The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-08-10
ESTEE TAKES
COURT ROOM
Federal Judges Radical
Step.
.O|SPOSSESSES S|LL|MAN
Orders United States Marshal Ray
To Take the Keys and Retain
Possession.

DlSlIlCt anu SACuit SOQI 10 ScStEluoy
took possession of the room hitherto
occupied by Judge Silliman and an
that until he secures other
suitable quarters he shall keep possess
sion of that room for his court. From
the bench Judge Estee directed United
States Marshal Ray to take the keys
of the room and keep it for the uses OF
the Federal courts.
This action Caused a sensation or no
small dimensions about the Judiciary
building yesterday and was almost the
sole topic of conversation during the
Gav. II vas the outcome of CORES
pc..dence between Judge Estee and Su-
perintendent McCandless of the Public
Works department in which the two
took issue on the point of whether the
United States government or the Ter
ritorial government were the owners
and controllers of the Judiciary build
ing and the Capitol.
AT 10 o'clock yesterday mogning Mar
shall Ray appeared at the Judiciary
Silliman's court room, and a few mo-
ments later Judge Estee came up and
the court was opened. Immediately
JuQSe ESlcS pIOuuCeu Il IIutllDcI VI tcl-
tiers and announced that he had a mat
ter of Importance to communicate to
the bar and the public at large. He
then read several communications that
he had exchanged with the Superinten-
dent of Public Works with reference to
the court room. The first of these was
a letter which he sent to Mr.. McCand-
less asking the Territorial government
to furnish tables, desks and witness
stand and bench for the court room.
This was sent to Mr.. McCandless on
Tuesday and brought a reply from the
| latter in which he said that he could
not do so as when making the appro-
priation for repairs and alterations in
the Judiciary building. the matter OF
| fitting up these offices and other work
made necessary by the provisions OF
| the Organic Act was not considered
hence the appropriation would not
cover them, for it was already nearly
exhausted.
! This letter was followed by another
from Mr.. McCandless in which he stat
ed further that the rooms at the Wal
kiki end of the Judiciary building were
assigned to the Federal courts for tenn
porary use only and that the matter OF
rental would be later decided upon
Judge Estee paused after reading this
letter and then he picked up. from the
bunch of correspondence at hand his
own letter in reply. This was as fol-
lows:
Honolulu, H. l., August s, 1900
j. A. McCandless. Esq, Superintendent
of Public Works, Honolulu l.. T.,
IT.. tA&A - -
1900, one in relation to the preparation
of the courtroom and offices of the
United States District Court, notifying
me that the Board of Public Work.
cannot prepare said courtroom and
judges chambers, and the offices of tn
District Attorney, District Clerk, Mar
shall, for use: the other assigning fo
temporary use for myself and the off
GERS of my court, offices on the waikiki
side of the main hallway on the lowe
floor of the Government building
known as the Judiciary building, ant
adding in regard to the rental of thes
offices that the same can be satisfac
torily arranged at some future date
have been duly received by me-
In reply thereto 1 wish to state tina
it was expected, as / have been in
formed,
/ 1. That your department would pre-
pare the courtroom of the United State
District Court and the judges cham
bers and the offices of the respectiv
Government officers for use.
2. am not authorized to accept an,
place for courtroom temporarily.
confess l do not understand what you
letter means by saying temporary us
of part of the building referred to.
3. do not admit that any rental o
these offices is either due or ever viii
be due the Territory OF Hawaii, or 1t
Territorial Government for the use o
any part of this building by the Unit
ed safes District Court or its officers
had supposed that this building wa
the property of the United States; bu
be that as it may, have no authorit
TO put off to future date or 10 agre
to any matter of the rental of any Q
these rooms or any one of them. Yer
truly yours. NORRIS NJ. ESTEE.
+. 81 decline to enter into any ar
rangement for the rental of portion
of the building referred to IN your let
ter as courtroom.
: Then Judge Estee read the repl
which he received on Wednesday fror
Superintendent McCandless 1t was a
follows:
Department of Public Works. Honolu
! lu, H. l., August s, 1900
Hon. Morris M. Estee, United State
District Judge.
1 Sir-I have the honor to acknowledg
: receipt of your favor of this day
date, in reply to our letters of the It
inst, in regard to the matter of filth
up your courtroom and offices connect
ed with the same, and to say in repl
that the courtroom assigned to you
temporary use is the Legislative ha
OF the Territory, and during the occu
pancy of the same by your court thi
Government will have to make temper
airy arrangements for the meeting {
the Territorial Legislature elsewher
You can see by this explanation VIII
the offices assigned to you and you
court will only be temporary.
In regard to the ownership of til
Judiciary building. 1 beg to call yor
attention to Section 81 of AN Act
provide Government for the Territor
OF Hawaii" which provides, THAT til
public property ceded and transferre
to the United States by the Republ
of Hawaii under the joint resolution
annexation approved July 2, 1898, sha
be and remain in the possession, us
and control Of the Government of IL
Territory of Hawaii, and shall /
maintained and cared for by it, at 4
own expense. ETC., etc., etc.
This Government fully recognizin