The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-01-23

OEQ5 u dIlOlucT lSldIlQ.
OPINION OF THE COURT By BICKERTo,S. J.
The defendant WAS employed in
the branch post office at Makawao,
Island of Maui, az an officer of the
Hawaiian Government, IN the postal
department of said Government, the
said Office being branch of the De
partment of Finance, the Postal Saw
ings Bank and the Money Order OF
fee. At the June Term, 1893, of the
Circuit Court of the Second Circuit,
an indictment was presented charg-
ing the defendant with the embezzle-
ment OF 500, the property OF the Ha-
xsaaian Gnv~- - A. y ~as
-.ornme.s; sue pea -
reserved and the case continued until
the December Term, 1893, at which
term two other indictments were
found and presented, one charging
the defendant with the embezZlement
of Fifty Dollars, and the other charg-
ing him with the embezzlement of
Three Hundred and Ninety nine and
48-1OO Dollars, both sums being
money, the property of the Hawaiian
Government, the plea to both these
indictments being reserved. The At
torney General moved the Court for
a change of venue to Honolulu In all
three cases, giving as reasons therefor
that material and necessary evidence
on behalf of the prosecution In the
said cases is contained IN the records
and books of the Postal Savings
Bank and In the Money Order De-
partment of the General Post Office,
In Honolulu, without which evidence
a fair and impartial trial OF said cases
could not be had, and which said
books and records could not be pro
duced at the trial of these cases be-
fore the said Circuit Court, for that
IL would be detrimental to the public
service and contrary to public policy
that said books and records should
be removed from said Honolulu The
Court granted the motion, and or
dered that the place of trial of these
cases be changed from the Second
Judicial Circuit 20 the First Judicial
Circuit, and that the records of the
said case be transferred to said Cir
cult. To this ruling and order the
defendant, by his counsel, excepted,
and the matter now comes here on a
bill of exceptions, allowed by the Cir
cult Judge of the Second Judicial
Circuit.
Under the statute, the Act Of 1876,
to Regulate the Practice and Pro
cedure In Criminal Gases, Section Ii,
page BAL, Compiled Laws, Circuit
Courts are authorized In their discre-
ton to order that the place of trial of
any criminal case pending before the
Court be changed to some other Cir
cult The Judiciary Act, Laws of
1892 and 1893, page los, provides
that the discretion may be exercised
upon satisfactory proof that fair
and impartial trial cannot be had .
and after parties shall have
had opportunity to be heard.
A full hearing was had and the de-
PENDANT filed an affidavit settiog
forth inter ala ''that to the best OF
his knowledge and belief the &C
counts between the said central
Office and said country Office are
based upon and taken from the re
ports sent to the central Office from
said country offices, and especially
so In reference to accounts connected
with the Money Order and Savings
Bank branches of the Post Office De-
partment; that all accounts In the
books of the Postmaster General, re-
garding the transactions in the
Money Order ard Savings Bank de-
partments of the Post Office at Ma
kawao. Maui, are based upon the re
ports from said Makawao Post Office,
the original entries OF which were
entered and appeared In the books OF
the Postmaster at said Makawao.'
This may all be perfectly true and
yet it might be necessary to produce
the books from the Central Office
The Makawao books might show thai
all the money received there had
been forwarded to the Honolulu
Office and might on their face appear
perfectly straight, but on their being
compared with the books of the Cen
trail Office it might appear that such
remittances had never been received
In fact, all the business of these
branch offices centers In the Contra
Office and on no account should
these books be allowed to be out O.
the reach of the Central Office at any
time Naturally they are required
constantly for reference, not only a:
regards matters at Makawao, but al
over the islands, and business will
the public In general. Another anC
most important reason why the rec
ords should not be taken to the isl
and OF Maui is the risk of loss, des
truction, or damage. We are mos
decidedly of the opinion that tn,
moving OF these records and books t,
Maui would be detrimental to tn
- public service and contrary to publ
policy.
This was matter In the discre
ton OF the Circuit Court, and tn
only question for rs is, did the Cour