The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-09-03
Mrs. F. w. Carter Will
Give testimony In
Seattle.
Motion to Stop the Hasey Cure
Suis-suprems Court
Calendar. :

Judge Gear rendered l"o u0Ni0t
Yesterday in the matter of the guar
diansbip of Annie T. K. Parker, a
minor.
The objection of A. w. Carter, guar
dian, to the motion Of ]. 5. Low as
next friend of minor, for the guar
dams removal was overruled. Its
ground was that the laws comforting
certain powers on circuit judges at
chambers We're unconstitutional, as
conflicting with Section 81 of the Or
ganic Act which provides: THAT the
judicial power of the Territory shall be
vested in one supreme court, circuit
courts, and in such inferior courts as
the legislature may from time to time
established
In previously overruling the demur-
rer to Lows amended petition, Judge
Gear called attention to the question
here involved, saying it had arisen in
California under a similar provision of
that States constitution. Now he
quotes decisions from Missouri. Michi-
gan and California, almost Identical in
their language, to the effect that circuit
judges-in one case county Judge
cannot lawfully exercise any judicial
| powers not conferred en- them by the
constitution. In each instance the con-
stitutional provision was worded like
the provision in our Organic Act re-
ferred to.
From these citations Judge Gear
concluded, 1T will be readily seen that
| there is much force in the contention
! of counsel for the guardian and that,
| notwithstanding the fact that for over
four years circuit judges in these is
| lands have heard and determined many
| cases, the claim of counsel that cir
| cult judges cannot exercise such judi
| cial power is one that seems to be
amply sustained by precedent.
while it seems to me that counsel
| is right in his contention, yet the mat
| ter is one of such grave Importance,
| affecting, as il does every judgment
and decree rendered by every circuit
| judge in this Territory since the going
into effect of the Organic Act, that
| with the limited time 1 have had to
| give the question 1 am 10th to render
| any decision thereon.
In determining whether or not a
! statute is unconstitutional the rule is
| that a judge of the trial court should
not declare the statute unconstitutional
unless he has no doubt of it's uncon-
| stitutionality. AS L cannot, with the
| limited time which it was possible to
| give to a consideration of this case,
| declare that I am fully satisfied that
| the statutes in question are in conflict
| with the Organic Act, although l am
| inclined to the opinion that they are
I shall therefore overrule the objection,
| and it is SO ordered
| BILL OF PARTICULARS.
| Upon A. w. Carriers motion for a bill
| of particulars, Judge Gear rendered a
| decision granting the motion as to GER
! tain specified items and denying it as
| to others wherein he thinks the petition
of j. S. Low sufficiently sets out the
matters relied upon by the petitioner. -
| Ten days are given in which to file the
| bill of particulars.
WIFE'S EVIDENCE.
| On the motion of the guardians coun-
sci yesterday AFTERNOON. commission
| was ordered to issue to some person to
1
Seattle, Washington, to take the testi-
| nony of Alice P. Carter wife of Fred.
w. Carter, manager of Parker Ranch
Interrogatories to be propounded to the
deponent are ordered to be filed by
! Tuesday next at noon, and cross in
| terrogatories five days later S. H
| Derby made the motion and no objec-
| tion was raised by the other side, rep
resented by J. A. Magoon and j. Light
| foot.
| Mrs. Carter is visiting in Seattle and
the object of her desired testimony, as
| set forth in the motion, is to disprove
| the allegations Of ]. s. Low that heI
| husband is Incorporate, indolent, in
| competent or neglectful. 1t is stated
| in an accompanying affidavit that Mrs
Carter had herself been brought up :r
a ranching country.
TAXES LOST.
Executions in seven cases in which
| \. c. Willfong, assessor of thiro tax.
alton division, is plaintiff have beer
returned by High Sheriff Brown, each
as unsatisfied owing to the finding Of
nc property on which to levy. Defend.
ants and execution debts are as fol.
lows: <. BieIa. $3I70: r. w. Ay1etf
$25.41; Frank L. Winter, S1o1.25; John
A. Nivas. S66-10; Hawaiian Chinese Ko-
na Coffee Plantation Co. S205 90: w. c
Achi. SI4'o.l2; J. AIakainai. 5000. The
lost taxes in question were levied or
coffee farms that since met with fail
ure.
COURT NOTES
In the foreclosure suit of H. Hack
field & Co. Ltd. vs.. W. {. Achi. ]. NJ
Monsarrat. ". Z. Castle and Kapiolan