The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-05-12
A SWEEPING DECISION
OPINION IN QUEENS HOSPITAL.
CASE.
Court Holds That Under the VIII Of DIR.
Rookie. g. G.. X Rookie Takes the
Whole Property.

The important parts Of the Supreme
court decision in the suit Of Rookie
against the Queens Hospital and 9TH
ers, are here given, the fact of the de-
cison, and the effect on the Queens
Hospital were published yesterday.
The opinion is written by Justice
Frear and concurred in by Justice
Whiting, and Judge Stanley of the Cir
cult court, sitting as an associate JUS
tice. The opinion is a long one, going
thoroughly into the facts of the case
and the Hawaiian law of the descent of
real property.
at common law" the court says,
Including the early statute de donis,
Emma Queen Emma) would take an
estate tail, in which case c. c. X.
Rookie would take a vested remainder;
but (2) estates tail cannot exist in these
Islands.
"(S) At common law before the stat
ute de donis, Emma would take fee
simple conditional, in which case c. G.
X. Rookie would take by way of re-
mainder, IL a remainder could be linn
tied on a fee simple condition, and, II
not, he would take by way of eXecutory
devise. The words without leaving
issue import definite failure of Issue
and perhaps even if they import an
indefinite failure of issue, the heirs gen
eral of the testator would take the pos
sibility of reverter; but
40 Fees simple conditional cannot
exist in these Islands.
60 Under Hawaiian law Emma
would take either (a) fee simple or OBJ
a life estate with % a vested remain
der in the prince, or (2) alternate con
tingent remainders in the prince ana
| c. c. X. Rookie"
| 1t is stated that the will of T. c. B.
Rookie was dated February Is, 1852
Emma married King Kamehameha ",
/ fNsNl 60
Prince Of Hawaii May 20, 1858. The
testator made a codicil changing one
of the executors, May 30, 1858, and died
| November 2S, 1858. Grace kama1kul
Rookie (wife of r. c. B. Rookie died
soon after. The prince died in 1862, the
king in 1868, and Emma in 1885.
Under the will of the teStator he be-
uueathed all his real and personal es-
tate to his wife, Grace Rookie to be
used and enjoyed by her during the
! term of her natural life, and from and
! Immediately after her decease he gave
and devised the same to his adopted
| daughter, Emma Rookie, afterwards
! Queen Emma, to be used and enjoyed
by her during her natural life and her
children forever. But in case of her
dying before the testator, or not leaving
| any issue, he then bequeathed the prop
| erty as above, to his nephew and god
son, Creswell Charles Keane Rookie,
and his heirs forever.
Justice Frear states further in his
syllabus "In either case the words
without leaving any issue must read
in their natural sense, meaning with
out leaving any issue surviving and
not in either of their artificial senses,
meaning without having had issue or
importing an indefinite failure of issue
I'm either case the word or must be
read in it's natural sense, and not as
and
The concluding paragraph gives the
final result of his opinion as to who Is
entitled to the property in question, as
follows:
"In either case, therefore, upon the
death of Emma without leaving issue
surviving her, G. G. K. Rookie became
entitled in fee simple in possession, by
way of executory devise or remainder
as the case might be-"
The exceptions to the order of the
Circuit Judge overruling the demurrer'
in the first and sustaining the demur-
rers in the second of the cases which
have been tried before the Supreme
Court are overruled, and the cases are
RENTED to the Circuit Court for such
further proceedings as may be proper
Magoon 81 Silliman for G. c. x
Rookie; A. s. Hartwell, Robertson q
Wilder, w. r. Castle and p. l.. Weav
err for the Queens Hospital; Kinney
Ballou e. McClanahan and H. Holmes
) for the trustees under the will of Der
nice F. Bishop