Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-08-25
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FROM JUDGE ASHFoRD'S
CHARGE TO THE GRAND
JURY.

"The court instructs you that ;
the grand jury is not to be re. >
q graded as a mere automaton for .
X the placing of its sign Of approx ,
< al upon the acts or wishes of the ;
X prosecuting officers Of the gov. >
eminent. -. The grand jury has ,
discretion and a class OF func- >
y tions distinctly its own and with. =
< In the scope of those functions il .
may, II il will, prove itself an >
Z agency Of inestimable value to >
= the community, quite apart y
Z from the narrower and somewhat :
< sordid function of listening to ex >
parte presentations Of evidence =
y against persons charged with =
4 crime. :. The grand jury is the =
grand Inquest of the county and :
az such should be vigiIant in OBJ .
y serving, investigating and report
Z inc upon all matters which touch =
u upon the common life of the COM
= munity and affect the general 2
< well-being Of society. Those .
< matters which come closely home 2
4 TO the welfare, comfort and safe
u may very reasonably, s.5 appears
y to the court, be inquired Of and
r reported upon by the grand jury. Z
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court to express any preference as be
tween the two methods suggested, Blu;
it Is decidedly within the province oil
the court to sugg est, and to demand
that the laws enacted by our legisla
ture shall be enforced while they re
main upon the statute books; and, SO
vast and numerous, and so intimately
affecting the home-life and the well.
being of the community at large are
the manifold qualifications OF this de
structive traffic that il has long since
become a matter Of the utmost con-
Germ to every citizen whether the laws
provided for the regulation Of that
traffic are being conscientiously AMI
effectively administered. II therefore
falls most appropriately as Il appears
to the court, IN the scope of the tunc-
tions of the grand jury, considered as
the grand inquest Of the county, to
inquire and report upon these matters.
TIE hcourt is aware, through the me-
dunn of the public prints and other
wise, that this grand jury has recent
ly been engaged in pursuing an in
quiry as to the ownership of a Ger.
tain saloon located within this city.
The inquiry in question was undertak-
en-, no doubt, under the Impression
that some violation of the criminal law
was involved in the matter of the own
ership of said saloon and would be
disclosed by such inquiry-apd the
mere fact that the inquiry in question
revealed no violation of the criminal
law. but merely resulted in conclu-
sions on the part of the grand jury
that the ownership is vested in GER
tain persons named in its report pre-
sented to another judge 70 this court,
should not, in my opinion, diseredit
either the report itself or the object
with which the investigation was UNI
dertaken.
But, in this connection, ! desire to
advise the grand jury that, while all
such matters are fairly within the
scope of its inquisitorial powers, yet it
should show no favoritism as between
the different places or concerns estab-
lished for the sale OF liquor, or be-
tween their respective owners. The