The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-03-31

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And in the second pre-
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IOtal. ...............lSU
And that j. \. Kapahu received a
majority of II votes over those
counted for o. X. Apiki. l found
from the evidence that the inspec-
tors of the first precinct to wit, T.
P. Harris, Geo. Timoteo and J. w.
Kuaimoku, held sessions of the
board for correcting the electoral
roll by adding new names, etc., on
the goth, 21st and 23d of January and
not having signed their corrected
electoral roll or voting list at their
meeting of the 23d, they held
another session on Saturday, the
Both of January, 1892, and added
IA new names to the SAID list or
roll, to wit, w. Cobb, Honokoa,
Geo. Kaaua, Kahanamoku, Kama
wal, Laimana, w. II. Lentz, Jud.
w. Manning, VIM. Mann, Nalehua,
Nahinu, Oulu, G. Viebran and Thos.
Wills, and corrected the name of a
Portuguese to John Gomez Ernesto
who had been registered as John
Gomez.
also found from the evidence
that all the above named voted for
representative except Nalehua who
did not vote; making IA in all who
voted, having been registered on
the 3Oth January.
I find as a matter of law that the
meeting of the inspectors for regist-
ering voters on the Both January
was illegal. The Add section of the
Act requires that the inspectors
shall "not less than fire nor more
than thirty days prior to the date
of the election" hold the meetings,
etc. The date of the election as
fixed by the Act was Wednesday
the Sd day of February. The last
day, therefore, on which a meeting
of the inspectors could be held and
comply with the law was the 28th
day of January, 1892.
AS Mr.. Kapahu's majority over
Mr.. Apiki was u, the votes of the
fourteen persons illegally registered
might have elected him. 1 am for
hidden by section SO of the Act to
require proof as to how these per-
sons voted, but as these illegal
ballots might have affected the re-
suit deem it sufficient cause for
the election of J. n. Ka-
pahu invalid.
The contestant of the petition,
Mr.. Kapahu, advanced oe a dcuIur-
rer that as none of the said inspec-
tors had been convicted of any of
the Offenses enumerated in the Act
which would subject them to punish
ment, the court had no jurisdiction
to hear the petition. l overruled
this objection, as also another one
advanced by the contestant that the
petition alleged none of the grounds
set out in the Saith section of the
Act as causes for VacatIng the seat
of a member, such "as death, re-
becoming a cabinet min
lister, gross misconduct or neglect
of the business, bribery" etc. I am
of the opinion that section 81 of the
Act assigns causes for which the
may declare seat vacat-
ed, though some of them might |
also be grounds upon which the
court also might act; but they are
not exclusive of other causes. Sec
ton 81 on annulling elections
proceedings in COURT prescribes
that the petition shall set forth any |
cause or causes why an election shall
be vacated. Such causes must be
sufficient grounds in the judgment |
of the court for annulling an cleo
ton or vacating a seat.
The inspectors showed the court
printed Instructions to Inspectors"
from the Minister of the Interior to
the effect that they could hold a
meeting for registering voters on
the 30th of January, and Mr.. Ka-
pahu commended, that, under section
108, subdivision /" the Minister of |
the Interior may add new instruc-
tions to these if he thinks it neces-
sary or ADVISABLE" this instruction
legally authorized meeting on the
30th January. I held that where |
the statute was silent the Minister |
might INSTRUCT" but a positive
provision of the statute could not be
by ministerial " instruc-
tion."
l therefore adjudge the election
of J. n. Kapahu as representative
for the district of Kau, Island of |
Hawaii, invalid aud his seat va
Gated.
A. +. JUDD,
Chief Justice Supreme Court. |