The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-12-28
Or. SCUDDER REPLIES TO
CRITICISMS or W. R, CASTLE
Defends His Assertion That Native iiawoiians
Have Been Given Franchise Without
Precautionary Restrictions.

A communication TO the Boston
Transcript from Doctor Scudder, OF
Honolulu, appears in the issue of De
cember ,, in answer to an interview
given the Boston publication by W r.
Castle. Some weeks ago The Adyer-
tiser published a brief report Of Doctor
Scudder's address before the American
Missionary Association, in which he
was quoted as saying that the Franchise
had been given to the native Hawaii
ans without being properly safeguard
ed. This was followed by an interview
with Mr.. Castle, also taken from the
Transcript, in which Mr.. Castle took
exception to Doctor Scudder 5 remarks.
Now, in response, Doctor Scudder
Reply to w. R. Castle.
To the Editor of the Transcripts:
Our local daily, The Advertiser, this
morning printed the account of an in
teryiew published in i recent Trans
cript which contained criticisms by my
good friend Hon. W. r. Castle upon
some statements made by me in an ad-
dress delivered before the American
Missionary Association in fremont
Temple last October. The offhand ma
ture of an interview doubtless accounts
for some of his unguarded expressions;
hence what would be my surprise at
these statements of Mr.. Castle is con
siderably mitigated.
Mr.. Castle did not hear my address
or he could not have criticized it as he
did and indeed he seems not to have
read carefully your brief report of 1t.
[ made no statement that would give
any color to the inference that the
franchise had not been granted to the
Hawaiian people by rulers of their own
race. On the contrary the cruX OF my
argument on this head was that those
rulers had safeguarded by wise restrle-
tons this gift and that congress had
been urged by its commissioners, Sena-
tors Cullom and Morgan, Representative
HIT. President Dole and Chief Justice
Frear of the Republic of Hawal, to
take the same safe course, but that 1t
refused to do SO.
The Limited Franchise.
In 1910 Kamehameha Ill instituted
g legislature of one chamber, composed
OF fifteen hereditary mobiles named by
himself and seven representatives chos-
en- in informal manner by the people.
In 1852 more carefully drawn eonstl-
tuition. in which the hand of his ms
sionarv advisers was unhldden, ordaln-
ed a -chambered legislature of not
more than thirty mobiles, chosen for lie
by the king, and twenty-four to forty
REPRESENTATIVES elected by manhood
suffrage. The ballot here was restricted
by shutting off all the people except the
king from any share in the selection OF
TIE members of the upper house.
In practise it was found that all the
people were not ready for the privilege
Of electing representatives, and IN 1854
Kamehameha promulgated new con
stitution which substituted Legislature
Of one chamber with not more than
twenty mobiles appointed by the king
and with from twenty four to forty
representatives. Only persons with
certain amount of property were to be
eligible to election as representatives
and the electors were required both to
be able to read and write and to pos
sess a small amount Of property. The
king we'll knew that what the Hawaiian
most needed was some incentive to IN
dustrv and thrift This constitution
permitted the property qualifications TO
he increased but not diminished.
In 1887 a revolution, engineered by
the whites, reestablished two-cham-
hered legislature of elective mobiles ana
representatives with property quaifica-
tions for eligibility Electors Of mobiles
a. a
ertv. but this restriction did not apply
70 citizens voting for members Of the
lower house.
Restrictions Under Republic.
In 1894 the republic in its senate and
honse each of fifteen members and in
The electorate maintained like condi-
tions. Thus throughout Hawaii's his
tory the franchise was hedged about
with restrictions, and after experiment
lasting twentv-four wears it was found
necessary by the Hawaiian king, IA
mebamcha y. to impose educational
and property qualifications that still
further limited the right to vote.
With compulsory education and the
school habit developed through several
generations there was no special danger
OF iliteracv among Hawalians, hence
the relative unimportance of the aduca-
tional qualification Continuously re
ured since 1860. which was wisely
retained after annexation.
Where Congress Erred.
Where congress wronged the native
was in abolishing the property quail
Ge..ton, or in words Of my address in
giving "the franchise to the Hawai-,
ians without safeguarding conditions,
and in thus laying emphasis upon the