The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-03-16
THE HOUSE hawaiian BILL
KNOCKS OUT ALL PROPERTY
QUALIFICATIONS.
Confirms Hawaiian Land Laws, and
Makes Practically Every Native and
American a Voter.

Copies of the House Bill to provide q
government for the territory of Ha-
waii, as reported to the House Com
mittee on territories, were received by
the Australia. This bill, which is the
Hawaiian Commissions bill as amend
ed by the committee, has been com
mitted to the committee of the whole
House on the state of the Union and
ordered printed. 1t is in this commit
tee of the whole House that the bill
will be debated and the subject threshed
out, and our fundamental law, so far as
the House is concerned, take final
shape. After that will probably come
the conference committee of the two
houses, which will take the bill as
passed by the Senate and the bill as
passed by the House, and reconcile
their differences.
The principal amendments as the
House Bill now stands, are as follows:
1t provides that a special election for
members of the legislature may be
called on thirty days notice before the
time for the first general election and
assembly of the Legislature provided for
in the bill. By this provision a legls-
| lature may be called very soon after
the territorial bill is passed. Each
house of the legislature, and not the
supreme court, is to be the judge of
! the election qualifications of its own
members.
All the disabling qualifications of
electors in the original bill are swept
away, and the following short and
| simple qualification is substituted:
That no person shall be entitled to reg
lister or vote at any election in the
| Territory of Hawaii unless he shall
take an oath to support the constitution
of the United States" The property
qualifications are all done away with
and the qualifications for an elector to
lwr, nfk frNR. To
tive are that he shall be a male citizen
of the United States; have resided in
the territory a year and in the district
three months; be twenty-one years of
age, be registered, have paid one dollar
poll tax for the current year, and be
able to speak, read and write the Eng
lish or Hawaiian language.
All officials must be citizens of the
territory, and not merely reside there
in. The governor may declare martial
law only until communication can be
had with the President, and his decis-
ion thereon made known.
The Hawaiian land laws are to remain
in force, except that sales, grants and
leases and other dispositions of the
public domain, and agreements con-
cerning the same shall be reported in
writing each month to the Secretary
of the Interior, and he shall have au-
thority to confirm, reverse, modify, sus-
pend and annul any of them. But If
he does not act on them within sixty
days, they are confirmed and ratified.
All sales, etc, made in good faith in
conformity with Hawaiian law between
July 7, 1898, and September 28, 1899, are
ratified and confirmed.
Neither house of the Legislature can
eXpel a member except by a two-thirds
vote, and the Legislature at it's first
session shall reapportion the member
ehi Of hnt tn
census returns. To be a senator a man
must be twenty-five, a male citizen en-
titled to vote, and have resided in the
territory three years. The term of
office of the justices of the supreme
court are made nine years, and of the
circuit judges six years. and of other
appointed officials four years. The
judicial system of the territory shall
remain as it is until the Legislature
provides otherwise. Hawaiian juries
are done away with, and unanimous
verdicts required in criminal cases
None but male citizens of the United
States, twenty-one years of age, who
can understandingly read, write and
speak the English language, can be
jurors or grand purors. Until the leg
islature otherwise provides, the circuit
courts shall provide for the selection
and sittings of grand juries.
A territorial delegate in Congress is
prONlueQ IOr VINO small possess the
/ qualifications required for membership
: in the territorial house of representa-
tiVes.
: The president of the Board of Health
may be a salaried officer
All vessels carrying permanent ol
temporary Hawaiian registry on Au
gust IL, 1885, together with the vessels
Star of France, Euterpe, Star Of Rus
sia, Falls of Clyde and Willscott, are
given American registry.
The act is to take effect sixty day!
after it's approval.
NEW LIVERY.