The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-05-31
WHY IT WAS DONE.

the First Circuit is considered it pre-
sents as many facets as q siX-sided
tetrahedron One may deal with half
a dozen facets and think the subject
done with, but now wrinkles another
point. and now another, till one is al
most bewildered by the multiplicity of
material upon which to comment The
Star has taken up many phases Of the
controversy, but the making of lawyers
by wholesale it has not touched upon
as yet. .........
The sudden making of a number of
members of the Legislature into law
yers, without examination, without any
idea that there had been any prelimin-
airy study was certainly most extra
ordinary proceeding. There had been no
cry for lwayers by the people. No one
was suffering for lack of a lawyer, and
if he We're, he would be better off at
tending to his own case, than have one
of these ready made articles attend to
it for him.
The apologists for this course Of ac-
ton on the part of the First Judge of
the First Circuit say (a) these men
have only been licensed to practice in
the District Courts and chiefly for the
country districts; lb) they are members
of the Legislature, and since they have
the making of laws, they should be
quite competent to carry on cases I'M
der the law (c) many district magis-
trates are not lawyers.
Take the first defence. A man with
no knowledge of law starts in to prac-
tice in some out of the way district.
His object. in getting his diploma
diploma, heaven save the mark,-is not
to benefit his fellow men by helping
them in legal difficulties. His object
is to gather fees and live as idly as he
can. The result will be endless small
litigation in the district court, and I'M
less some one descends upon it, who
knows something, endless injustice.
These ready made lawyers will do more
harm in year than can be repaired in
two. In the populous districts. where
there are people who understand law
and their rights such men can do little
or no harm, but in out of the way dis
tricts they will do any amount of harm.
and the apologists claim, as a defence
that it is to these districts they will go.
The second defence is equally fimsy
In point of fact it is absurd. If this
were true every member of a state
Legislature, every member of Congress.
every member of a city council or of
any body that makes laws or ordinances
is by that fact a lawyer. If this train
of argument were true we might shut
up our law schools, no longer insist up
on an academic training for the law
student, but simply have the whole
legislative mass of our country turned
into lawyers, from farmer Hayseed in
Podunk county to Jim Opunui of Ka-
mehameha county, when it is organic
ed. The plea is absurd. Our present
Legislature has not shown a high APP
probation of law, 1t has shown an
utter ignorance of its principles.
Lastly the apologists say that the
district magistrates are no lawyers.
This is true of some, untrue of others.
However it is the custom of the Anglo
Saxon race to appoint it's district ma
gistrates out of material which is not
II tiillNh III lllt law, Dul WHICH Is sup
posed to have common sense The sup
position is i'll founded very often. But
there is ever the right of appeal to a
higher court and this acts as a safety
valve. A foolish district judge can
very soon be pulled up by those in au-
thority over him. There is nothing
analogous between his case and that of
the ready made lawyer.
Now it is seldom that any sane man
does anything without a motive. There
fore one must seek a motive for the
line of action taken by the First Judge
of the First Circuit in creating a
number of lawyers from among the
members of the Legislature. He knew
perfectly well, when he undertook to
do this thing that it would be criticised
severely. He is a shrewd man, in many
ways a clever man, and he must have
had weighty reasons.
The reasons must be sought in the
fact that the ready made lawyers all
come from one body, and that body the !
law making power The ever open cruise
must have been running dry. and there
member there was inclined to bolt from
the leadership, There is nothing that
an Hawaiian likes better than to be
classed as a lawyer or some kind of
professional man. Here was a bait
which was worth a good deal more
than anything else. Money could be
spent or if not directly given, which no
one charges the Judge with he snent in
various forms of entertainments, or in
subscriptions to entertainments and is
gone. The certificate of lawyer is a
thing which lasts, and which everyone
who received it hopes to make an in
come out of. A man who can bestow
what will YIELD the recipient hopes, an
income for life, is indeed a man to be
followed. No wonder Delegate Wilcox
spoke of the Judge as the leader of the