The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-06-13

les and working men from voting Ior
those who were to represent them. he
| would prefer, however, To SEND the ar
ticle to a committee, as 1t was an Iin-
pOrtant one, and no mistake should pe
made.
Councillor Smith hoped the matter
| would not be sent to a C mmlttee. he
was in favor of Kalua's motion, OF
placing the property qualification at
$1,000 and the Income at $500 year.
Councillor Young was also against
! sending the article to committee
He Was ia favor of Delegate BaldwIn's
motion, and seconded it. He would
be sorry to have these qualifications
placed too high, but it would be much
worse to place it too low. He could
see no use of having two Houses,i If the
qualifications for voters were not
widely different.
! Council or Brown thought an ounce
of prevention was better than pound
of cure. he favored the article as it
was in the draft.
I Attorney General Smith thought it
would not do to take too many
| chances. He wished it was not neces-
sary to make any distinction between
| the electors of the two Houses, but it
was necessary and all knew it. Six
| hundred dollars seemed to be the
w
| approach il too close. All hoped that
in the future annexation would end
all these necessities, but until that
| came, there was no reason to be too
careless. He hoped very much that if
there was any hesitation or uncertain
,, ty in the matter, that the article
would be referred to a committee. He
moved that the qualIfica lions for vot-
ers be placed at $3.50 year.
III 81. l.
income at $500. He thought that was
still safe ground. He had no fear of
the result.
Acknowledgement Smith reminded
the Convention that it had rejected
Article A, providing that the qualifi-
cations of voters could be increased by
law. It was very important to be
careful in regard To this qualification.
Delegate Carter thought this article
was the DEVILS slide of the Constitu-
| ton. This country is at present going
through it's reconstruction period. The
South has been kept poor by having
its power given back after the war.
The Provisional Government obtained
its power by the risk of life, aud il is
the duty of this Convention to see
that nothing is done TO impair that
power. Every safeguard must be
adopted. With regard to this fran
elise, the duty was plain. In 1890 the
qualifications were so far done away
with that the party at present in pow
er met with most crushing defeat.
This Convention has tried in several
ways to tear down the safeguards set
up by those who framed the Constitu-
ton. The repeated assaults that had
been made upon those safeguards
tended to make him fear for the con.
sequences. 1t would not do to repeat
the revolutions that have occurred in
the past. And yet il these safeguards
were torn down there was chance
that it would be necessary. An in
come qualification of $500 might be
enough, but it was better to put it
higher.
Minister Damon thought that if the
law was kept and only those who had
$500 year were allowed to vote, there
would be no danger. The cause of
annexation could not be injured by
anything. 1t was safe in the hands of
the United States. But it was not
right to say that only the limited few
could vote, as would be the case if the
income qualification was placed too
high.
Delegate Vivas was sorry to hear
some of the members try to hedge in
the liberal ideas of government. The
people who had elected him would be
practically barred from voting for
their representatives. Those who re-
ceived only about $500 a year were
the ones who had stood closest by the
Government, and should not be pre-
vented from voting. He favored
placing the property qualification at
$500 worth of any kind of property,
ami the income at $500 year.
Delegate Iosepa did not see why he
should change his former opinion
that the article should be passed as in
the draft. 1t was true that few of
our supporters would not be able to
vote but that was better than losing
the whole thing We must not place
these qualifications too low. When
we start the new government, we
must place it on a firm basis, or in the
have duty to perform, and we must
do it. We must not give our enemies
d chance.
Delegate Kahaulelio did not agree
with Delegate Iosepa. He supported
Delegate Baldwin's motion.
Delegate Robertson said that he did
not understand Delegate Carter's
views. He did not want to set up
miniature Russia here. Many of the
royalists acknowledge that the mon
arcby is totally dead, and stand ready |
10 nelp us 10 Keep SOOu government
here. There are many of our own |
party who do not earn much more |
than $500 year, and they should not |
be shut out.
The motion to refer to the Leeisla- |
tive Committee was lost.
The motion to fix the property |
qualification DIS in the bill was lost.
President Dole offered an amend |
ment. He favored striking out all the |
words of the article as i'm the draft after |
the words "his own right" up to and |
including the words "encum brances,n
and inserting the following:
Real property in the Republic of |
the value of not less than $1,000 over |
and above all encumbrances, and |
upon which not less than ten dollars |
taxes shall have haan Maid f,r tho