Hawaii Holomua, Volume I, Number 70, 9 December 1893 — TOPICS OF THE DAY. [ARTICLE]

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The S«nremt? Coort sitting as a specistl conri to investignte the &lleged ?ij.s<'on3uct of Mr. Ire(l Wundenberg Deputy Clerk of the conrt, has as was expected found the charges preferred aguinst Mr. Wundenberg bv Attorney-Gonerul M. O. Stnith proven and ii dismissed hiin from oflice. That tlie proce<*din<'s in this m itter aud the action n of the Jndgoa do not ap|sear mneh lo their credit every fair minded mau will adrait. The Judges had beeu inforraed raonths ago that Mr. Wundenberg was not in harmonv with the Provisional Govornraent, but they did not see fit to take any notice of the reports brought tothera by eavesdroppers and spies, aud Mr. M undenberg whose houesty and efticiency havo nev‘or been doubted was left unmolested. Theu tho report of Mr. Blonnt to the Pr©sident of the United St.»tes is published, and according to the extracks m a d e f r o in it, it is aeen that Mr. Wundenberg has furnished Mr. Blonut with stateraents in regard to the revolution of the 17th of January whieh have proven of great importauce in the special commissioner’s eft’orts to arrive at the truth. The Judgesof the Suprerae Court immediately get on their ears, and as they eouhl not provo anytbiug relat;ng to Wundenberg’s st »temouts to Blount—the latter not being available and the fonuer rc-fusing to adrait anything,—they piek up the old reports frora the diftereni Tonis, Dicks, and Harrys, and allow the assertions about M'uudenberg “dauiuing the P. G. to becorae suflicieut cause for his reraoval. That this action savors very mueh of petty persecution, and is rather detrimental to the dignity of the īudges don't matter to the three wise men. The “g:»liery” has demanded the ofticial hea»l of Wundenberg who is sacrificed iu the usual play to the gallery characteristic of tho provisional gONernment in ali its brauches. There weie many interesting instances iu the Wnndenberg trial. Mr. C. W. Ashford blandlv inquired if the country has a constitution, or not, but the questiou was of course consider©d irrelevant by the Chief Justice and not answered. If we remember rightly Mr. Ashford has been walkiug aronnd like Diogenes with a lantern lookiug for a eonstitutiou sinoe the 17th of Januarv. He has searcheti for it in tbe Star chamber of the councils (in the Sheldon’s contempt case), he hunted for it in the Poliee Court. he threw his search light out afb*r it m alIthecorners of the circuit court, and he pecped eveu under the togas of the Supreme Judges to see if his ehihl of 1S8< was still alive or had l»een stiangled. He advertised iu newspapers for it, but uo answer H was received, udeed uo trace has beeu found of

1 the missing link —the between an orderly, constitutional, lawful government and the |>eople ruled by such government. The utter failure to find the dear old constitution makes us believe that it has been secretly stricken froai the records, and that the men who have “done away with it, have prevented by threats and bribes the regulation death certificate to be issued. No funeral has taken plaee, though. and who knows if a rcsnrrection is not a verv possib!e eventuality. At one tirae during the M nndenberg tria! the audience looked with admiration at the Chief Justice. Mr. C. M. Asbford in his simplicity aud inuoeenee soggested tkat iu tbe Western Hemisphere, a man was eutitled to his‘ opinion and entitled to opeuly express and criticize a government to whose support he paid his ttxes, even if he was an oiiioial of it. The Chief Justice’s benevolent sniile disappeared, his usually beaming face was douded, his gold rinimed glasses were trerabling with indignation, while he with a choked voice and uplifted hands asked Mr. Ashford: “What: a man should have the right to criticize a government, and a,t tiie sarae time drav: <i *<dary!!! How trulv grand, how lofty the miml of the learned Judge must be. lf a mau is paid for services rendered, if a man exchanges work for legitimate pay, his abilit\- and skill for a stipuh»ted salary, he must be muzzled, and he forfeits the rigbt of au ordinary citizen, the right to have a voice in the governing of his country. If he insists in exercising such right and still draws his salary, the Chief Justice sends him the silken cord and invites him to use it around his oflicfal neek. And we don't livo in Turkey, but we are breathing tbe air—except choked off—under the glorious western civilization. But the above remarks remind us of days gone by when one certain W. M. Gibson was the minister of fhe governmeut and another time when one C. C. Moreno was minieter. In those days a certain A. F. Judd was a Judge of the Supreme Bench, and verv regnlar iu drawing his salary. Mav we now ask His Honor if there was any man in this eountrv more outspoken, more derisive, raore abusive, and hostile against the ministers mentioned thau His Honor himself? And yot we have heard of no instances where /«* neglected to draw his 9alary —but we even remember fcim getting verv- angry and criticizinf: the cabinet and government, whieh he was serving verw severely, because his salarv «t one time was paid in silver instead of gold. But theu we presume that what is sauce for a Judge is not alwavssiuce for a Wnndenberg. In the Council raeeting during the debate on “ihe rascals” Mr. Hatch «dvanced some very lofty views in regard to the duties of any employee to loyally further the interests of hls employer. What food 'for refiection this remark will give to Colonel Claus Spreckels, the bitteiest opponent

of the Provisional Government, when he watches the actions of one F. M. Hatch in whose annaal ineome be fcr some time past bas been the main factor. But we sappose that Mr. Hatch considers theory one thing and practice verv maeh another —and he is very fond of practice.