The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-10-17
PEDE0IRIAN0
Magoon Disputes
Circuit Court
Law.
CITES LEADING
AUTHORITIES
An important Question Which
Involves the Personal Rights
of the People.
Honolulu, H. r, October 10th, 1901.

IlOllUlUlQ, II. H., OCTOBER 10Il, lSUi.
Editor Advertiser: In your article,
Keep Off the Street." in this mornings
paper, you give the proceedings III
case in the Circuit Court of Mrs. Nc
Lean VS.. Nichigishi, in which a motion
for non-suit was granted by the Court.
In this article I do not intend in any
way to criticize the action of the Court,
for every lawyer who is aggrieved at the
decision of a Judge of an inferior tri-
bunal has the right of appeal, to have it
decided whether he or the Judge is right
The Judge in this case, after granting
the motion, took occasion to make the
statement substantially that 1 was wrong
in my contention whereby 1 claimed
that a man driving a wagon could not
drive on to a person standing or walk
ing in the street with his back toward
the vehicle, and without a word of warm
ing, run him down, without being punish
able. 1 challenged opposite counsel to
show an authority for the monstrous
proposition that a woman walking along
the road must keep looking to the rear
to prevent being run over by persons
coming upon her, when she is in plain
view. Common sense would teach us
that such a dangerous doctrine ought not
to be established. It would open the
door for the grossest kind of wrongs and
injuries. This being a matter of such
Importance to the community, 1 quote
below the authorities upon the PROPOSE
ton:
"a foot passenger, though he may be
infirm from disease, has a right to walk
in the carriage way if he pleases, and is
entitled to reasonable care on the part of
drivers of vehicles" / Thompson on Neg
ligence, Section 1900
Section 1901, same authority: THE
driver of team upon a city and street
is bound to anticipate the presence of
foot passengers, at the crossings of other
streets, and is bound to be more alert in
looking out for them in such places than
elsewhere in the ordinary road way. If
he fails to look out for them, or If, after
discovering them, he does not exercise
reasonable skill to the end of avoiding
them, he is guilty Of culpable negligence,
and must answer for the dam
ages. The footman cannot hurt
the horseman or the teamster by collid-
ing with him. - He is the actor;
the other is in a sense passive; and while
the other will not be entirely exonerat-
ed by the law from the consequences
of a failure to take reasonable precau-
tons for his own safety, yet, al
though he may neghgently expose him
self to be run over by the other, yet this
does not excuse the latter in running
over him if he discovers his exposed po-
sition in time to avoid the catastrophe, or
if, by the exercise of that degree of care
which the person so driving the instru-
ment of danger, owes to others, he
might have discovered it in tine to have
avoided the catastrophe"
Section 1904 of the same authority con-
tains the following statement:
THE drivers of vehicles, horseback
riders, have been held prima
facie guilty of negligence in the follow
ing cases: Where a driver approached
from behind and ran upon person walk
ing in the street, the vision of the driver
being unobstructed, his horse under per-
feet control, and he giving no warning
of his approach. When a driver
ran upon a street corner and over a cross
walk which was concealed from view
until the turn was made; where a driver
proceeding on the wrong side of a street
ran over a boy who was playing on that
side"
at is not unlawful for a foot passen-
ger to cross the street at a place other
than a crossing, and if such a person is
so crossing, and the driver of a team
failing to look ahead negligently runs
him down, he must pay damages" Same
authority, Section 1903.
1t is a matter OF regret that there could
be any difference of opinion upon a mat
ter of such Importance to the public. To
place in the hands of the mixed popula-
ton of this city horses and vehicles and
then say that they can run over people
who happen to be standing in the road,
at pleasure, is so plainly not the law that
there is no room for argument on the
question.
1t may be a satisfaction for the public
to know that the defendant in this case
was promptly arrested after the accident
in question. and fined by the District
Magistrate of Honolulu.
]. ALFRED MACON.