The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1892-06-03


laws OF this Kingdom to hold persons
for trial on charge of treason on
the strength of such testimony. On
that subject, deem myself entitled
and in duty bound to use the plainest
and strongest language which my
feeble ability will permit me to use.
The statute distinctly requires that
in order to constitute treason there
shall be "plotting or attempt to de-
throne or destroy the King or
"levying Of war against the Kings
Government, or ''adhering TO the
enemies thereof" and that, "no per-
son shall be convicted of treason,
but by the testimony OF two or more
lawful witnesses to the same overt
act Of treason whereof he stands
charged"
The Constitution of 1887, Art. 3,
declares that "all men may freely
speak, write and publish their senti-
ments on all subjects, being respon-
sible for the abuse of that righl, and
no law shall be enacted to restrain
the liberty of speech or of the press "
These words which i now read, which
we're in the Constitution of 1864, are
conspcuously omitted from the Con-
stitution of 1887, namely, except
such laws as may be necessary for
the protection of His Majesty the
King and the Royal Family" 1t is
unnecessary for me to say that the
Honorable Justices of this Court.
including Your Honor, must have
been well aware when that Constitu-
ton Of 1887 was presented TO the
late King and was signed by him
that those words were omitted from
the former Constitution. They must
have been well aware that that omis-
sion was for some definite object and
that it must have some definite re-
suit. And / claim that however
wrong, however seditious, however
Objectionable, and l will add, how
ever dangerous the spoken words
may be which are claimed by the
prosecution to have been used by
these defendants, or by any of them,
or to have been listened to by them,
or consented to by them, such spoken
words cannot under this Constitution,
or under any construction of the act
of treason, be made an overt act of
treason. If spoken words, no matter
whether iu the form of express agree
ments, or Of advice, or Of suggestion;
or of the expression Of wishes or in
tention can constitute treason, then
tho Hawaiian Islands will be reduced
to great whispering gallery of tale
bearers. Charges of treason will be
in the air. Every man who has been
heard to say what he thought or what
he wished, what he planned or what
he hoped in regard to the condition
Of things in this country, would be
liable to be immured in the dungeons
and await for weeks and possibly for
months trial by jury on a charge
affecting his life, his property, his
reputation, everything that is dear to
man. / claim that this is not, and it
never ought to be the law of the Ha-
waiian Islands, and that when the
time should come that language of
that sort shall constitute in law a
charge of treason, it will be neces-
sary to change all that part of the
present Constitution which under
takes to secure personal liberty and
personal rights.
Counsel spoke of the difficulty men
have in reporting correctly conversa-
ton or words that they have heard,
drawing illustrations from the evil
dence in these cases as taken by
Court and counsel, and proceeded:
Shall man be hanged on the failure
to understand whether the word ''if''
or "perhaps' was or was not used by
any one of these defendants? sub
NIT that the idea is abhorrent TO the
civilized mind, that it cannot be en-
tertained for one moment. When it
comes to such close point as whe-
Their the witness who appeared last
evening here had made statement
before one of the officers of the pro-
secation inconsistent with the evil
dence that he presented before Your
Honor in the word "perhaps," shall
men be hanged, shall men be placed
on trial for their lives on such maui
fest uncertainty and discrepancy
claim not. Hence | think That the
trainers of this statute of treason
must be presumed to have meant
that an overt act cannot consist of
words, but pust be just what it says,
an act and not mere speech; that
any other construction of that stat
ute would be an introduction into
this kingdom Of the law of c)nstruc-
tive treason which at different times
for some 400 years was adopted in
revolutionary and troublous times by
English Court, shut which is an explod-
ed doctrine to-day in England as well
as the United States. The construc-
tive treasons which were declared by
English Courts IN revolutionary times
were deemed TO he requisite for the
protection of the Government. The
old statute of the 25th of Edward
Ill which was the first statute
which undertook to define by Legis-
lative authority what treason should
be, was, except at certain periods of
! English history tho basis Of their