The Hawaiian gazette., 1888-11-20

Ike recurrence Of murders On the
island II Hawaii i becoming unpleas-
antly mouotuuoGs- The sparseGeSS Of
the population over large districts, the
ru1shness Of country and the poor means
Of communication IN nzny places, the
small numbers su3 scattered locations Of
the police, and possibly, in some IN
stances, the lneficieucy Of ! portion OF
them, al eouspire TO render the commits
sion Of crime easy, and prompt pursuit
Of the criminal comparatively difficult.
Some OF these d1t6cuIrfss are. for the
present, inSGrmouut4bls. Others, We
think, could Be provided against by a
greater degree Of care and torethought,
and ~ expenditure Of money not out
Of proportion TO the value Of the results
to be Gained. Bur IL Is not Of these
things that We desire to speak 1t this
time We fear that, IN zdtition to the
Inherent difficulties Of preventing crime
and spprehending criminals, the M
chinery for cuuvRting and Furnishing
those who 4re actually caught, Some-
times fills 20 sizn4Ily4 Is 70 De OF Itself N
encoGragement to crime, rather than !
terror to evi-ioers- Against the judges
Of our higher courts no complaints IN
this direction viii f4iriy lie, and the
prosecuting officers, Is ! rule, perform
their duties With intelligence and I'd
city lisa regrelrabie fLct, however,
that zrizs, not iufreq1eutIy, f41 to
realize, or adequately meet, their share
OF the responsibility. Il * not alone N
the case Of crimes for which the hw
Pcescri1es capital punishment th4t these
fixtures Of Justice occur At the list
term Of the Supreme Court, case Of
Illicit Eq1or selling Il ! VIGOROUSLY dis
reputable resort, wtieh had been ap-
peaIed rum the Police Court, resulted In
4 lzazrse1ent q the Jury, although the
AMOUNT and dIrsctness II the evidence
WIS such IS 10 apparently preeIu,is the
possibility u any verdict except that q
guilty. In the c.nse Of capital crimes
fir1rizs naturally. and very properly,
refuse To convict without the clear
ST evidence, and the absence Ut
any alternative theory which could
LE1rd auv reasonable doubt Of Z7-iIh-
But gentlemen Who enter the Jury box
z1der / solemn and public ooEzz1iau to
mi vEr,iicE according to the Law and
evidence, seem scmstimes 10 disregard
both, n ! blind DISSEMINATION not to
md the prisoner guilty 0f 1 crime for
Ftnl.h the punishment L death The /
result Of the trial of the Chinanl1u f-r I
Killing L Kum1n 1ear tie Chinese
-heatrs. Eot uI1y months agu, WIS
-rsaz surprise and disappointment 70 \
many people Had the I1ry chosen To 4
consider the e7iience IL insufficient, and 4
- acquitted the prisoner. they would .
Ave Eetssf within their LzgaI discretion. 4
however much thai discretion night
Ave seemed u other people "a have
leeu strained Bot admitting, IL the
nv 5l.f BY their ver,ilcts thai the prisoner
Ii killed the w1mLn- EE ara unable To
81 hoE hiz crime could be regarded II
.nything else than EiII51I mUryisr- We
lave singled Gun these two instances L.
II-strI-i rs II the 5i-zeI-I1y u obtaining
even where The Government
1s WflI1 seem 20 Be perfectly 11o,i c:Ises,
eca1se oce WIS tri=d hef1rs 4 aE1iFe,
Id the 0CheF 1 mrEiE Jury In the
1rner cass, II K conceivable that z1me
( TIE HIrgrs might have been zTayesi
By r1.s sFmpaEhy- Boz
Il hardy 70 be supposed that twelve
rE1lrs men hBt any zpe,.i.EI pr=illl1i..s II
lvur Of Chii1anlan- IL =ueil, md there
IA nothing ah'1C1 5he personality q tie
l11 u sllzst nv pslr-it.I-l.Lr interest