The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-05-18
CERTIFICATES OF NATIVITY
RULING OF THE TREASURY Of
THE SUBJECT.
Secretary of the Territory May Con-
Customs Should O. *. Them.

In the current issue of Treasury De-
cisions" of date May 2, is given the
ruling of the Secretary of the Treasury
on the inquiries of Secretary Cooper as
to whether he should continue to issue
certificates of nativity to Hawaiian
born Chinese under the Hawaiian sta
tute of 1884. The inquiry of Secretary
Cooper has brought out a suggestion
from the department which it is be-
lieved will be of the greatest service to
those affected by the rulink. 1t is that
where these certificates are to be used
at Continental ports they should be, in
effect, O. KID by the collector of GUS
toms at Honolulu.
The ruling of the Treasury Depart
ment is as follows:
Treasury Department. April 30 1901.
Sir: BY reference from the honorable
the Secretary of the Interior, the de-
partment is in receipt of your letter
of Sd instant prOpOunding certain
queries, i'm view of the fact that you
have received no direct ruling from
the Secretary Of the Treasury" here
upon.
The points upon which you desire
information are:
l. Whether it is proper for YOU to
issue certificates of Hawaiian birth to
children born of Chinese parents in the
Hawaiian Islands prior to August Il,
1898.
>. Whether you shall continue to is
sue certificates To persons of the eX-
empt classes in conformity to the pro-
visions of section of the act of July
5, 1884.
With regard 10 the first point, there
appears to be no objection to your con-
tinuing to issue the certificates men
toned to which it would seem that
applicants are entitled. This seems to
he We a n n
ed in your letter to-wit, that. from ar
ticle II, section /, of the Constitution
of the Republic of Hawaii that
All persons born or naturalized in the
Hawaiian Islands and subject to the
jurisdiction of the Republic are citi-
zens thereof
And section of the act approved
April 80 1900, which provides
That all persons who were citizens of
the Republic of Hawaii on August u,
1898, are hereby declared to be citizens
of the United States and citizens of the
Territory of Hawaii,
AS matter of administration it
would seem to be wise, where such GER
tifcates are to be used by the holders
thereof at continental ports of this
country to establish their RIGHTS to
landing, that such holders, prior to de-
parture from the Territory, should.
through the collector of customs, have
an investigation and report made show
ing the truthfulness of the allegations
upon which certificates were issued
and that the holders are the persons
actually referred to therein. Such a
report, accompanied by these certif-
Gates, should be prepared in duplicate,
one copy to be mailed to the collector
at the proposed port of entry and the
other to be presented by the applicant
upon his arrival at such port.
With respect to the second point, it
seems unnecessary to do more than re-
iterate department letter addressed on
June ?, 1900, to Attorney II. c. Schaet-
ger of San Francisco, in which the f~'
lowing language is used:
You are informed that the denart-
ment will regard certificates conform
ing to the provisions of section 6 of
the act approved July 5, 1884, relating
| to the exclusion of Chinese when is
sued by the Secretary of the Territory
of Hawaii as being sufficient to estab-
lish the right of Chinese persons of
| the exempt class to enter this coun-
try, provided the statements made in
such certificates are not controverted
Similar precautions should be adopt-
ed, however, with regard to such GER
| tihcateS as are mentioned above re-
| speeding certificates of birth. in order
that the necessity which would other
wise arise of having these certificates
returned to the collector at Honolulu
! for investigation, and the consequent
delay may be obviated.
Your further request for information
as to what rights of citizenship can be
claimed, respectively, by Chinese who
are naturalized in accordance with the
laws of Hawaii prior to August 70,
1898, and those who were born of Chi
nese parents prior to the same date if
! there is any doubt thereon in view of
the above quotations from the consti-
tuition of the Republic of Hawaii: and
the act of Congress approved April 30,
1900 does not appear to require an
answer since the reply thereto does
not involve any question of the admin
istration of the Chinese exclusion laws
that has not already been considered
specifically herein
Respectfully,
l.. j. GAGE,
Secretary.