Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-01-09

! N">lariLg 'i.at Circuit JuL&. ?"hIn-
sons opinion against TIE cpns;.;utirh-
, atty Of establishing tie WAiDpiug-j o>t
in Hawaii is uuIUubIrdiy prugr, =
; i've and strongly intimuting his own
! opposition TO tins metAod of punish
! lIent, Federal Judge Charles: i tlpN:-
! son has sent 60 III" Star Bulletin the
! following communication:
! Editor Honolulu Star-Eu.letin,
Sir:-In his book entitled sand
Wich Island Notes by d HaOir. pub
! lished il 1874, M. Bates describes thu
| flOgging Of a sailor on hoard or a
! schooner in Hawaiian waters. The
! ship was the Helen Augusta, Il first
class wha!er. and the captain an ap-
/ parently mi!dmannertd man, WhO
/ however. was made Of sterner mate
! riais than they the insubOrdina;e sail
Orsl supposed
| The ringleader was stripped to his
naked back, and tied up in the rigging
! Deliberately but heavily the 'instru-
ment of torture "a CATO nine- tailSl
/, fell in regular succession. Every
stroke left a bloody seam on the back
of the sailor. He tainted, calling for
water; but he had received a dozen
! lasheS
Your repentance must be based
on something more than mere prom
! Use, replied the captain. 1 have
very ugly temper when it is fairly
reused. 1t grieves ne to punish you
but | shall do my duty at whatever
risk
He did his duty The man twas
/ flOgged and cut down from the rig
! ging and his lacerated back was care
! fully dressed by the captains own
| hand. The crew was once more con-
vened, and they were forbidden, dur
| ing the entire voyage, to refer to the
subject,in the\hearing of the offenders
! The men went to their duty. The
captain retired to his cabin, where
he wept like a~ch1id, and hardly a
mouthful of food crossed his lips that
| day.
1T was the first time had ever
/ seen this hellish ard debasing mode
! of punishment, and may it be the last:
My very soul sickened during its ad-
ministration, and yet | was compelled
this instance at least, the master of
the ship had done nothing more than
his duty in maintaining his authority
and the peace of the crew"
The feeling of this captain who did
! his duty was exactly that of High
Sheriff Henry in his recent interest
ing interview in the Star-Bulletin, and
the above description strongly en-
forces the high sheriff's views of whip
ping-post legislation.
1t was the sightof flogging at sea
which made Richard H. Dana vow,
that, If God should ever give him the
means, he would do something to re-
dress the grievances and relieve the
sufferings of that class of beings with
whom his lot had so long been cast"
Mr.. Dana's classic description in Two
Years Before the Mast" (Chapter XVI
is even more vivid and narrowing
than that of Mr.. Bates.
These descriptions are cited as of
timely interest, but not as an argu-
ment on either the policy or legality
! of this mode of punishment. Though
there is an inclination to support MIR.
Henry on the side of policy, there be-
ing yet a mental reservation due to
the conflict Of humane regard for the
offender and of concern for the innO-
cent offended and for the welfare of
the public; and, in spite of any deci-
sions, to agree with the spirit of Judge
RobinsOn's opinion against the cOnsti-
nationality of the whipping-post His
opinion is undoubtedly progressive; he
-
punishment, OF the constitutional in
hibition, in the light of the present.
day development of our hummelshine,,
l. e., on the theory that, while in gen.
eral the constitution particularly the
! Eighth Amendment may be read in
the light of conditions existing at the
thine of its adoption, yet it may be
questioned whether it is reasonable 10
| give every word of that instrument a
| PrOCrustean construction, to fit the
| lOng-limbed present to a ShOrt-length
! bed of the dark ages. The growing
attitude toward the constitution rs a
, guide post, not "hitching post, at
least might justify the courts in con-
sidering the question as not finally set
tied.
| II may De Sald that the 0e|!SlOHS'
disclosed by short and rapid search.
show no ruling against the cCnstitu
tiOnality Of such penalty, but there
is a dictum of the Wyoming supreme
court which classes the whipping post
with obsolete and unconstitutional
punishmeEtS. The infliCtiOn of such
penalties has the support of tho illus
trious Judge Benjamin R. Curtis in q
! fe deral case and of the chief Justice Of
! New Mexico in d territorial case in
which Stephen B. Elkins then the To-
! cal encouragement later senator