The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-01-23
CONTENTION BEFORE THE SUP
RENE COURT.
We are a Part of the Territory
But Not a Part of the United
States.

WASHINGTON, January 1j.-Soici-
tOr-General Richards today made reply
to Smiths argument-in the Hawaiian
lnSular case, now on hearing before the
! United states Supreme Court. In TINS
/ case he said, 1T was obviously the in
! tenuon OF Congress, as soon as praCti-
! cable, to treat the territory as part of
| the united states, for legislative pur-
poses, so that the revenue and CONNER
| cial laws which apply to the United
states should operate there.
| But he went on, before these laws
could be put in operation in the Hawai-
| ian Islands, it was necessary that
period of preparation should intervene
after the passage of the resolution of
annexation. On July Z, 1898, when the
main resolution was passed, there were
no custom laws of the United States in
| operation in Hawaii and no customs
| OF the United States there. The Gus
| toms laws of the Republic of Hawaii
were in force and they We're the only
| laws of that character. 1t is obvious,
| therefore, that if the resolution of an
neXation Immediately abrogated the
customs laws of the islands, the terri
| tory would have been left without any
customs law, open to the ships of the
/ world. The customs laws of the United
States could not have effective opera
/ tion because there We're no agencies
| there to enforce them.
IF, then, the resolution of annexation
| threw open the ports of Hawaii to the
contention of opposing counsel, it
| threw open the ports of the United
States to ships coming from Hawaii.
The effect of this would have been to
give an open door through Hawaiian
ports into ours. We could not inquire,
when goods came into the United States
from Hawaii, whether they had been
brought into Hawaii as an entry port
to the United States"
Richards argued that this sort of
thing could not be permitted, and he
expressed the opinion that if Congress
had believed that such a consequence
would ensue, the resolution of annex
alton would not have passed when it
did, nor until arrangements could have
been made to put in operation our Gus
toms and commerce regulations imme-
diately. So far as customs matters
are concerned, evidently the islands
were not to be deemed part of the
United States for customs purposes un-
til Congress could further legisate in
the matter by law extending the
United States customs laws and regu.
lations 10 the islands. He called at
tention to the act of annexation, say
ing that it did pot make the Hawaiian
Islands part OF the United States, bu
a part of the territory of the United
States
1T is" he continued, "obvious that
territory annexed or ceded to the Unit
ed States becomes part of the terri
tory of the United States, but it does
not become a part of the United States
in either a constitutional or legis-
lative sense until Congress shall so de-
termine." In conclusion Richards said
I'm the annexation resolution 1t was
expressly provided that the customs
, regulations of the Republic of Hawai-
lgh GhOIIlC
extend the customs laws of the United
, States to the islands. |. was not unit
. the passage of the act of April 30, 1900
| that the islands became a part of th'
, United States for cusoms purposes by
, the extension of our laws to them"
! Richards was interrogated by th'
Chief Justice and by Justices Harlan
, Peckham, White and McKenna. In re
, ply to Justice Harlan he said that If
) became desirable to do so the Unitet
States could part with Hawaii as /
t could with the Philippines, becaus
r neither is part of the Union. He di
= not contend, he said, that Congress
4 could disintegrate the Union; he di
g hold that Congress could dispos
n of territory which simply belongs t
- this country.
h In connection with his contentio
.. concerning the necessary time betwee
= the acquisition of territory and the put
[ ting into effect of our laws, Rlcharu
n read extracts from the treaty negotl
3 ated in 1893 for the annexation of tn
+ islands That, he said, made explic
provision for temporary extension
r our laws, as had been done under tn
n resolution of annexation. He laid som
g stress upon the fact that this treat
e had been negotiated during the admin
$ stration of President Harrison
Y Richards was followed by Wickhal
e Smith. who closed the case for tn
d appellants. This is the last of the In
r sular cases on the docket. About
d dozen of them have been heard and tn
IS Court now has them under advisemen