The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1890-02-28
IMPORTANT DECISION.


decision on Monday the oath, in the case
OF Naldemar Knudsen VS.. the Board of
Education. Bill in equity to declare a
trust. The averments in the bill are
substantially as follows: On March Z,
1858, kamehameha Ill. being owner of
the land oil Pokii, containing 27O acres,
situate in the district of Kona, Kauai,
leased it to one John II. Gruben for fifty
years from July l, 1852, for the rental of
twenty-five cents per acre. On Septem-
Der IL, 1853, Gruben assigned enc und..
vided half of the said leasehold premises
to one Archibald Archer, who with the
administrator of the estate of said
Gruben, assigned on October l, 1858, all
OF the said leasehold premises to the
plaintiff who has ever since held the
said demised premises under the said
lease. That the defendant is now inter
fering with plaintiffs use of the said land
which is valuable to him, and the de-
fendant is against plaintiffs protest
building house for teachers residence
on it and refuses to desist from SO doing,
or to accept another convenient site in
said POkii, which plaintiff offered to de-
PENDANT without prejudice.
BY THE COURT.
This case presents questions OF such
great importance to the community as
regards the interests of religion and edu-
cation as to require an extended investi-
cation.
The question OF paramount interest in
vOlved in this case is the nature and val
idity of the titles of large majority of
the sites for school houses and churches
throughout this Kingdom.
1t must be borne in mind that upon
the introduction Of Christianity to this
country and the conversion of large
numbers OF the chiefs and people to its
principles, the chiefs became Jealous
patrons of education and even before the
establishment Of the Government in it's
present form, edicts were enacted by the
King and the council of chiefs to stimu-
ulate the people to learning and religion.
Among the earliest OF these is the "Sta-
tute for the Regulation OF Schools" being
chapter of the old laws and passed by
the King and chiefs on October Is, 1910.
Its preamble is as follows: "The basis
on which the Kingdom rests is wisdom
and knowledge. Peace and prosperity
cannot prevail in the land, unless the
people are taught in letters and in that
which constitutes prosperity If the
children are not taught, ignorance must
be perpetual, and children of the chiefs
cannot prosper, nor any other children"
therefore be it enacted, etc. The Act
provides for the election of school COM
mittee and by it and the school agent
the selection of teachers in the villages
throughout the Kingdom. 1t provides
for the securing OF unoccupied land from
which the teacher is to get his support
with reversion of the land to the Ali
('king") translated in the English ver-
sion, ("Government") in case the teacher
ceases to act as such. Provision is also
made for the building of school houses
by compulsory labor OF the people.
A later Act of 18th May, 1912, made it
a criminal offence for a land agent
(konohiki) to refuse or withhold land
when applied for by the General School
Agent in accordance with The School
law
The next statute was passed in 1916 in
the general acts organizing the Govern.
ment, statutes of 1916 (vol. 1, p. 2O4).
Among the provisions of this law is one
that the general superintendent of each
school "Shall have power to allOt land,
not otherwise appropriated, to the teach
ers and to the schools of their respective
district subdivisions" CAL land so set
apart shall be registered as school lands
in the Interior Department., and shall be
considered as set apart to eleemosynary
uses" and the teacher for the time being
had the use, occupancy and usufruct of
the land, which passed to his sue
cessor. Section IA of this act pro-
vides that the general superinten-
dent of each district shall, under the
direction of the Minister of Public In
struction, indicate the site for all school
houses"
We must bear in mind that it was not
until the organization Of the Commission
to Quit Land Titles, which was accom-
plished by the general statutes Of 1916,
the chiefs and people had any titles to
land; and it was not until 1S48 that the
Mahele or great division was made by
which the interests of the King, chiefs
and people in the lands of the Kingdom
were separated, followed by the final act
Of the King ceding to the Government a
portion of his reserved lands.
This review is necessary to the proper
understanding OF the act of July 8, 1850,
which repealed the school law of 1916.
Section 7 of the act Of 1850 is relied on by
the defendant as the foundation of it's
title to the parcel Of the land in question.
1t reads "All sites for school houses and
houses for public worship, now occupied
and in use and not owned by private par
ties; and all lands connected Herewith,
granted either by the Government or BY
individuals, chiefs or landlords, with a
view to promote the interests of educa-
ton or religion, shall be reserved as
Government property, devoted to the
purposes above mentioned; the amount
of land reserved for such sites, however,
not to exceed two acres in each case and
in case the adjacent lands are sold or
leased, such lands shall not be included"
The Land Commission was in active ex
istence at the time this Act was passed
and was not finally dissolved until March
81, 1855, and this Act may properly be
regarded as in furtherance of the general
scheme of settling land matters, as well
as providing for the education of the
people.
The section of the Act of 1850 above
quoted clearly contemplates that sites for
school houses and houses for public wor-
ship were occupied and in use at the
date of the act, and we have seen that
this taking OF land for such purposes was
authorized by the early laws. These
sites, az well as the lands connected
Herewith, were to be reserved as Gov
eminent property devoted to the uses of
education or religion.
The claim cannot well be made that