The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-08-18
JUDICIARY
Bull DING
An Account of Some
Patchwork Done
Therein.

Judge Gear had talk with Chief
Justice Frear yesterday regarding a
place to hold the criminal division ses-
sions of the September term in, owing
to the unsafe condition of his court
room. The Supreme Court chamber,
the floor of which was lately repaired,
may be given for the purpose, but moth
ing is decided. The Chief Justice face
4iously suggested thar Judge Gear have
his chair suspended with chain cables
to the ceiling and thereby relieve the
floor of a few hundredweight.
The condition of the Judiciary build
ing is an old story. Eighteen or twen-
ty years ago the late C. T. Guliek, as
Minister of the Interior. begged the
Legislature for means of repairing the
structure where it was developing
weakness. He spoke of it's foundations
az having been laid in a black sand
deposit.
When the Provisional Government
forces were using the rear of the old
legislative chamber. where the q. S.
District Attorneys office is now locat-
ed, for barracks in 1893, two soldiers
enjoying a siesta had a narrow escape
from being pulverized in bed with the
fall of half a ton of plaster. On the
floor above was then the law library
containing many tons of books. A
hurried examination showed that the
thoroughly honeycombed with the raw
ages of insects and the library was re-
moved to the quarters of the old Gov
ernment library at the opposite end of
nently established.
Within the past year an examination |
was made of the floor of the main
courtroom upstairs, now occupied by
the Supreme Court and it being found
in an extremely unsafe condition was
repaired Attention had been called to
the weakness Of that floor years pre-
viously, yet an awful disaster was de-
fed term after term of the Circuit
Court when several hundred people
would be assembled upon it, until acute
observed in the ceiling of the Federal
courtroom beneath
Another piece of patching was done
in the building several years ago when
the wooden balcony on the Queen street
side was replaced with concrete on iron
1oists Also, within a few months past,
a fireproof vault for probate records
was built in the space previously oc-
cupied by a side corridor leading to the
rear balcony and to the chief clerks
office. All sorts of alterations in rooms
for civil and judiciary offices, on both
floors have been made from time to
time. sloorways sometimes having to
be hacked through concrete walls.
One stairway affords the only commu-
between the first and second
floors. Lately, while a safe was being
hofsted up the stairs on slfds, the stair
way was blocked for about two hours.
Chief Justice Frear, on that occasion.
was one of a few who accepted the
risk of going downstairs in front of the
safe while 1t was stuck balancing on
a plank at the landing. with smooth
planks covering the stairs at the sides
Al break or slip of the tackle would
have brought the ponderous article
crashing to the bottom with sure death
TO anybody in the way.
There are signs of structural weak
ness to be seen on the exterior near the
front entrance of the building. The
age and the history of the Judiciary
building would suggest having it thor
oughly examined by board of experts
before any large amount of money is
expended upon repairs other than tenn
porary ones to make it safe for its
present purposes, until the whole sub
iect of Territorial buildings atsthe cap
ital can be settled.
Should it be decided that the walls
are good for fastening remodeled in