The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-02-06
Sc I Il EMENT
OF QUESTION
Chinese Permitted To
Remain Citizens.
'GRIGGs FILES OPINION
Attorney Baird Writes to Washington
and Receives Reply From At
torney General.


United States Attorney Baird wrote
a letter last September to the Attor-
ney General at Washington asking for
instructions concerning the decision of
John K. Richards, Solicitor for the
Treasury, who said that Chinese
person born in Hawaii, but afterward
removing to China, was not by virtue
of his Hawaiian birth entitled to re-
turn If this were true it would prob
ably affect the Hawaiian Islands, and
particularly Honolulu, to a greater
extent than any other part of the
United States, and grave fears were
entertained that the decision might
hold
Following is the letter in full and
the reply setting forth the opinion re-
Gently filed at Washington by Attor-
ney General Griggs:
Honolulu, Nov. II, 1900
THE Attorney General, Washington,
D. c.:
"Sir-On September 18th, 1900, the
Acting Commissioner General of I'm
migration in his letter of that date
Or. o. d. No. 1932-C.) ruled that Chi
nese persons acquiring citizenship un-
der the laws of Hawaii cannot be con-
sidered citizens of the United States.
I'VE have had many habeaS corpus
cases here where Chinese persons have
been held for deportation, although
they claimed to be of Hawaiian birth.
So far the Government has prevailed
| in every case, because the claimants
failed to establish the fact of their
birth in the Hawaiian Islands.
Il respectfully request instructions
as to my course in case a person re-
turns from China who can really es-
| tablish the fact of his birth here.
Section of the Act of April 80,
| 1900 reads as follows: That all per-
sons who were citizens of the Repub-
lie of Hawaii on August 18th, 1898, are
hereby declared to be citizens OF the
United States and citizens of the Ter
ritory of Hawaii
/ Section 1, Article II, of fhe Consti-
tuition of the Republic of Hawaii was
as follows: Section l. All persons
born or naturalized in the Hawaiian
Islands, and subject to the Jurisdiction
of the Republic, are citizens thereof .
The opinion of the Attorney General
is as follows:
| Department of Justice, Washington
D. c., January Is, 1901.
John c. Baird. ESQ.,, U. S. Attorney,
Honolulu, Hawaii: Sir-In reply to
your letter of November II, 1900,
/ have to inform you that I have rem
dered an opinion to the Secretary OF
the Treasury, dated January 16. 1901
! holding that a Chinese person born OF
naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands
who was in fact a citizen of the Re-
public of Hawaii under the constitu-
ton and laws thereof, on August II
/ 1893, and has not since that date aban-
doned or lost his rights as such, is q
| citizen of the United States as well as
of the Territory of Hawaii. You viii
be guided accordingly. Respectfully,
JOHN w. GRIGGS,
Attorney General
This ruling practically settles the
matter and will prevent long struggles
in the courts in order to test the ru1
ing of the Solicitor of the Treasury
1t will, however, be necessary for Chi
nese to register if they intend to visi
the States in order to save much trou
BILE and expense