The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1901-08-07
harge to the Grand Jury.

"Gentlemen OF the grand jury,
the Court has no long discoirse to
deliver to you upon your powers
and rights as grand jury. l be-
lieVe you all to be men in touch
with current affsirs and that you
are thoroughly posted from having
read the lengthy and able charges
to grand juries made from this
bsnch in the past. l have prepared
no long charge. In fact l did not
intend to call grand jury at this
time, but circumstances have arisen
which have made it necessary.
You all know from the news
papers that prisoners under COM
mitment, pursuant to sentences by
iuries of both long and short terms,
have been released from prison by
this Court upon writs of habeas
corpus. When these Islands we're
annexed by the Newlands resolu-
ton in August, 1898, all local laws
not contrary to the Constitution of
| the United States remained in force.
| These men were convicted betw zen
the taking effect OF the N-wiands
resolution and the taking effect OF
the Organic Act in June, 1900 1t
appears that these prisoners asked
the Court, in which they were tried,
to instruct the jury that unani.
nous verdict was necessary to a
c,nviction, which request was de-
nisd. subsequently the Suprems
Court Of the Uaited States, in de-
clariug the status of the new pos
sessions, held that there could bs
no transition PERIOD In other
words it held that territory must be
either foreign or domestic at once.
This Court held that Hawaii be-
came domestic at once. Therefore
all laws contrary to the Coostitn-
tion of the United States bacame
null and void and thu sentences i'm
posed upon the prisoners in qres-
tion were null aud void from their
inception and the prisoners entitled
to their discharge. This Court dis-
charged prisoners convicted by vsr-
diets of nine and ten jurors because
it believed snch convictions con.
trary to the Constitution which
it hal sworn to uphold.
There is no reason why they should
not be arrested aud legally tried
and If guilty, legally convicted.
| There are other prisoners in the
penitentiary who should b~ released
IN the same ground but they have
DOT made appearance on writs of
habeas corpus. All now in prison
on convictions by ass than yer
diet of twelve are entitled 10 release,
being illegally deprived IF their
liberty.
THE grand jury should investi-
gate these matters and if there are
persons imprisoned who are too
poor to employ counsel to bring
heir cases into court, take such
action as meets your approval under
the instructions You may receivs
from the Attorney General. Those
whom the Attorney General has
-een fit to rearrest will have
another trial In order that this
may he do1e properly. they are en-
titled to what they did not then get
--sn indictment by you. They are
} entitled to it now; they were en-
titled to it then"
Judge Gear then proceeded 10
read from an extract OF charge oi
Judge Humphreys the rules by
which the grand jurors sht uld be
governed in their vestigatiops.
l.. G. Ables was made foreman
and Emil Ney was appointed bailitf
AT the time Of he calling OF the
roll OF the grand jury men yesterday
morning there WAS no response tC
the name of w. S. Wond, " hereup,
On Judge Gear ordered btr ch war
rant to issue at once for the arrest
: of Wond. The order Of arrest was
8 revoked, however, upon it beini