The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-04-08

eetiSH - oe Ai1eu DN ATTORNEYS at law
II would impair that efficiency nv nu..
ting II office only such LAWYERS as the
public viii not intrust with anv nr5.
vate business. In other words il viii
require the people to elect as in
cumbents of such offices to do the n,,h-
lie work, only those LAWYERS whom the
people Will not intrust with their pri-
vate business. Is the Legislature pre-
pared to say that the proper aualifi-
cation for law officer of the govern
ment Is that he shall not possess the
ability Or the confidence of the com
munlty sufficiently to be intrusted
with the private business of the mem
bers of the community Yet this is
Just what the act in effect declares.
+" An innovation of this kind on the
established usage of generations in the
United States of America is in itself
a reason for hesitancy. 1t is true that
in the large centers in the United
States the law officers devote all of
their time to the public business. but
THAT is not the result of any law such
as this, but is the result of the public
business necessarily occupying all their
time. 1t, therefore, becomes necessary
in such places to pay large salaries to
obtain competent lawyers, and the sal
aries paid, with fees and perquisites,
run from $4,000 to $40, 900 and $50 900
a year.
''If any of the law officers Of the
Territory of Hawaii or of its subdivi-
sions should neglect the public bust.
ness or interests in order to pursue his
private practise, there is adequate rem
edy under existing laws, but to strike
at whole class of officers for the
fault of one, if any such there is, is
unjust and wrong.
"Another objectionable feature con.
Aimed in the bill is that it proposes
to prevent district magistrates from
acting as attorneys and councillors in
any Of the courts of the Territory. In
the district of Honolulu, for example,
there is first and second district mag
istrate. The. first district magistrate
is in receipt of monthly salary for
his services and sits practically every
day in the year, Sundays and legal hol-
idays excepted. The second district
magistrate very rarely has an oppor9
tunity to perform his functions as
tQu2ts anu Wncu nC aUCS 4lS AtNEltSo q
certain daily compensation for each
and every day he acts as such, and is
in receipt of no regular monthly sal
cry or other compensation by virtue of
his Office.
ssTo prohibit the second district
magistrate, for example, from pursu
ing his profession while in Office would
simply mean that no lawyer would care
to accept the position without reason
able compensation, in the nature of a
regular monthly salary. The Territory
is not in a financial condition to war
rant appropriations along these lines.
s.Your committee furthermore be-
Iieve that this condition of affairs APP
plies not only to Honolulu, but to
various other places in the Territory.
To bar a second district magistrate
from following his profession during
the time he was not actually engaged
on the bench would, in the opinion of
your committee, simply mean that the
administration of justice would be ma
terially hampered, inasmuch as no law
yer would consent TO act IN such ca
pacity under these conditions. For the
foregoing reasons your committee Is
of the opinion that the bill be tabled,
and we SO recommend.
Minority Against.
Sheldon. a member of the committee,
did not concur in the report and offered
TO make verbal report of his reasons.
The noon hour having arrived, the CON
sideration of the report was deferred,
on motion of Castro.
Rush Bills Read.
Riee's two bills to turn over to the
counties all the license fees and the
police court receipts, were read see
ond time on special order of the day
after the noon recess, and put on the
list for third reading today. The bills
were not held for the printer but type
written to save time.
Argument on Douthitt Report.
sheldon then rose to state his reasons
for refusing to concur in the Judiciary
Committee S report to table Alfonso s
bill restricting the Attorney General,
County Attorneys, Sheriffs and Magls-
trates and their deputies, from private
legal practice.
Sheldon stated that ne dlo HOT CON
cur because the bill on the whole Is
a proper one. The section dealing with
the district magistrates might have
been struck out, but the bill itself
should pass. In this view he was sup
ported by the Bar Association, letter
from a committee of that body having
been sent to that effect to the JUDI
ciary Committee He believed an elect
ed prosecutor should do no civil business
because his position otherwise brought
him so much business that his pubne
duties were neglected.
Public officials, too, employed the
public paid stenographer and clerk IN
their own private work, used govern
ment stationery, government othees ana
government time to carry on private
practise and it was unfair for them
10 have these advantages over other
LAWYERS. 1t happens, too, that County
Attorneys, from their very position, get
business brought them which they
would not get unless in such position |
and in this way the elected position |
became club with which to get ous1-
ness. The Bar Association s letter was
signed by A. G. NJ. Robertson ana one