The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-06-03


representative of the people hereunto
by them duly authorized and empow-
cred, do proclaim and promulgate this
Constitution" What does that mean?
1t is the sole fundamental law under
which the rights and privileges and
liberties of the people OF the Hawaiian
Islands are to-day secured, expressed or
guaranteed. In that document or no.
where are those liberties expressed or
defined, and that document has for its
basis, according to its own preamble,
that it is made by the sovereign as the
representative of the people by them
duly authorized" Now, if a preamble
like that to the fundamental law of this
kingdom does not authorize the people,
who as kalakaua states in that document
authorized him to make that Constitu-
ton, to discuss, to consider, to plan, to
scheme, | will say even to plot, whether
they can have any change in it that they
the people from whom it purports to have
emanated wish, then l ask where is
there any law in the Hawaiian Islands?
cannot use stronger language than |
have ventured to use in deploring the
dangers, the evils which would follow
| from regarding plotting by words alone
as an act of treason. don't think that
any man, woman or child in the Hawaii
an Islands would be safe twenty-four
hours from charges of treason If that
shall be the solemnly reached and an
| nounCed opinion of this Court. / am
| speaking with full consciousness of the
| responsibility which take in expressing
such view, l could not honestly withhold
it as q counsellor of this Court or as coun-
| sci for persons accused of this crime. l
sin lxy T 70
now, that | believe, it is not for me to
say it, sincerely trust that this Honor
able Court will regard that to be the
correct statement of the law OF treason.
| Ii we are to have spoken words, seditious,
| dangerous, reasonable words made felo-
MES, let us have statutes in so many
words clearly indicating that it shall be
| so, just as the English Parliament did
in lS4S, and let not that result follow
from any constructive" view OF the law
which the Court may adopt.
| The organizing of associations, the
meeting together with closed doors in
secret, placing sentries at doors to pre-
vent unauthorized persons from entering,
are in themselves certainly not acts of
treason. 1t might be said that they are
! colored and tinged by such expressions
as were used by the witnesses as made
by one or two OF the defendants on one
or two or three occasions at those meet
ing5, but is not the danger imminent if
| treason is made out of such language
alone, although used at such meetings and
after such organization, that hereafter
no public meetings for honest public pur-
poses will be safe to be held if lead
ing members of the organization ex-
press their opinions as to the necessity
of using force to accomplish their OBJ
| jects Why l remember that in 1880 at a
time OF considerable public feeling in this
country when it SO happened that had
to do with one of the public jour-
nails of this city, a person who had
been called to the Kings Cabinet and
who was considered to be dangerous
element here, to be melting not only the
King but the people to overstep consti-
tutional bounds, became so obnoxious to
the conservative element here that lead
ing men came to me and told me that
the man must be put out of the country
and that they were going to see that he
was put out, aud that / should see that
nothing was said against such course
in the HAWAIIAN GAZETTE. told them
that it certainly would be said, and that
it should not be done, and that news
|
precating illegal measures to accomplish
objects however desirable in themselves.
l remember as if yesterday at the foot OF
Kaahumanu street three of the principal
men in this kingdom, one of them now
in high authority, called me to task for
SO doing, told me that it was no time to
talk like that with such dangerous man
here. / told them that within thirty
days they would thank me for doing so.
| have no doubt they did although |
don't remember that fact at present.
Well now, if those men who were
matchmaking, devising, planning, plot
ting, scheming and talking of doing an
act which was not only unconstitutional
but which was directed against the public
tranquility, against the Kings Govern
Government and his supposed interests,
had been placed is modern dungeon at
the Station House on a charge of treason
made at the instance of the person or
persons against whom those expressions
were directed, what would have been the
result? Such time may occur again.
The time may, any year, any month
arise when organizations for accomplish
ing public objects are formed honestly
but secretly, when the leaders of public
opinion come before the country and an
nounce perhaps unwiselY, perhaps with
undue excitement, that their objects
must be accomplished at all hazards,
when charge of treason against those
public leaders would place them where
for weeks or months during the critical
time where, when their services would
be of value to the country, their services
could not be obtained? Charges of trea-
son will be rite or may become so at any
time of public excitement; but if in view
of public policy, of the interests of this
country, the real interests of the people,
in the construction of our statutes and
Constitution, this Court shall DELHI
erately, on calm reflection, after
examining the statutes of England and
| the United States, the text writer's and
| decisions of Courts on those subjects,
| give out the announcement that charge
of treason rests upon any such evidence
as has been presented in these cases,
for one, should deplore most seriously,
most sincerely, any such result.
Mr.. Creighton, in opposing the mo-
| ton of counsel, said he would endea-
vor to confine himself strictly to an
argument on the law and evidence.
| He had listened with much pleasure
to the learned discussion on the
ancient law of treason, but he could
not find any reference to the present
situation. The law cited was good for
! the United States and good for Eng
land, but did not apply here. He had
examined the subject of treason in the
! last few weeks aS thorouphIv ne the