The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-08-09
SPECIAL
JURY TO-DAY.
Seaman Cases in
the Federal
Court.
CHARGES OF
ASSAULT ON SEA
Sailors Who Refused Assistance in
Extinsuishing Fire on c. D.
Bryant Coming Up.

A session of the special petit jury is
called to meet at 10 o'clock this morn
Grafton of the cases of the seamen now
held for various offenses on the high
seas against the statutes of the United
States 1t will be remembered that
the last petit jury called for a similar
purpose was Indignantly discharged
upon the request of United States At
tcrney Baird for it's failure to convict
Captain Sodergren. The prosecuting
attorney alleged at the time that the
jury was prejudiced against the Gov
eminent, and refused to try any of the
charged from all further service by the
court, and the cases against the sea-
men being nolle pressed. The jury
which was so summariIy dismissed has
Gled a complaint against Mr.. Baird at
Washington. but nothing further has
been heard of this appeal.
There are an even larger number of
cases. in which seamen are defendants,
TO come up at this time Had not Judge
Estee ordered the summoning of a spe
| cial jury these men would have been
| compelled to wait until the regular Oc-
tDb-r term before their cases could
| have been heard. The Sailors Union
| has been unusually active in the pros
ecution of captains and mates on the
charge of cruelty and the cases will
probably occupy the Federal Court for
! several weeks.
| The jury when it appears in court
this morning viii quite likely be ex-
cused Until next Monday, and in the
meant ime the court will assign the
| cases for trial in their regular order.
! The skip-captains are all anxious to be
| the first on the calendar in order that
| they may leave as soon as possible.
| Some of them have been detained here
with their ships for months, and TO the
mates particularly this arrest has been
| a hardship, some of them having lost
their places through the detention.
| Below is given the names of the petit
jurors and their places of residence:
F. Clay Olaa, Puma: VIM. F. Allen,
| Herman w. Barth, ]. s. Bailey, Homo
| lulu; Robert Andrews. Hilo; julius
/ Asch. Benjamin G.. Allen. A. c. Dow
sett, w II. Smith Frank f. Blake. Will
liam Mulch, j. w. Bergstrom, VIM.
Blaisdell, James w. Robertson, Charles
Lucas, William Moon, Honolulu c. r.
Blacow Paauilo, Hamakua; Otto Rose,
Oswald A Stevens, NJ. S. Pacheca, w.
H. Shipman Hilo; George w. Smith.
John Neill, George w. Smith, Honolulu.
The cases to be heard by this jury
are as follows:
r. Hanson, c. Reid. II. Forst and r.
Schroeder, who are charged with neg
lecting their duty in refusing to assist
in extinguishing the fire on board the
G. d. Bryant
Charles Albert. second mate of the
Sea King, alleged to have assaulted
Henry Deere. The captain of the same
vessel was discharged on motion of the
United States Attorney about a week
ago.
Robert Capley, master. and Patrick
Mccarthy, second mate of the st.
James, also charged with assault upon
the high seas. s.
George Baker, master. and Andrew
Kerns, second mate, of the Emily Reed,
charged with a similar violation of sec
ton 4611, United States statutes.
Mate John Douglas, who was recent
ly arraigned, will also be one of the men
tried before this special jury.
SUPREME COURT DECISION.
The Supreme Court handed down an
opinion yesterday affirming the decision
of the First Circuit Court in the case of
Virginia Comes VS.. the Portuguese Mu-
tual Benefit Society of Hawaii, where
in a verdict had been rendered for de-
PENDANT. The case was an equity pro-
ceeding in which the plaintiff seeks to
recover the benefit on the death of her
husband, seeking to have cancelled
note given by herself and husband to
defendant corporation for a loan to pay
for an operation upon deceased hus-
band The defendant admits liability
to the amount of 1899, but sets off this
note of $500 as a counterclaim. The
plaintiff contended that the society was
obliged to pay for the operation per-
formed upon her husband, according to
the terms of its bylaws, and that the
note is void because it was procured
by Misrepresentation and because there
was no consideration, inasmuch as it
was given for a payment the society
was bound to make in any event. The
question at issue was whether the de-
him to medical attendance and half
dollar per day, or in the third class,
which is the amount of his hospital
bill, which may not exceed $1.25 per
day. The lower court held that as he
had elected to go to the hospital he was
not entitled to payment for the opera
ton, and in this decision, dismissing the
case. the Supreme Court concurs. The
opinion is written by Chief Justice
Frear, and is concurred in by Associate
Justice Galbraith and by L. Andrews,
who acted in place of Judge Perry, dis
qualified in the case at bar.
The syllabus of the decision is as fol-
lows:
The bylaws of mutual benefit so
ciety permitted a sick member to elect
either '$1.25 a day during his illness or
medical attendance, medicine and half
T., gxf hi