The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-01-19
CRIMINAL LIBEL.
Arrest of Mr.. Arthur tombstone Oh
Complaint of His ExceiIency the
Attorney General.

Arrest of Mr.. Arthur tombstone on
Complaint of His ExceiIency the
Attorney General.
The rumored arrest of MIR. Arthur
tombstone on charge of libel yesterday |
caused a ripple of excitement on the |
otherwise tranquil street. The arrest !
was made at the instance of His Excel |
lency Paul Neumann, Attorney General |
of the Kingdom, who filed the following |
complaint:
To the Police Court of Honolulu-Before
the Hon. r. f. Bickerton, Police
Judge:
Paul Neumann, being duly sworn on
his oath, deposes and says:
That Arthur JohnstOne, of Honolulu,
on the Island OF Oahu, Hawaiian Islands,
on the 10th day of January, 1886, at
Honolulu aforesaid, has been guilty of
the offense of committing libel, in that
the aforesaid, Arthur tombstone on said
! day, in a certain newspaper called 'The
Daily Honolulu Press" published in
Honolulu, published wilfully and NAL
iciously, and with intent to injure this
afiant in fame, reputation and good
name, and to bring him into disgrace,
adherence, odium, hatred, contempt
and ridicule, the following statement, to
wit:
A DEAD MANS WORD.
| Since the death of Mr.. Edwin Oakley
many things have been said and some have
/ OH ho
| the Withholding of which, 1t is alleged,
with apparent reason, was the immediate
cause of his suicide. For instance, the fol-
! lowing letter of the Attorney General, pub
| lished in the Bulletin of the 18th instant,
virtually admits that there was an open
account between the Government and Mr.
Oakley, and that the Attorney General
| proposed to strike off about $118 and pay
| the bill
J LETTER FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
EDITOR BULLETIN-Dear Sir: In n letter
of Mr.. ]. o. Carter, published in yester-
| days Bulletin" that gentleman alludeS
to Mr.. Oakley's sad ending, connecting the
| same with a debt due to him from the
| Government Mr.. Carter Is mistaken
| about the matter, and would certainly not
the facts in the case. About year ago or
| longer Mr.. Oakley bill was referred TO me,
and after examination q certain sum
about one hundred and eighteen dollars
stricken off by me as an improper charge.
The amount of the bill, allowed, was
rendered to Mr.. Oakley, and would have
been paid then had he chosen TO accept 1t.
| Since his refusal to rectify the bill the
amount has at all times lam ready to be
paid to him or his order he hav-
ing transferred the claim to certain
| of his creditors, who were quite willing
to accept the adjusted bill: For reasons
not necessary to be detailed, declined to
accent the receipt of any one but Mr.. Oak
ley personally for satisfaction of the debt,
or to pay the amount, except On Mr.. Oak
Iey's own order; for this reason alone the
matter remained unsettled. Respectfully
yours, PAUL NEUMANN.
After looking at the above picture the
public will please look upon this, clipped
from the ADVERTISER of yesterday, and
which gives the lie direct to the position
taken by the Attorney General;
The Government must not think that all
its creditors will follow the example of
poor Mr.. Oakley. Some OF them. at least,
are made of sterner stuff" For Mr.. Car
ter's own sake, we regret that he should
have penned these lines. For the sake of
truth, which is greater than all, let us add
that this illustration, a thousand times
worse than Kunuiakea's, was a wanton
insult to the dead as well as to the living.
Poor Mr.. Oakley had claim l1hdteUer
against the Government.
The italics in the above extract are ours.
We do not propose, however, to enter into
a discussion as to who owed Mr.. Oakley the
money. Suffice it to say that Mr.. Oakley
held prOmissory note for the amount of
about 81, 200, and we are further informed
that the note was signed by His Majesty.
The King had already reduced Mr.. Oak
ley's bill from about s., 900 to about 81 200,
and had settled the open account by note,
which it was the duty of the Attorney
General to pay without attempting to force
( a discount on ''pOor Mr.. Oakley"
But further than this, we have the YER
sion of the affair as 1t was told by ''ppor
Mr.. Oakley the day after the Attorney
General had refused to pay his claim. Our
authority is good, and there is no doubt
but that what Mr.. Oakley said about the
transaction is the truth. The day before
the interview with the Attorney General
Mr.. Oakley told an intimate friend that lie
was going to get his money the next day.
The day after the interview the same init
mate friend met Mr.. Oakley and asked
him if he had got his money. Mr.. Oakley
replied NO, that mean man, Neumann
wanted me TO give him $500 before hC
would get it for me-" What! did ht
(Neumann) want the $500 for himself?'
asked Mr.. Oakley's friend. Yes" re-
piled 'poor Mr.. Oakley ''he wanted il
! himself, and / refused to take anything
; Mr Oakley further stated that he would APP
, peal TO some official connected with tn,
English Government TO get his rights Il
Neumann did not settle justly and honestly
, with him.
Now, there is a lie out somewhere and Mr.
Oakley's version of the affair can be proven
The officials were in a great hurry to ge
, poor Mr.. Oakley" buried, but the Gov
eminent party will not find it such al
easy matter to bury poor Mr.. Oakley's'
cause and the facts upon which il undoubt
edly rests. For our part, we prefer at
present to believe the word of the dead
man.
, Affiant further says that said state