The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-12-14
FREAR NOW
At Tackled
First Circuit Judge Is
His ASSaiIant.
COURT FUNDS INVOLVED
Chief Justice Smiles at His Subor-
tinate's Attempt To Adver-
tse Himself

The Judge of the First Circuit Court
has now attacked Chief Justice Frear.
His letter making the attack and the
Chief Justices statement. together
with Clerk of the Courts Henry Smith $
explanation of methods. appear below:
Honolulu, Dec. Is, 1900.
Hon. G.. f. Little, Circuit Judge.
My Dear Judge: 4 wrote you official
ly yesterday and, in pLrely formal
way, endeavored to give yuu the key to
the situation. l am sure mat you were
mised by Smiths letter, else you would
not have asked me to rescind my rule
in regard to the handling OF trust
funds. Smiths letter to your clerk-a
copy of which he states was sent to the
other clerks--was written behind my
back, evidently with Chief Justice
Frears approval, and was intended to
be, as firmly believe, small and mean
criticism of a judicial act of mine. 1t
was designed to create the impression
on the clerks that | had by some I'M
usual and arbitrary rule deprived the
chief clerk of the power to use moneys,
available and proper to be used for
that purpose, for the purpose of paying
the running expenses of the courts in
the various circuits, whereas, in truth
and in fact, the rule was only intended
to conserve the trust funds belonging in
Nhe hands of the court.
Now that you have so kindly furnish
ed me with copy of Smiths letter to
Porter, Frear takes the position that
my rule was correct. The fact remains.
however, that he permitted his clerk to
review and criticize the rule in ques-
ton behind my back upon partial and
Incomplete statement of the facts.
Whoever heard of clerk of a court
seriously claiming the right to tenn
pcrarily divert" trust funds until the
claim was made by Smith? In what
other American community would such
conduct be tolerated, either by the
courts OF by the community?
The truth is that not only have the
trust funds of this court been used
by the clerk in the past to carry on the
operating expenses Of the courts in the
other circuits, but the Judges here in
Honolulu have between pay days"
drawn from the office cash, leaving
their due bills in place Of the cash so
withdrawn. This was of course worry
convenient and very improper. Ny
rule prevents the Temporary diver
sion" of trust funds in the hands of the
court for any purpose.
l am pleased to note that upon, what
seems to be second thought, my rule .
commends itself to the approval of the
Chief Justice. but whether 1t does or
does not l shall go along just the sar;";
neither the Chief Justice nor the chief
clerk of the judiciary Department will
be permitted to run the Circuit Court
of the First Circuit as long as 1 am its
Presiding Judge While bowling in be- ,
coming respect to the decisions of the
Supreme Court at all times, the extra
judicial opinions of it's various members
will have no terror for me- That is the
only proper and self-respectng view to
take.
Z Trusting that you now fully under
stand my position, I remain,
Yours faithfully.
A. S. HUMPHREYS. f.
First Judge. t.
Chief Justice Frears statement, when
asked if he had anything to say in re-
gard to Judge Humphreys correspond
ence, was as follows: "Ihere is really
no occasion for saying nythinS. Judge
Humphreys seems 10 lave sought oh
excuse for erecting men of straw to
knock down, and appears TO have been
even anxious TO go out of his way to
sling mud at others, apparently for pur- ;
poses of self-advertislng. He appears
to be offended at a portion OF MIR.
Smiths letter to Mr. Porter, which
no one took as rejecting on him. Judge
Humphreys spoke to me yesterday of
this matter and | told him in substance [
that l had approved Mr.. Smiths course 7
in declining to send funds to the other
circuits, and also that | had told Mr.. ,
Smith at the time he wrote to MI. Por-
ter that Judge Humphreys order was !
all right and cut no figure in the matter
and that the course proposed should be
taken as a matter of correct practice
independently of that order. also
wrote to Judge Little to that effect and
Judge Humphreys said he had read my
letter to Judge Little and thanked me
for putting the matter as | had in that
letter To my surprise, though entirely
in line with his past, Judge Humphreys a
came out in this mornings paper and, {
understand intends further to come 7
out in the papers with an effusion of .
self-virtue and ud-sllnging at others.
He is seizing the occasion of certain !
correspondence between the clerks of a
two courts with which he has nothing
to do as an occasion for publishing c
lot of yellow matter of his own concoc- {
ton to the community merely because
a small portion OF that letter appeared !,
to his mind to reflect on him, though
no one ever intended that ii should re-
fleet on him. AS for my connection I
with his order, / have never questioned
it's correctness OF propriety to anyone v
or paid any attention to it and do not :
see that 1t should give Judge Hum y
phreys so much trouble. AS to my ap-
proving his order now on second
thought, as he insinuates, he knew that n
I had approved IL in my conversation Il
with Mr. Smith two weeks ago and In Il
my letter TO Judge Little. which
wrote and Judge Humphreys read be- =,
fore he made the statement that I now !,
approved on second thought or after he D
had heard from Judge Little"
Clerk Henry Smiths explanation was n
as follows: N
I make the following explanation I'm
regard to cash deposits in my hands
as clerk of the Judiciary Department:
The reply of Judge Humphreys to Judge
Little would seem to indicate that
had been using trust" funds to pay
court term expenses with whereas II
S nothing OF the kind. The widows and a
orphans funds are sacredly kept, as Ii
,ur books will show; what / have used .
was the cash deposited or rendered"
BY litigants to await final Judgment, II