The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-05-22
Fitch Finds Flaws
In DoIe's
Plea.
DENIES pRECEDENTS
WILL COVER CAUSES
Makes the Point That Cooper
Cannot be Acting Governor
With Show OF Right.

If the Court please. a man is found
dead in his bed; an autopsy shows that
he has died Of subtle poison: the po-
lice authorities go to work to find out
where that poison was obtained, who ad-
ministered it. what the motives were,
who were the people concerned; a link
comes here and a link comes there and
a coil in this place and coil In another
and motive in another, and bye and
bye the whole are brought together and
there is an iron chain surrounding the
murderer. But IL at the beginning as
soon as it Is discovered that there has
been poisoning, or as soon as the man is
dead. the Court summons in the Grand
Jury to investigate that case, and 1t is
seen that witnesses are coming and go
ing, the guilty parties know what this
witness knows, and what that witness
knows and what the other witness knows
and they suspect, and the sources of evil
dence, no matter how careful and honest
the Grand Jury is, the sources of evi-
dence are tied up and the time goes un-
finished Now in this investigation It
was the intent of the Executive Depart
ment of the Government not to investi-
gate with haste of some Hawaiian legis-
lators perhaps who had then been in
duced by the payment Of a little money
to give his vote in some form, but it
sift the matter the best 1t could to bring
If possible the organizations and associa-
tions the man of wealth, to justice. that
the Territory might be clean In its ad-
ministration, as the Republic has been
before 1t. 1t is the intention of the Ex-
ecutive now to follow out these same
| lines unless the events Of this term have
| made it impossible to dosso.fs-s -''..'sisr ;
Now. If the Court please, the position
| which the Executive has taken is strict
ly justified by the law. do not make
| that as a statement Of opinion. The law
| is absolute and unquestionable, and IL
| that Is SO, the functions Of the Govern
| ment-of course, 1t has been stated, IL
the Court please. in the newspapers that
the Governor, the Acting Governor, the
tAttorney General and Mr.. McCandless
have set themselves up as power above
the law. AS Individual men they stand
on an equality before the law with every
citizen. AS an individual, Mr.. Mckinley
and the boy who blacks his boots stand
on absolute equality of right before
the law. Mr. Mckinley, as an individ
| ual, can claim no exemption, no right
which the kitchen girl who washes his
plates cannot claim. Under our system
of government there are three co-ordi-
nate departments, the legislative, the ex-
Iecutive and the judicial.
| If there is dog case-now there is
difference of authority in regard to this,
and / win take the assumption against
executive power because there Is a con-
fict of authority in regard to that If
there is a dog case on trial before JUS
tice of the peace in the City Of Wash
ington, President Mckinley can be call
fy to the character and value of that
dog. There Is a conflict Of authority
about that, but there Is no conflict of
authority in regard to the position we
take. AS citizen, as a man, Mr.. Me-
Kinley is called in to testify to the value
of that dog and the justice of the peace
can bring the President Of the United
States against his will into court. So.
assuming that that Is the law, and there
Is some authority to that effect, the JUS
tice of the peace has a power which the
President of the United States does not
have. Bit If the justice Of the peace
steps outside the limits OF his powers
and his Jurisdiction and says to co..
ordinate branch of the Governuzerf, your
functions are 30 and so, and calls them
In where they and not he have the right
to determine, they have the right, and 1t
is their duty, standing up for free con-
lstitutional government, to defy the en-
croachment Of judicial power.
! 1ne members Oh the Executive nave
leach taken an oath the same as Your
Honor has taken an oath, to perform the
functions which the law pets upon them
under and pursuant to the law. They
are just like other men with ne rights
land no privileges which other mensdo not
possess, but they are vested by the Con-
istitution, by the Organic Act, by the
i laws of the land, with certain powers
and certain responsibilities which IT is
their duty to perform and not to surren-
der. And I hold that the Governor, the
Acting Governor and the Attorney Cen
teral, starting IN to investigate this crime
and believing. az they honestly do. that
the cause taken into this court would
send men guilty of grave crimes free In
the community, 1t Is their DUTY to the
people and their duty under their oaths
to refuse to give the evidence, for the
law vests the discretion in them and not
in Your Honor.
I will call Your Honor'E attention 70
section $50 of the first volume OF Green
Ileafs on Evidence: I'VE now proceed
to the third class Of cases In which evi-
dence is excluded from motives OF pubic
Ipolicy, namely, secrets Of state or tnlnss
the disclosure Of which would be preJu-
|, dicial TO public interest. These matters
, are either those which concern the ao-
|, ministration of penal Justice or those
, (which concern the administration OF JUS
: lttce but the principle Of public eaIety is
IN both cases the same and the fute OF