Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-04-01
NEW PRIMARY
AND ORGANIC ACT.
MAY NOT AGREE.
Continued from page oneI

be is d candidate at such primary
The organic act provides in section
~ as follows:
That a general election shall be
held on the Tuesday next after the
! first Monday in November, 1900, and
every second year thereafter
The purpose usually to 81 served
by primary law is to- provide for the
nomination OF candidates for office by
direct vote of the people, but it will
! he seen that by the terms Of the sec
ltiOns of act 151 quoted above. under
certain circumstances. candidate at
the primary may be duly elected to
office and need not stand for election
at the general election provided for
by the organic act. And as section 10
Q: the organic act provides that no
person shall sit as a senator or rep
resentative in the legislature unless
elected under and in conformity there
to, it would seem that in that respect
there is a possible conflict between
the organic act and the primary law.
There can be no question that
" mere oil act vi IES SOllCS
in direct conflict with the organic
act, it must fail, and you suggest that
possibly section S5 Of the organic act
may serve to solve the difficulty. Sec
ton IS includes the following:
The legislature of the territory
shall have the right to alter or amend
any part Of the election laws of said
torritorr, ipal,,dip0 those nroI,idino for
the election Of delegate to Congress
and its action shall be the law with
full binding force, until altered, amend
ed or repealed by Congress
THE difficulty with this argument is
that there is nothing in he>election
laws of the territory which treats of
the date CT the general election, such
date being fixed by the organic act in
section ii above quoted, and while the
paragraph from section IS refers to
the election laws providing for an cleo
ton of delegate to Congress, there is
nothing in the election laws of the
territory On this subject the whole
matter Of the election of the delegate
being contained in section IS of the
organic act. 1t may be argued from
the fact that Congress has provided
that the legislature might amend the
laws relating to the election of the
delegate and that the only law on the
subject isPart of the organic act, that
thus Congress intended that the leg
islature might alter or amend the or
ganie act IN afh matters relating to
elections. ~ =, i T.. 49,. H..
: But LIDO not put much faith in this
line of argument, for it certainly can
net have been intended by Congress
that the Legislature should be permit
ted to amend those portions OF the
organic act which provide for the. quail
iHcations of electors (sections so and
c., organic act}. And there is no
reason why, if the legislature can
change the date of the general cleo.
ton. it can not also prescribe new
qualifications for. voters
After a comparison of section IA
of the organic act and similar provi-
sions in the constitutions and statutes
OF the various states, l find that by
far the majority of the statutory or
constitutional provisions relating to
this matter use practically the same
phraseolegy: that is. the first election
is set for the first Tuesday after the
first Monday of November in a given
year and the phrase every two years
thereafter or every four years there
after fellows. In some statutes and
constitutions, the word in is inter-
-iected in that phrase. so that it reads
tand, in every second year. etc. IRE
vised Statutes. Minnesota, section
1850. In certain other constitutions
the phrase 'biennfally thereafter on.
the same day is used (Revised Stat.
utes. Indiana, section 6S74."