Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1899-09-02
AN IMPoss,BLE SITUATION.
rs. r. Exam 'ner Editorial

by the jud 2 ment OF the Supreme
Court of that territory Is i'm
possible. Either the Consti ution
OF the United States runs rs a
whole in Hawaii or not ut all. Ii
cannot be that such parts OF the
Constitution as may happen to
suit the fancy or prejudices oil
that extraordinary court are in
force and binding, while other
parts which happen to conflict
with the notions of these cstonish'
ing jurists are of no effect. 1t ia
common rumor in Honolulu that
one OF them had said be was
lying awake nights trying to re
copcile the practice OF contract
slavery and other dubious prac
tees OF q loose aud irresponsible
form Of government now extir.
guished with the obligations as
sumed by Hawaii when it became
part of the United States. True
or false, the story seems very
fairly to represent the state OF
mind OF the court in preparing
the opinion given in the cases oil
Edwards and Peacock & Co.
When one reads the terms OF
the Joint resolution Of annexation
it is easy enough to appreciate the
intellectual storm and stress that
must have been undergone before
reconciliation could be effected
between it's terms and the dubious
and immoral practices that had
been given the sanction of Law
under the old dispensation on the
islauas. The clause which gave
these Ingenious gentlemen mos
trouble reads as follows:
The municipal Legislation Of the
Hawaiian Islands . moi
inconsistent with this joint resolu.
ton, nor contrary to the Constitu-
ton of the United States, nor tc
any existing treaty of the United
States, shall remain in force until
the Congress of the United States
shall otherwise determine.
"Nor contrary to the Constitu
tion of the United States"
1t might puzzle an ordinary
man to 6nd a means to bl on
that provision altogether from the
resolution, and even those singu
lar jurists of Hawaii appear t.
have been sorely exercised by thu
problem, but it was evidently ,
labor of love, and they accomplish
ed it, at least to their own saks
faction. They simply wiped itou
with one fell smudge of the judi
cial thumb.
How?
By the exercise OF Infinite pain
and labor, they disc ,vered tina
this troublesome proviso wal
merely "declaratory, and no
remedial" They say:
1t lie not likely that the remain
ing clause, "Nor contrary to tb,
Constitution of the United States,
also was intended to be merel,
declaratory and not remedial
Were not all these clauses In
serted for the sake of exactnes
and to avoid absurdities and 10
consistencies, and not for tb,
purpose Of taking this method o
enactipg Independent positiv'
legislationp
These conundrums they answer
in the affirmative to their owl
satisfaction. The reasoning is in
corrigibly immoral. 1t is arrived
at by breaking up the provision
into clauses and rejecting thos
that do not jibe with the pre-
judices of the court. This is wha
the provision says:
Tue municipal legislation of tn
Hawaiian Islands not y con
trary to the Constitution of tn
United States X - shall remain
in force.
The Hawaiian court makes
read:
The municipal legislation of th
Hawaiian Islands " Y shall re
main in force.
1t il not an overstatement of III
facts to call such reasoning in
moral and hagitious. 1t is not onl
an insult to the intelligence, br
it is a great deal worse. Perhar
it is not surprising to see sue
reasoning resorted to when it
understood to be the tepacity. {
despair clinging to a system
municipal law which sanction
human slavery.
Get complete history of Philil
nine warfare.