The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-07-03
THE GAMBLING LAW
AND THE KIND PAKE
YUM LUN WHO WENT INTO A
GAMBLING HOUSE WITH A SUB
SCRIPTION PAPER ESCAPES,


THAT Is the most remarkable piece
! of legislation / ever read" said Third
District Magistrate Davis this morning
when ten Chinese were arraigned in
the police court, charged with being
present where gambling was going on.
THAT man who is present at a
gambling game and without aiding or
abetting or any other showing of guilty
intent shall be declared guilty is most
remarkable. Has there ever been any
construction of this statute, Mr.. Chill
Ilingworth?
mo your honor" replied Chilling
worth, there have been a good many
threats of carrying cases up but they
never have been
"Well, as l said this seems to me a
most remarkable statute. l suppose |
shall be censured for saying this, but
l shall pay no attention to censure. 1
suppose in the absence of the question
being raised it is not in my province to
raise it. And yet l must be convinced
that a msdemeanor has been COM
mitted before l can impose a penalty.
1t is very remarkable that person who
is merely present can be held to have
guilty intent. 1t is as if in the case
we just had where the man was driving
a horse with a sore back, that every
person who rode on the wagon and
knew that the horses back was sore
should be held equally guilty.
However in the absence of any con-
struction of the statute, l suppose 1
ha xt.ha I nd
speak of it because this is the first
time my attention has been called 10
this statute"
Six of the defendants pleaded guilty.
Now ,as to the penalty. 1 don't
think that playing cards or dominoes,
in itself is very wrong. But it may
lead to disorder and crime. And If
any disorder or crime does follow from
any of these games and I am con-
WINGED beyond a reasonable doubt that
the defendants are guilty-something
that must be proved in every case conf
ing before mel shall send them to
Oahu convict prison.
rs this an aggravated case Mr.. Chill
lingworth and what has been the
usual penalty IN such cases imposed ny
my predecessors
Judge Wilcox imposd a fine of from
five, to ten or fifteen dollars. Judge
nici'ey imposed a penalty of from two
to live days imprisonment at hard la
Dor" replied Chillingworth.
We'll. I'll rot sentence anyone t,
Imprisonment at hard labor"
The six who pleaded guilty were fined
s25 and costs. The four who pleaded
not guilty were put on trial. One o.
them claimed that he went into this
gambling place to secure subscriptions
to send a friend back to China An
other one said he went in looking for
a Chinaman who lives at Punaluu to
whom he wanted to give a letter to give
to his brother who also lived at Puma
luu.
Il think We'll have to construe this
statute to mean that where a person
is present on some legitimate errand
which negatives the presumption of his
having gone there for the purpose of
gambling or from an idle curiosity and
a desire to mingle with gamblers he is
not present within the meaning of the
statute. Perhaps I oughtn't to say
this much for 1 shall be censured for
it. l did not intend to make any ex-
pressions concerning possible criti-
csm. l shall make none"
Yum Lun who claimed to- have gone
in with the subscription paper to as
sist worthy countryman to get back
to China was recalled to the stand by
the Third District Magistrate and eX
amined as to the subscription paper he
claimed to have. He produced it, and
it was indeed found to be a subscrip-
ton paper to raise money to send back
to China very worthy woman"
In criminal cases even the defendant
is presumed to be telling the truth"
said the Third District Magistrate,
unless he is contradicted or there is
reason to disbelieve his testimony This
man Yum Lum shows that he was
there for legitimate, even a laudable
purpose. I find him not guilty and he
is discharged. The other man with
the letter, was too hating and vacillat-
ing and uncertain in his testimony to
be believed. l find him and the others
guilty and sentence them to imprison-
ment at hard labor for thirty days.
ADDTXvTNrS1