The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1899-04-07
HIS ELIGIBILITY
Question Raised Concern
ing the Minister.
a Possible Contingency A Con.
tdbutor Quotes the Constitu.
ton-Neoessary Qualification,

pointment Of Mr. MOtt-Smith as Min
lister OF Foreign Anairs, and the pos
sibility Of any contingency arising by
which he would naturally succeed 20
the Presidency Of the Republic OF lia-
wall through the death, absence OF
disability of President Dole. | quote
the following paragraph from the civil
Laws Of Hawaii:
Article % Qualification Of Pres
ident.
In order to be eligible to the Office
OF President, person shall be
not less than thirty-fye years OF age"
The above Article does not state "by
election" but merely eligible to the
Office Of President, etc" The new
Minister OF Foreign Affairs Is nominal
ly at the head of the Cabinet of Ha.
wall. The Constitution OF Hawaii pro-
vides that "in case OF the death. res
ignatlon, removal or permanent dis
Dility of the President. the Minister
Of Foreign Affairs shall thsreuDOn act
as President until successor TO the
President is elected in the manner
herein designated" Further, the pro-
visions read, lin case OF the disability
of such Minister" then in turn are re-
spectively named the Minister OF In
terror, Minister of Finance, and lastly,
the Attorney General.
When Mr.. Mott-Smith was appoint
ed, did the President take into cOnsid-
GRAFTON the fact that he was appoint
ing a man who would not be qualified
to become or even act as President for
nearly decade hence? That would
be literal Interpretation Of the above
Article. In all cases where official ap-
|pOintments Of high character are pro-
vided for. it Is generally acknowledged
and understood that such a cOntingen-
cy as the resignation or demise of the
immediate superior in Office of the new
appointee should be provided for, and
that by age and party affiliation. the
appointee should be as well qualified
to assume the higher Office as the orig
lnal holder thereof. His fitness by
reason of mental caliber is of course
not attempted to be determined by law;
his experience in Office must sooner or
later bring out his eligibility in that
particular.
Section 8 OF Article 80 provides:
I'm case any Minister shall act as
President as herein provided, he shall
while SO acting, have all the rights and
powers and be subject TO all the duties
land obligations by this Constitution
NJ Cd tn or. N
ident."
BY this section it seems apparent
that the letter Of the law indicates pre-
cisely that such Minister shall assume
every function and power ordinarily
exercised by the President. That being
the case, then the qualification that
the person assuming the Office Of Pres.
ident should have attained the age OF
thirty-fve years, should be rigidly ad
hered to.
| In my opinion, one of the most i'm
pOrtant Articles of the Constitution
with reference to this subject. Is mum
Der 81, a portion of which reads:
The members OF the Cabinet shall
be eX-offlcio members of both Houses
of the Legislature with all the rights
powers and privileges of elected mem
bers, except the right to vote" BY thii
provision he cannot vote upon the foo
|of either House, but he can have a worC
to say thereon, and can act as adviser
land his high Office entities his word I,
be heard and considered. Yet thu
qualification OF person to become I
Senator Is that "he shall have attaine,
the age of thirty years" In this in
stance he falls short OF the requisit,
humber OF years. To be a Representa-
tive person shall "have attained thu
|age Of twenty-five years" In the lat
ter case the new Minister Is a littl'
Iabove the average. This seems to hav'
been a case of Splitting the differ
ence." and letting the matter rest.
Nevertheless, although he would b'
disqualified by the provisions of thu
Constitution from becoming a Senator
yet by virtue of the high Office IN thu
Cabinet, he Is an ex-ofIicio member
thereof
And although nine years would have
TO elapse before the people could legal
" elect Mr.. Mott-Smith to the Presi.
dcncy. yet his appointment as Minis
ter of Foreign Affairs and the possible
I'OHlinS'ntN Oh uSmlse on the part o.
President Dole, opens the way for him
to become the President OF the Repub.
lie Of Hawaii, nine years ahead OF time
Is this consistent with a clear in
depreciation OF the Constitution? is
such an appointment, carrying as II
does, affairs Of the greatest Importance
to Hawaii, to be made without any
reference to the Constitution and the
statutes bearing upon such appoint
ments' No age Is given under which
a Cabinet officer should qualify, but by
becoming a Cabinet officer, he should
have the necessary qualifications to 1T
him for the office 10 which he would
naturally succeed by virtue OF the pro-
visions OF the Constitution above re-
ferred to.
With such bare facts, literally inter
preted from the Constitution Of Ha-
wall, and the statutes, It seems case
OF splitting hairy with a vengeance,
or even more properly speaking,
"straining at gnats, and swallowing
camols,"
ROLYAT,