The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-03-08
BAD NEWS IN HAWAII
NATIVES ARE RUNNING THINGS
THEIR OWN WAY.
CONTROL THE LEGISLATURE.
sovE EXTREME LEGISLATION IN
PROSPECT.

r.rritoriaI Secretary Cooper Order
-, ont of the House ON the
,-.ounds That He Was Reprcsen-
.,txc of President McIkinlcy-A
Nc,v system of Taxation, COmbin-
inc. Income and Single Tax Fea-
.,rrs. In PrOspect-A Liquor Dis
,cpxary Law Also Probable.
honolulu March /, via San Francisco,
March THE first territorial Legislature
~ Hawaii begun its sessions in Honolulu,
on Feb %, and has been in session since.
7 A. Akina, Independent a Hawaiian
chinese member from the Island of
r1uauai. was elected speaker of the
House. ard DR.. Nicholas Russell of Ha-
wai white man, was chosen president
Of the Senate.
m the third day Secretary of the Ter
ritorv Cooper was ordered out of the
House and escorted out by the sergeant
alarms Acting under the section of the
territorial act which provides that he
shall record and preserve the laws and
proceedings Of the Legislature" Secretary
Cooper took a place on the floor of the
House with a stenographer, TO secure
a record of the proceedings Representa-
tive Beckley% Independent, offered a reso-
luton requiring him to leave. The reso-
lution set forth that his presence on the
floor was a violation of the rules; that
the three departments of government,
executive, judicial and legislative, must
he kept separate, and it was urged in de-
bate that Gov. Dole had put Cooper
where he was with view to intimidating
members.
Cooper was declared by the Repubh
cans to be present as a representative of
President Mckinley, as he had been or
dered to transmit report to Washing
ton, but even this plea did not deter the
Independents After a long debate. they
passed the Beckley resolution by a vote
Of 20 to 9. the nine being all the RepuDli-
cans in the House.
Radical Legislation Proposed.
With both houses in control of the In
dependent Home Rule party and contain
ing majority of native Hawaiians, the
legislature has already been the scene
Of some remarkable proceedings, and the
end Of the session promises to see many
very radical measures adopted, among
those to which the controlling party is
committed being liquor dispeusary law,
a taxation system that will be a COM
bination of single tax and in
come tax doctrines, an election
law based on proportionate representa-
ton and a law excluding from the terri
tory all persons who may arrive here af-
aicted with consumption or leprosy.
The question of languages is another
source of trouble. The organic act says
that all proceedings of the Legislature
shall be conducted in English Half of
tie members cannot speak English, and
Hawaiian interpreters have been employ
el in both houses. 1t is the opinion of
some lawyers that this will invali5ate all
Proceedings and this matter will come
before the courts when some laws have
been passed. Chief Justice Frear
and Gov. Dole, who were mem
Oers of the commission that
adopted the rule in quest on, have
oppressed the opinion that it intended to
provide that no language but English
should be spoken. The independents claim
that laws and resolutions, etc, shall be
IN English. Every measure and every
speech is being siven in both English and
Hawaiian.