The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-02-08
AGAINST A
SNAG.
Secretary Cooper
| Puzzled About
| Word.
lust WHAT DOES
| CONGRESS WANT?
Law as to Reporting Proceedings
Of the Legislature Of
Hawaii.

ECRETARY OF THE TERRI
TORY COOPER has run up
against a snag in the official
phraseology of the Organic Act
wherein he is required to furnish Con-
gress with the proceedings" of the
Legislature of Hawaii. To him the
word proceedings covers a multitude
of labor in the preparation of the work
and results of the coming Legislature
and he is anxious to know whether by
proceedings" Congress really meant
that he should give them the bare jour-
nal of the doings of the local law
making body or render volumlnous
statement including the stenographlc
report of all speeches and debates upon
the measures introduced. Acting I'M
| der the belief that Governor Dole,s OF
fetal family could interpret the mean
Il ing of the word proceedings In
truly official sense only, he submitted
the matter to the Governors Council
yesterday morning.
The act to provide government for
1.-THE Territory of Hawaii passed by Con-,
gress April 81, 1900, and approved April
80, 1900, section SO, describing the duties
of the Secretary of the Territory, has
the following paragraph: he
s shall record and preserve all the laws
land proceedings of the Legislature and
all acts and proceedings of the Gov
lernor. He shall, within 80 days
after the end of each session of the
Legislature, transmit to the President
the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives of the United States, one copy
! each of the laws and journals of such
, session.
. If Secretary Cooper is to send on to
Washington the proceedings" OF the
Legislature as evidenced by the pro
ceedings'' of the two houses of Con-
gress which appeal daily in the Con-
gressional Record, the Secretary has on
Ibis hands work sufficient to keep him
and a corps of clerks busy night and
day to make up the report within the
specified time limit.
If it is construed that the proceed
ings'' shall mean only the journal kept
by the Secretary and clerks of the two
branches of the Legislature respective
lily, then the report will contain only the
bare resume of the laws and amends
ments passed, the motions and resolu-
lions introduced, and their disposition
! and the general dry routine of legisla-
I tive doings.
& 1t is questioned whether dry routine
; SO placed in report for transmission
Ito Washington would be understood un-
3 less qualified by statements of those
who argued for and against the meas
3 ures introduced. AS an example o.
3 this, it may be presumed that mem
3 Der was punished for some parliament
3 tary offense from which he appealed
N lyr,t- of t1n y1y-,
= ceedings would have to be gone owe
IS in the endeavor to ascertain just wha
s the technicality was on which the pun
s lishment was based. This is but one o
S the many examples of the need of a 'ful
6 report of the proceedings" in orde
6 that the reasons for the introduction o
8 bills could be made clear by qualifying
& statements of those supporting TIL
& measures.
s The Standard dictionary definition o
3 the word proceedings" is given as fol
3 lows, with reference to the meaning Il
8 point: THE records of meetings of
& society or the like, sometimes distin
g guished from transactions as givin
5 more fully the business done, with les
& full, or no report of papers read"
& The Organic Act also contains tn
& following:
s "All Legislative proceedings shall b
& conducted in the English language"
s 1t is known that many of the Legis
& lators elected are unable to speak flu
& emily the English language, or even un
= derstand it readily when spoken to. A
e the meeting of about twenty of the In
;; dependent Legislators this week wit
8 the President and Executive Officer c
& the Board of Health. questions Wer
8 directed in Hawaiian through Secretar
& Wilcox, who interpreted them to tn
& President and then translated the En-
e glish answer into the native languag
& for the edification of the Legislators.