atty would not apply to the act or
statute amended, for it would not
be the thing which we had passed
upon.
Secondly-If we should now ex-
press our opinion that the proposed
act is constitutional, and it should
be enacted and become law, we
could not as Court feel bound by
such opinion if in case before
the Court the question should be
raised. In the language Of section
1924 of the Civil Code, the Supreme
Court shall have the power to de-
clare null and void any law which
may, upon mature deliberation, APP
pear contrary to the Constitution.
Law is established in Courts only by
the consideration of actual cases.
1t is considered necessary that both
sides should be heard. No determ-
ination is considered satisfactory
unless made upon full discussion
of reason and other decided cases,
as presented by competent counsel
presenting all sides and interests.
Even if the Court had made de-
termination or ruling on a point of
law, or upon so grave matter as
the constitutionality of statute, if
it should afterwards be niade to APP
pear that the case had not been fully
presented and decided upon all
reason and authority, the Court
would permit the reopening of the
question. All this is involved in
the phrase "mature deliberation"
and in the duty of Judges as inter-
prefers of the law and conservators
of the rights of men.
The law herein proposed would
gravely affect the rights of pro-
perty, and even the personal liberty
of great number of the residents
of the Kingdom. 1t seems to us
that it presents strong illustration
of the improperly and injustice of
the Supreme Courts binding itself
by an opinion given to the Legisla-
ture on a proposed bill.
We trust that these reasons will
support, in the view of your honor
able body, our declining now to
give an opinion pronouncing the bill
to be either constitutional or not
constitutional.
But as showing that we have not
been inclined to avoid considera-
ton of the matter submitted, we
beg leave, while the bill is in oul
hands, to mention some things we
observe in it.
The title is an Act to tax Chinese
residents and Chinese arriving in
this Kingdom (1) for the support
| and maintenance Of INDECENT and in
firm Chinese, and (2) for the return
to their homes of such Chinese who
may be permanently disabled from
working, and of Chinese Migrants
but for the second purpose of the
Act, the return to their home OF
the disabled and the Migrants, we
find no provision made in the Act
itself.
BY article n of the Constitution
every law shall embrace but one
object and that shall be expressed
in It's title. Here the title expresses
an object not embraced in the Act,
namely, the important power OF
deporting people from this Kingdom.
Again, the title adds, to the class
INDECENT and infirm, described in the
first part of it, in the second part
another class, viz: Chinese vag.
rants. These are nowhere men.
toned in the Act.
If the Chinese Benevolent Society
should, after the passage of this
Act, undertake to deport INDECENT
infirm or vagrant Chinese, they
would probably be found to be pro
ceeding on an unconstitutional law
or, as it is not in the Act, let us say
no law at all. Our present statutes
provide for cases of vagrancy, (se'
chapter 81 Penal Code.)
Is it intended by the title t.
depute to a Chinese corporation tn,
power to determine the question o
vagrancy and make the penalty TO
conviction Punishment?
We might also remark that tn
phrase return to their home
might lead to a question as to wher
the " home might be.
| PASSING To the nreamhle we ven