The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-05-08
CORRESPONDENCE.
Hard Work for the Constitutional
Convention.

Convention.
A convention to frame consti
tuition having been called, and the
call having been responded to by
the people by their electing dele
gates, to whom they have deputed
the power to frame convention
the question arises, what is the ex
tent of the powers beyond the mere
framing of a constitution deputed
: to this assembly of delegates?
: Had the call for the election
specified any requisites further
than that of drawing up consti-
tuition, the people, by their assent
ing to the call, would have con-
ferred on their deputies the power
to have given up for them some of
their natural rights. AS it is 1
cannot see how the constitution to
be framed can become the funda-
mental law of the land without
submission of it as drafted to the
electors for their approval. It is
possible that the first legislature to
be elected under the drafted con-
stitution may come from the peo-
pie empowered to adopt the consti-
tuition, but this appears decidedly
irregular.
In the formation of the consti-
tuition one of the prime matters
for consideration is the suffrage,
and we cannot but note the trend
of affairs in England and other
European countries toward grant
ing the suffrage to all who are pos
sibly capable of understanding the
value of it. I think the suffrage
in Hawaii nei should be as liberal
as possible, for instance, that all
who can read and write Hawaiian
or some European language, ex-
cepting Chinese and Japanese,
should be allowed to vote
The President should be elected
by the legislature, and the term of
office should be six years. The
of electing the President
in the United States by an electoral
college is not applicable here, and
much complaint is made against it
here. The necessity of having an
upper and lower house to prevent
nasty and ill-considered legisla-
ion is apparent. The lower house {
should be elected by the people at r
arge, but the upper house should :
,e elected by selected number of (
hose having the suffrage, say hav-
ng high property and educational [.
There is considera-
lie agitation in the United States
t present trending toward the
lection of the Senate by the
eople direct, in place of as
t present by the State legis- /.
atures. But it is observed |
nat the Senate has and does |
onsist of better timber than the L
louise of Representatives, and it is
Irgely attributed to the fact of
heir being elected by the repre-
7hGdl1FOS VI tuC pCOpiC tHdu
trough or by the people direct.
is impossible for man to get
ito the Senate who has not State
putation. AS to the number who
lould constitute the two houses it
lould be large, and yet not so large 4
to be either unwieldy or an extra Y
lrden to the taxpayers. The for
er legislature was unnecessarily
rye. An attempt should be made
reduce the number of paid off,
ais, although, from the nature of
g country in its natural division
to islands, do not see at present
what direction the reduction q
ould be made. We can easily
3 from the consistency of the
pulation and geography of the
untry, together with our treaties
tn foreign lands, that the Consti-
tional Convention has not any
mic; but 1 feel satisfied that it
composed of men whom we can
lst to do justice to the work.
JAMES w. GIRyIN.