Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1908-12-08

serve as an offset to such shortcom-
ings. But IL is also true that Judges,
like executives and legislators, shonid
hold sound views on the questions Oh
public policy which are of vital inter-
est to the people.
The legislators and executives are
chosen to represent the people In Ell
acting and administering the laws.
The Judges are not chosen to repre-
sont the people In this sense. Their
function Is to interpret the laws. The
legislators are responsible for the
laws; the judges for the spirit IN
which they interpret and enforce the
laws. We stand aloof from the reck-
less agitators who would make the
Judges mere plant tools of popular
prejudice and passion: and we stand
aloof from those equally unwise parti
sans OF reaction and privilege who
deny the proposition that, inasmuch
as judges are chosen to serve the In.
terest of the whole people, they
should strive to find out what those
interests are, and, so far as they con.
scientiously can. should strive to give
effect to popular conviction when deli.
berately and duly expressed by the
lawmaking body. The courts are to
be highly commended and staunchly
upheld when they set their faces
against wr0ngdoing or tyranny by n
majority; but they are to be blamed
Rule 70 Majority.
when they fail to recognize under a
Ea ha Ialihnr nj IN
judgment of the majority as to mat.
ter of legitimate policy, when duly
expressed by the legislature. Such
lawfully expressed and deliberate
judgment should be given effect by
the courts, save In the extreme and
exceptional cases where there has
been a clear violation of a constitu.
tional provision. Anything like friv-
olity or wantonness In upsetting such
clearly taken governmental action Is
n grave offence against the Republic.
To protest against tyranny, to protect
minorities from oppression, to nullify
an act committed In a spasm OF popu-
lar fury, Is to render service TO the
Republic. But for the courts to AFRO
gate to themselves functions which
properly belong to the legislative
bodies is all wrong. and In the end
works mischief. The people should
not be permitted to pardon evil and
slipshod legislation on the theory that
the court will set II right; they should
lie taught that the right way to get
rid OF bad law is to have the lcgis.
lature repeal II. and not to have the
courts by ingenious hair.splitting nul.
lily II. A law may be unwisc AMI i'm.
proper: but 1t should not for these
reasons be declared unconstitutional
by strained Interpretation. for the
result Of such action is to take away
from the people at large their sense
OF responsibility and ultimately to
destroy their capacity for orderly self
restraint and self government Under
such a popular government as ours,
founded on the theory that In the
long run the will of the people Is su.
preme. the ultimate safety of the Ma.
ton can only rest In training and
guiding the people so that what they
will shall be right, and not In devising
means To defeat their will by the tech.
hicalities Of strained construction.
People to Blame.
" For many of the shortcomings of
Justice In our country our people as
whole are themselves to blame, and
the Judges and iuries merely bear
their share together with the. public
as whole. II Is discreditablc to us
as people that there should be diff.
Guilty In convicting murlerers, or I'm
bringing to Justice men who as public