The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-04-07
THE CHINATOWN LOSSES
INHERENT FUTILITY OF COURT
OF CLAIMS.
How Just Claims May be Speedily Re-
duced to Judgments, and Substantial
Justice Done all Parties.

has arisen to the court of claims, and
50 many doubt as to it's Jurisdiction
and utility have been expressed, that
It seems hardly possible it can serve
a useful purpose. If this is so, ought
there not to be a reconsideration of the
whole subject before great expense has
been incurrd, and the question of COM
pensation, which the legislature will
have ultimately to consider and pro-
vide for, becomes so clouded by con-
tradictions and uncertainties, as to en-
tail years of litigation, and the failure
of substantial justice to both claim
ants and the government.
| Let us first consider the status of
the court of claims. 1t is a court with
out either constitutional or legislative
sanction. The only figment of author
ity for it is, that President Mckinley
has authorized some court of claims,
and that the Newlands Resolution au-
thorizes him to provide for the civil.
military and judicial administration of
the Islands until congress acts. The
| terms in which it's jurisdiction is con-
| ferred and limited are ambiguous,
though this may possibly be remedied.
Its procedure and supposed jurisdiction
are new, so that inevitably, many
questions must arise to be settled by
! litigation in other courts. There is no
!certainty that it's awards will ever be
! paid. For though the legislature would
| be bound TO appropriate money to paw
the awards of the supreme or circuit
court, it will not be bound by any but
moral obligation to appropriate for the
awards of this court Indeed, it is not
| improbable that the question of paying
or not paying these awards, may be-
come an issue in the election for legis-
! lators. At any rate, an award of this
court will not get the claimant his
| money until the Legislature appropri-
ates for it, and the uncertainty as to
| the legal obligation of the award will
be so great that it will have no market
value, as a judgment of the supreme
court would have. The claimant then,
to reap any benefit from an award
would have to assign 1t for what he
could get from spectators. These
awards would then simply become the
subject of gambling transactions, only
| that the gamblers having so much at
stake would become a lobby, If not n
source of corruption, when the legisla-
ture takes up the subject.
| The prime object in appointing the
court, to secure speedy relief to large
body of needy claimants, is shown to
| be Impossible OF attafnment both from
| the inherent weakness of the court s
! jurisdiction and procedure, as shown
above, and from the impossibiity of
| its even giving speedy awards as you
have clearly shown in The Star. If
| this is so, it seems to me clear that the
court can serve no useful purpose and
| is bound to be a source of great eX-
pense to the government, greater ex-
pense to litigants, and of vexation and
disturbance of public interests in the
! personal and pecuniary interests it will
create and array against one another
But, it will be said, What else are
You going to do?" 1 propose to state
one thing that oan be done. 1t will be
hnf fhn 4vNI1
Saxon Jurisprudence provide in some
way, and usually in a very excellent
way, for every contingency of litiga-
tion. 1t is maxim of the common
law that there is no wrong without
a remedy" And I do not believe that
our present situation is any exception.
BY constitutional authority the Su-
preme court is the court of claims
against the Government The judg-
ments of that court create valid claim
| against the Government When a mon
ey judgment against the government
is rendered, it has a stable and definite
value, and can become a legitimate
| commodity of purchase and sale. The
only uncertainty about it is the time
of payment, and therefore, the discount
If any, will be the difference between
the going rate of interest and the rate
of interest which judgments bear, for
the probable time the purchaser will
have to wait for his money. But as
! Hawaiian Government bonds are at a
premium, it is hardly probable that
Judgments of a Hawaiian court against
the Hawaiian Government will go much
l below their face value. Therefore If a
way can be provided by which losers
by the Chinatown fire can speedily re-
duce their just claims to a Judgment
of the Supreme court, the question OF
doing substantial justice to them is
solved Can the Supreme court adapt
itself to this need? 1t seems to me very
easily
There are something over 1900, ,OOC
people in Cook county, Illinois. Up to
ten years ago, and up to a time when
there were over 1000 900 population in
Cook county, one probate Judge did all
the probate business of the county
Every will to be probated, every estate
to be administered, every will contest
every guardianship case, every eXeCu-
tors or administrators account, al
came before one Judge When the de-
tail of this vast business became toe
great the county commissioners, having
no power to create another Judge and
seeing no necessity for one, authorized
the appointment of a person with the
title of clerk, but the capacity and
salary of judge, to whom all accounts
and other routine and detail matters
were referred by the Judge. His re-
of the court, so that all that was nee
essary for the probate judge to do, he
having confidence in the ability and in
tegritY of his own appointee, was tC
sign the report and make it the judg-
ment of the court. This system has
proved so eminently satisfactory, and
practical that there has never been any
suggestion of increasing the number oi
probate judges. And today the probate
business of Cook county, where there
are more than 10000 separate matters
brought before the court every year
and claims and interests of millions
are adjudicated in this way, and tC
general satisfaction.
Now suppose this principle were adoDt.
ed by the Supreme court in the regular
way. Then let the court appoint one
or more clerks, commissioners, cal
them what you like, to hear testimony
and report on each case in roder, Ev
cry case is then in perfect shape t.
! Continued on page five)