The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-04-27
ALL APPROVE
DOLE'S VETO
THE GOVERNORS DISAPPROVAL
OF A BILL UNANIMOUSLY SUP
PORTED.

Governor Dole achieved the distnc-
ton this morning of having veto sus-
tanned by unanimous vote. His mes
sage on the law relating to estates Of
deceased persons and creating the Of
flee of public administrator pointed out
reasons for a veto so clearly that not a
voice was raised against it in the House
and the members who had passed the
law on motion of Paele, seconded by
Chillingworth, approved the veto. The
message was as follows:
My objections to the bill are as fol-
lows:
Section u provides that Public Ad-
ministrators shall take charge of the
estates for which no administrators are
appointed and which in consequence
ARE being wasted, uncared for or lost;
estates of decedents who have no
known heirs; estates ordered into his
hands by the court and estates upon
which letters of administration have
been issued to him by the court"
THE two latter provisions give the
Court undue power to take possession
of estates and pass them into the hands
of the Public Administrator, whether it
is for the interest of the heirs to have
such proceedings taken and the conse-
quent expense incurred or not; and
when it is considered that the Clerk of
the Circuit cOurt-the appOintee of
the Circuit Judge is to be eX-ofticiO the
Public Administrator, and that he is
not required to give any further bond
other than his official bond rs clerk, eX-
cept when real estate is to be sold, the
danger of these provisions and the OPP
portunity they afford to corrupt Off
cials, may be in some measure under
stood.
I'm some parts Of the mainland the
powers given to public administrators
by the laws afford them opportunities
to fleece the estates in their charge,
which are made the most Of Under
cover of ostensible legal charges for
commissions and fees estates are rob-
bed to an extent that has caused the
services of public Administrators to be
regarded as a calamity to be avoided
rather than a benefit.
Under the present law the persons
having the right to administer the es-
tates of deceased persons are as fol-
lows. with priority in the order named:
husband of a deceased wife; wife OF a
deceased husband; children of age;
brothers and sisters; cousins german;
bona ffde creditors. The Judge may
disregard this order for good reasons.
1
be to this extent changed by the bill in
question A corrupt Judge under this
bill could in any case of person dying
in his County, whether testate or intes-
tate. order his clerk to take Immediate
possession and issues letters to him as
Public Administrator upon some rea-
son easy to put forth, or for no reason
at all. And then when letters tesla
mentary or of administration should be
regularly issued to the proper Executor
or Administrator, a few weeks later, an
ostensible basis would have been laid
upon which such Public Administrator
could make his charges for commits
sions and other fees, to be passed up
on by the Judge, and the whole pro-
ceeding would have a very respectable
appearance.
mo laws with such easy opportunities
for legal corruption, should be allowed
on the statute books. Women and
children who are especially helpless in
times of bereavement, should be pro-
tected from all possibility of financial
injury by such loop holes in the statu-
ties.
"The bill is illegal in that it embraces
two subjects, to wit: Ist. The grant of
certain powers to representatives, of es-
tates of deceased persons; End. Provi-
sion for the creation of a public admin
istrator, and both subjects are set
forth in the title. (Section As Organic
Act0