The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-01-24
INSULAR CASES
RELATE TO HAWAII

eHat lhc SoilStitullOn snail no longer be
operative in any of its parts N these
territories. Indeed, it is a question
whether Congress would need even to
go through that form. A special sub
sequent statute repugnant to prior
general statute obviously repeats the
latter (the Cherokee tobacco case. II
Wall, 616). and, therefore, ACCORDING to
those who are opposed to us in this
case, Congress must have a right to-
morrow to createean order of nobility
In Oklahoma or to pass a bill OF at
tainder in Arizona"
Counsel then said that cases had been
cited wherein it was held that countries
captured in war or ceded by treaty could
be held as foreign until Congress had
legislated to define their status This.
he said, would not help the Government
in the case, as the islands were not con-
quered or annexed by treaty, but by leg
islative act. He said further, upon what
authority can they be held after Con-
gress has, by joint resolution, annexed
them as part of the territory of the
United States, to be a country foreign to
the United States? It is true Congress
had not SO fully and completely legislat-
ed with reference to the islands as it
might and did do thereafter, but it has
certainly legislated enough to make them
cease to be foreign 1t had not only an
nexed them as a part of the territory of
the United States, but it had provided
that the revenue from OF proceeds of the
public lands thereof might be used for
the civil. military or naval purposes of
the United States; it had authorized the
President to vest the civil and judicial
powers in such persons to be exercised
in such manner as he might direct, and
had, in effect, repealed so much of the
municipal legislation of said islands
was contrary to the Constitution of the
United States. 1t had prohibited Chinese
from coming from the islands to the
United States and it had appropriated
out of the treasury Of the United States
a hundred thousand dollars to carry out
the provisions of the joint resolution Is
it to be said for one minute that all these
things were done with reference to a for
eign country? Let those who maintain
the other side of this controversy point
out a single instance in the history of
the United States, either before the Ha-
waiian annexation or since. in which
Congress has annexed place as a part
of the territory of the United States and
yet treated it as foreign country"
Mr.. Smith then cited a treasury decision
of April IL, 1900, holding that Porto Rico
was not a. foreign country within the
meaning of the drawback clause of the
Dingley law, and asked why Hawaii
should have been considered foreign
country at that time.
! Counsel followed with arguments tend
ing to show that the uniformity clause
of the Constitution with reference to in
direct taxes is one of the fundamental
limitations upon the powers of Congress
and that in consequence the provision OF
the annexation act which continued in
force the customs regulations of the Re-
public clear violation of the uni
formity clause. From this he went on to
argue that in case the islands were con-
sidered foreign, any tax collected there
ll;on goods coming from this country
would be in effect export tax, as there
would be no diffe -ea.e whether Il ta1 on
gouGs going from 4 stare to the Islands
w-re taxed at the pornt of shio r,an. or
at the destination, as the charge ~oui1
lie from the time the goods were ship
ped. The decision of the Supreme Court
of Hawaii to the effect that the constitu-
ton of the United States had been in
force in the islands since August 13, 1885,
was cited, and the argument closed thus:
MAY Congress in legislating for terri
tory which it has annexed as part OF
the territory of the United States disre-
gard the fundamental limitations upon
its power written in the Organic Law to
which Congress owes its existence? If 1t
may, the judgment below is correct IL
may not, that Judgment cannot stand
/ SOLICITOR GENERALS REPLY.
WASHINGTON, January 15.-Solicitor
General Richards today made reply TO
Smiths argument in the Hawaiian insu-
lar case, now on hearing before the
United States Supreme Court In this
case he said it was obviously the 10
tention of Congress, as soon as pracu-
cable to treat the Territory as part OF
the United States for legislative pur-
poses, so that the revenue and CONNER
cial laws which apply to the United
States should operate there.
But" he went on, before these laws
could be put in operation in the Hawaii
an Islands, it was necessary that period
of preparation should intervene after the
passage of the resolution of annexation.
On July q 1898, when the main resolution
was passed, there were no custom laws
of the United States in operation in Ha-
wall and no customs of the United States
there The customs laws of the Republic
of Hawaii were In force and they were
the only laws of that character 1t is
obvious, therefore, that If the resolution
of annexation Immediately abrogated the
customs laws OF the islands. the Terri
tory would have been left without any
customs law, open to the ships OF the
world The customs laws of the United
States could not have effective operation
because there were no agencies there to
enforce them.
IF then. the resolution of annexation
threw open the ports of Hawaii 10 the
world at the same Drne, dccoIUlnS " INC
contention of opposing counsel, it threw
open the ports of the United States to
ships coming from Hawaii The effect of
this would have been to give an open
door through Hawaiian ports into ours
We could not inquire, when goods came
into the United States from Hawaii
whether they had been brought into Ha-
wall as an entry port to the United
States
Richards argued that this sort of thing
could not be permitted, and he express
ed the opinion that II Congress had De-
lieved that such consequence would en-
sue, the resolution of annexation would
not have passed, when 1t did, nor unth
arrangements could have been made TO
put in operation our customs ana com
merce regulations Immediately. So TAR as
customs matters are concerned, eyloehl-
Iv the islands were not to be deemed part
of the United States for customs pur-
poses until Congress could further legis-
late in the matter by a law extending the