The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-11-08

ian are going to carry the question
of Jurisdiction Of circuit judges al
chambers to the Supreme Court Of the
United States. They do not accept the
construction of Hawaiian judiciary
i law as affected by the Organic Act
| which the Supreme Court pronounced
] yesterday in the Parker case, report
| ed at some length below. Sidney III,
| BaIlou, of counsel for the writ of
/ prohibition that is dissolved, had a
writ of error prepared before the day
| was over to carry the case to Wash
| ington
| Nobody had ever found anything
| wrong with the Hawaiian jurisprud-
ence in it's giving jurisdiction of pro-
| bate and equity matters to judges at
| chambers. Other systems have pro-
bate judges apart from the ordinary
law courts and some confer equity
Jurisdiction on particular judges who
preside as well in courts of law. One
advantage of the Hawaiian system is
and expenses. However, in the course
of bitterly contested probate case, a
circuit judge suggested and attorneys
eagerly raised the point that the Act
of Congress providing a government
for the Territory of Hawaii abolished,
at least by implication. all the old Ha-
waiian laws comforting equity and
probate jurisdiction on circuit judges
at chambers-that is out of regular
court terms with juries in attendance
as well as recognizing such jurisdic-
tor
The Supreme Court of Hawaii finds
the point not well taken and, as the
construction of a Federal law is at is
sue, it is competent for the lawyers
contending the contrary to appeal to
the highest national tribunal. This
they do and the Parker case will be
hung up until the final word comes
from Washington.
STATUS OF JUDGES.
Circuit Judges at chambers are de-
cided by the Supreme Court to have
independent jurisdiction in equity and
jurisdiction being exercised by such
judges as courts of record, and not
privately or summa rily-the phrase
circuit judge at chambers being in
such case merely method of describ-
ing such courts.
Referring to the contention that the
Organic Act implicitly repealed Ha-
waiian laws giving circuit judges at
chambers equity and probate jurisdic-
ton, the syllabus speaks as follows:
In constituting a doubtful provision
of an act other provisions, the act as
a whole and its reason and spirit may
be considered; also the circumstances
Under which it was adopted the his
tory which preceded it and the conse-
quences of proposed constructions;
weight may be given to long contin-
ued, unquestioned and contemporaries
Gus construction; if the provision is
borrowed, the construction placed up,
On 1T previously may be considered;
repeats by implication are not favor
ed expressio unius est exclusio alteri-I
u.s."
Chief Justice Frear writes the deci-
sion, with the concurrence of Justice
Hatch and Circuit Judge De Bolt in
place of Justice Hartwell. It is in thel
matter of the application of Alfred w
Carter. guardian of the property Of
Annie t. K. Parker, a minor, for a
writ of prohibition against the Honor
able George D. Gear, Second Judge of
the Circuit Court of the First Circuit,
at chambers, and J. s. Low, next
friend of Annie T. K. Parker, a minor.
Ballou & Marx; Kinney, McCIanahan
q Cooper. and Robertson & Wilder for
petitioner; J. A Magoon and J. Light
foot for respondents. The decision is
that the permanent writ is denied and
the temporary writ dissolved. In pur-
suance of this deliverance Messrs.
Magoon and Lightfoot at once filed a
motion to set DAY for hearing the
Parker case on its merits before Judge !
Gear
HISTORICAL. SKETCH.
The following bit of history relative