The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-03-18

there subjected 10 an examination by
the Deputy Collector General of Gus
toms to ascertain their qualifications
for entering this country 1t was de-
clded that all the petitioners were not
entitled TO land, because they were
aliens and lacked the necessary quail
ficationS required by law for landing.
1t was then decided that they should
be held to await the return of the
steamer that they might be deported.
The decision of the Court continues:
"A lengthy traverse to the return was
presented for the petitioners by Mr..
Ballou, which substantially denies that
any legally conducted examination of
the right of these Japanese to land was
made by the Deputy Collector or that
any legal decision thereon was made.
1t is claimed in argument that the
Court should inquire into the proceed
ings, in order to ascertain if the sta
tute relating to the landing of aliens
in the Hawaiian Islands (Act &c of the
Laws of 1S9D was complied with
Counsel urge that the decision alleged
in the return is not final because 1t
was not communicated to these Jap
anese, and therefore they have had no
opportunity to appeal therefrom to the
Collector General as by the statute al
lowed. They also claim that the decis-
ion is not binding, because no oppor-
tunity was allowed these Japanese of
consulting counsel. and that this was
in derogation of their rights under the
treaty of Hawaii with Japan which
provides that Japanese subjects may
remain and reside in the Hawaiian
Islands, enjoying at all times the same
privileges as may be granted to the
citizens or subjects of any other ma
ton one of which privileges is, as set
forth in the treaty with Spain for
instance, that they shall have free
and easy access to the Courts of JUS
tice in the pursuit and defense of their
rights, in every instance and degree of
jurisdiction established by the laws
and shall be at liberty, under any
circumstances, to employ lawyers, ad-
vocates or agents from any class whom
they may see fit to authorize or act in
their name
s'These treaty provisions, as it seems
to us. do not require that aliens be al
lowed counsel in cases of examination
under the immigration act in question,
for the reason that they refer only to
persons while resident in the Hawaiian
Islands, and not to those who, like the
aliens in question have not yet land
ed in these Islands, and also for the
reason that these treaty provisions ap-
ply only to~iudicial proceedings. As
we shall see later on, the proceedings
under the Act in question to be con-
Quoted by the Deputy Collector, are of
an executive and not judicial nature.
1t is not contended here that the Act
in question is in conflict with the
treaty with Japan, this Act making no
discrimination between subjects of
other countries.
''There being nothing in the treaty
to invalidate the Act itself, or the ac-
tion taken by the Deputy Collector, it
remains to consider whether the stat
ute has been complied with. Upon this
point we are greatly assisted by the
decisions of the Supreme Court of the
United States. made under an Act OF
Congress, passed on March 3, 1891,
from which our statute was for the
most part taken. Both statutes ex-
clude certain classes of undesirable
persons, and confer upon certain ex-
ecutive officers the duty of inspecting
all alien passengers and deciding upon
their right to land in the respective
that is, the authority to pass
upon the question whether they are
within the prohibition
The Court then quotes at length
from the decisions of the United
States Court in which it has been de-
cided that Congress gave "discre-
power to an officer, to be ex-
ercised by him upon his own
opinion of certain facts" and "he is
made sole and exclusive Judge OF the
existence of those facts, and no other
tribunal. unless expressly authorized
by law to do so, is at liberty to re-
examine or controvert the sufficiency
of the evidence on which he acted.
Under these decisions 'the proper in
spection officers are required TO go on
board any vessel bringing alien i'm
migrants and to inspect and examine
them. and may for this purpose remove
and detain them on shore without such
removal being considered landing,
and shall have power to administer
oaths and to take and consider testi-
xUa