The Hawaiian gazette., 1890-01-21
An Ex-Attorney-Generars Opinion.

Mr.. EDITOR: Rumors have been
afloat lately that Mr.. Rosa has been
limiting from time to time to the natives,
that those who had presumed to put
down the late riot would soon be brought
to justice. This circumstance probably
gave additional significance to Mr..
Rosa's assertion at the mass meeting OF
the Opposition, that his party would
never rest until they had driven a GER
tain obnoxious element among the for
eigners out OF the country. The ques-
ton arose at once who was included in
Mr.. Rosa's prescribed list and what con-
stituted in his opinion an obnoxious
element" with an occasional query per-
haps as to whether or not the obnoxious
element would drive at Mr.. Rosa's bid
ding.
The following open letter from Mr..
Rosa published in Hawaiian last Sat
urday in the National Herald, throws
some light on these questions. The
letter was written in response to another
addressed to him in the same paper and
explains itself. After making some
comment on Mr.. Kane, Mr.. Rosa thus
continues:
LAS to your request for my legal opin-
ion concerning the shooting of those
seven persons who were killed on the
3Oth of last July, and of the four who
were wounded, 1 can answer without
hesitation, they Chose who killed them
are guilty of the crime OF murder and
manslaughter, and their names are all
known. And the public may perhaps
understand why l asked the Ministers
in the case of Loomens and Wilcox if
martial law was proclaimed, and they
answered, no. Within the few days
subsequent to the riot Of the 30th of
July it was repeated y the lawyers of
the city, and by others who knew, that
some of those who shot and killed were
very clearly guilty of the crime of MUIR
der as stated above. And / believe this
will not be denied. l am sorry that you,
"true Hawaiian" have publicly asked
for my legal opinion during these days
lest it should be said that this is to ex-
cite prejudice. Perhaps this will suffice,
and don't you ask for my opinion again
on this matter in public. l will tell you
the truth in regard to the good of he
public if you will come to my Office.
A. Rosa"
Honolulu, Jan. Is, 1890.
The editor of the Herald comments
editorially on Mr.. Rosa's letter as fol-
lows, and throws still more light on the
subject in hand:
"Our readers will remember portion
of the article of True Hawaiian a cor
respondent whose thoughts we published
yesterday relating to those who shot
down Hawaiians on the Goth of July,
1889, without having any authority for SO
doing.
eve have seen that Kane and Achi
are with the Reform party, and if that
party succeeds 1t is very certain that the
Cabinet will be continued in office, and
they two, with Kaauhai, will help to
keep them there. In that event We see
that those shooters will not at all be tried
for murder or manslaughter. But in
case the National party are victorious,
the Government will be urged to take up
the case and prosecute them immediate
ly. Therefore, this is the time for the
nation TO deliberate, and when the day
of election comes, pass those fellows
aside, for the wound will not be healed
by them, for the time is very near at
hand when the real rights of all native
Hawaiians will be vindicated upon their
own soil. The National party is the
party that will save us, but those others
are they who will utterly destroy u.s."
There are two important and unpleas-
ant conclusions to be drawn from all
this and which stare one in the face
whether or no. The first is that the
natives must be wrought up into an
utterly unreasonable frame OF mind
when prominent and professedly con-
sentative leader among them can, with
the popular approval, advance such doc
trines, and the editor Of public news
paper finds it necessary to promise the