The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1892-06-03
THE TREASON CASES.
Preliminary Hearing Before
Justice Dole.
Before
THURSDAY, June 2.
AFTERNOON SESSION.

When the Court resumed at 80
the defendants motion TO dismiss the
charge was argued.
MIR HARTwHLL spoke in part as
follows: i am aware that the arsu-
ment that is now to be presented to
the Court is on the assumption that
all the testimony that is presented on
behalf of tue prosecution is TO be
deemed to be the truth, and that the
Court will take the view that the jury
would be at liberty to accept that
testimony as true testimony together
with all the differences which could
legally be made from it. Counsel
for the defendant. have sought this
method of obtaining adjudication of
this Court upon the law of the case
as presented by the testimony for the
prosecution, deferring their own de
fence TO be presented only in case il
shall seem to Your Honor that in law
case has been presented by the
prosecution, trusting, however, that
there will be no occasion after full
and elaborate examination of the law
for the defendants to present their
defence, which, as l am instructed,
is very full and explicit. Taking
then that view, and endeavoring to
meet it, that for the purposes of this
argument the testimony presented by
the Constitution is to be deemed to
be true testimony, wish to say that
TO right minded man, every infrac-
ton of the rights of others, whether
those rights are defined by municipal
law or are those rights which are no
less sacred and precious which can
be defined by no human law, involves
more or less of moral turpitude.
When it comes to An infraction of the
rights of the whole community, the
rights l mean of safety and security
Of life and property, the offence be-
comes an offence of the greatest
enormity, the very charging of which
against anybody places him at an i'm
mense disadvantage in the view of
the community. Now it is undoubt-
edly true that in times of public ex
element, when passions, anxieties
and fears are aroused, there is danger
of assumptions that facts stated are
true, when perhaps they are not true
danger, not only of invasion Of the
rights of the persons accused of such
an enormous crime, but in the desire
Of the community for swift justice as
they regard, there may be shipwreck
made of the law itself. To some
extent this state of things exists to-
day in this community; so far, that
l consider that many of the best peo-
pie in this town, personal friends of
my own for years, regard the appear
ance Of counsel for the defendants,
seeking to present careful defence
against this charge, as species Of
attempt to- clog the wheels of justice
have never in my experience seen a
more perfect illustration of that pop
ular error, that counsel at law are
supposed to seek in their defence Of
persons accused of crime to prevent
justice from being done by any meth
DDS which their skill Or experience
can suggest. This feeling which L
have referred to on the part Of many
persons in this community, has been
expressed TO myself directly and
indirectly during the last ten days.
The ill-concealed disapproval of any
elaborate defence shown by frowning
looks, and shown by an evident de-
sire to avoid even friendly appear
ance of intercourse with counsel for
the defendant, for it goes TO that ex-
tent, shows how far that popular error
can obtain in an intelligent and ordi-
narily large minded community like
this. Now understand that the du-
ties of counsel are at just such times
as these to see to it, SO. far as they
honorably can do so, not only that no
false testimony, no perjured testi-
mony, or manufactured testimony
shall be presented as basis for the
commitment Of defendants, but that
in the heat Of the moment, in the
desire to avoid untold dangers to the
state, there be no perversion of the
law itself TO meet the supposed case.
Under the condition of things in this
country to which have adverted in
former argument, with no grand
jury to fiud an indictment on the
strength of which persons accused of
felony can be brought to trial before
a trial jury, committing the defend
ants for trial by jury, requires, l
think, unusual precautions to avoid
placing defendants in jeopardy OF
their lives by trial before jury
which may be composed more or less
of persons under the influence of pas
sion and interest. The power of a
committing magistrate in this coun-
try is undoubtedly very great.
Now, a word more az to the helm
BUSINESS of this charge of treason, or
the exceedingly Objectionable and
injurious tendency of what might be
termed reasonable or seditious Ian
guage of the kind that has been men
TONED by the witnesses for the pro-
secution. My claim is, that not only
is none Of that testimony sufficient to
base charge of treason upon, but
that To allow a charge of treason on
such testimony to go before a jury
would be subyersive of the rights
| and liberties nf the Ia iion naonIa