The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-09-03

Although not expressly reserved, the
principal question in the case is stated
to be whether the Federal act of July
80 1886, is applicabe't to Hawaii in de-
claring that the legislatures of the
territories of the United States now or
hereafter to be organized shall not
pass local or special laws in any of
the following enumerated cases, that
is to say" specifying after numerous
other instances, such as granting d.
vorces changing names of persons or
places, laying out, opening or altering
roads or highways, regulating county
or township affairs, practice in courts
of justice, jurisdiction of duties of JUS
tees of the peace, police, magistrates
and constables, providing for manage
ment of common schools, "incorporat-
ing cities, towns or villages, or chang
ing or amending the charter of any
city, town or village" or granting to
any corporation, association or indivi-
dual any special or exclusive privilege,
immunity or franchise whatever" and
providing Gin all other cases where a
no special law shall be enacted in any
of the territories of the United States
by the territorial legislature thereof"
In the same connection the Organic
Act is considered where it forbids the
legislature to grant to any corporation,
association or individual any special
or exclusive privilege, immunity or
franchise without the approval of Con-
gress, or to grant private charters,
etc. Also Section 1889, Federal sta
tutes, which enacts that Legislative
assemblies Of the several territories
shall not grant private charters or spe-
cial privileges, but they may, by gen.
eral incorporation acts, permit persons
to associate themselves together as
bodies corporate" It is pointed out
that Congress has declared that these
words shall not be construed as pro-
hibiting the legislative assemblies OF
the territories from creating towns, CT
ties or other municipal corporations.
The courts conclusions on this main
question are these:
"The provision above cited from Sec.
55, Organic Act, refers to corporations
other than county, town and city mu-
inequalities which the act. Sec. Sc, ex-
pressly authorized the legislature to
create The authority for creating 'sucn
municipalities is not limited by requir-
ing that they shall not be created by
special law, which was a method in
general use in this country during the
last century, and indeed is quite COM
monty employed at present. In states
even where the constitution torbidS
the legislature to grant any sDeclsl
charter of Incorporation, it has ct q
ruled that such a constitutional in
hibition does not relate to public cor.
porations.' Ingersoll Pub. Corp. 1877
To hold that the legislature could not
enlarge the corporate limits by an act
passed for that purpose would be tc
deny that it could create or abolish
for the greater includes the lesser ir
law as in mathematics William '
Nashville, SO Tenn. 491. We do no
think that the act of 1886 in prohibit
ing territories then and thereafter {,
be organized from incorporating cite
by a special law limits the genera
power subsequently given by the Or
ganic Act Of Hawaii to create city
municipalities. There are several rea
sons for this view. To hold otherwise
would be limiting the general powers
given by the Organic Act or in many
of the laws of Hawaii continued il
force by the Organic Act, as, for in
o+S+S+S *tS+S+ +S+S+S*0totC+O