The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-02-05
" HEH TO THE LINE. 4"
tcopsinued from Page L,

al TINS history Of th- contest for liberty
eI@curIve power has oe~n regarded a :
/ Ion which must he Gagged 80 far fro-7
neInz the ooject of enlightened popular
trust. 80 far from being eorlsisf-rv-i n
/ natural protector OF popular right il IA.
been dreaded uniformly. always dreaded
/ a the great source OF its danger A1g
/ VINO : be 80 ignorant OF the history a;
/ liberty AT home and abroad: who i AZ.
Yet dwelling IN his eontenplztions zmous
| the principles and dognas OF middle
/ ages: who i BIZ. from whose bosom III
| original infusion of American spirit Ia,
80 entirely evaporatsI and exhale,i that
! be viii contend that il Is the peculiar
| duty OF executive power 10 care for liber.
lty: Who is he that. generous and con
I hdIug towards power Were IL Is most
/ dangerous, and jealous only OF thssSss who
! can restrain il: WHO is he that reversing
| the order OF the state would poiSe the
! pyramid OF the political system upon rs
/ apex Nho Is be that overlooking with
| contempt the guardianship of the repre-
| sentatives OF the people. and with equal
! contempt the higher guardianship OF the
I people themselves: who Is he that de-
I clares thar the security for freedom rests
| in executive authority: Who is he that
| bellies the blood and libels the fame of
! his own ancestors by declaring that rney.
with solemnity of form. and force of man
ner. have invoked the executive power 10
come TO the protection OF liberty: Who
Is he that charges his forefathers with
| insanity. or the recklessness of putting
the land beneath the lions paw"
Gentlemen of the Grand Jury: There
may be designing and selfish men here {:
there. may be men Gere. as there have
ever been men. W 40 evincing a vertebrate
authority that their lust for pelf and
power may be gratified. will say that
this IS a political question not entitled
TO a place IN a judicial deliverance. But
such men are either Indifferent to or g
nOrant of our glorious history. or else
they craftily seen 10 impose upon the
ignorance of their cOntlGing fellow cltl-
zens How system so interviewer with
our history. upon which all scholars,
jurists and statesmen are of one accord.
and which Judge Cooley truly says.
seems to be Il part OF the very nature
of the race to which we belong" and that
mo other has ever supplanted it. or ereH
found an ddr0cdte." can be regarded as a
political question. must be quite beyond
the comprehension of candid. unbiased
and intelligent person. The question of
local self government can no more be
made a political question than can the
right of the people to trial by jury, or TO
be secure from unreasonable searches ana
seizures. or than can any other canon OF
liberty of which they are so prou. and
jealous.
Gentlemen of the Grand Jury: You
are an inquisitorial body and your pow
ers are very large indeed. 1t will be your
duty to make inquiry as TO the commits
sion of any crime when may be with
IL IS Itr-fIr
Juror. or which may be submitted TO you
by the Attorney General. and. finally, |
such as may be brought to your attention
by private parties. But | warn you gen
tlemen to beware of professional and paid
informers. a species of human vermln
that seem TO have prospered exceedingly
we'll in these Islands. under the nouriSh- |
ment afforded by liberal Legislative APP |
preparations. After careful examina-
ton and inquiry l have been unable to
find that any State or Territory makes.
or even has made. appropriations for the
pay of lnformers. in that respect Ia
wall as in many OTHER instances. stands
alone and unenvied. Speaking from OBJ
servation and experience as a practitioner
at the Hawaiian Bar, | may say that l
have never known paid informer to tes-
tify in the Courts in Honolulu who did
not confess to a record as criminal
or who did not. otherwise. by his testl-
mony show himself to be vastly more te-
serving OF punishment than the person
he was seeking TO convict. And TO a
certain extent this observation applies 10
those parasites who hang around the sta
ton house and enjoy an unearned sup
port at the expense of honest taxpayers
under the guise of being detectives That
every officer has not only the right. but
tI. ,I,,t, ind, - ~ off 1
belonging to his proper sphere. which
come to his notice and 10 trace them out
no one will deny. For what else is
he appointed if not 10 support and assist
in the enforcement OF law! Govern
mentS have NOT infreQuently held out reg
ular rewards. propOruOned to the otfense
or crime of which information is Civ
en-. 1t was formerly so in England. The
more a government is a government of
law. and not of executive management
alone. the less effective must necessarily
become upon the whole. preventive po-
lice for one of the main ideas of a strict
of law and civil liberty. is
that the citizen be allowed to do all that
he chooses. provided that he do not Of
fend against the laws. | do not mean
to say that all preventive police is CON
trary TO civil liberty. On the contrary it
is infinitely better to prevent crimes than
to punish them: yet it is certain on the
other hand that a preventive police can
not and ought not to be established on so
extensive and thorough a plan in a free
as it is possible TO do in des-
potic oligarchy.
As 10 informers il is hardly necessary
70 state that none but the abject portion
If the community will show themselves S
wiling TO make a profession of inform .
Cos -hn | /
Die. perhaps. BY their lost reputation, or
unwilling to make living in the steady
md Industrious pursuit of regular trade.
These informers therefore will not limit ;
themselves 10 informations of fully COM
nitted crimes, and to lawful evidence of ,
hem. bur they have always been found ,
prone TO foment crimes. TO mature of
lenses. which otherwise would not have |
,een consumated. and TO invent evidence
md procure perjured witnesses. who |
,hare in their rewards; so that the pro- :
essional informers become in turn q
most criminal portion of the community. !
md constitute most alarming evil to- I
ally inadinissible in a well regulated so |
,iety u
If we are told that by a system of in :
ormers many oIenses may be discovered. {
which otherwise might never be brought l
% light. we shall place the whole question
II once in It's proper place. by asking {
hat question which we are bound TO ask
whenever we wish TO judge correctly of
IN institution. viz: what is among other i
fleets. its moral operation: The Many i
sacrifices which have been offered by the {
nauisition are doubtless grave sub |
eel. but it is OF little importance that !,
-arious writers differ by many thousands
4 Is the moral effect which this balefui I
Institution has had which IS Infinitely 7
.reater than all the physical pain which |
I inflicted with fiendish zeal Those I
Who were burned would at any rate now ]