Chapter 258. To amend an Act entitled “An Act to provide a government for the Territory of Hawaii,” approved April thirtieth, nineteen hundred
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CHAP. 258.— An Act To amend an Act entitled “An Act to provide a government for the Territory of Hawaii,” approved April thirtieth, nineteen hundred. May 27, 1910.[[S. 3360](/us/bill/61/s/3360).][[Public, No. 192](/us/pl/61/192).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, Hawaii. Government in. That section five of an Act entitled “An Act to provide a government for the Territory of Hawaii,” approved April thirtieth, nineteen hundred, is hereby amended to read as follows:
" “Sec. 5. That the Constitution, and, except as otherwise provided, General laws of United States in effect. Vol. 31, p. 141, amended. all the laws of the United States, including laws carrying general appropriations, which are not locally inapplicable, shall have the same force and effect within the said Territory as elsewhere in the United States: *Provided*, That sections eighteen hundred and forty-one to *Proviso*. Territorial provisions excepted. [R. S., secs. 1841–1891, pp. 326–333](/us/rs/s1841–1891/p326–333); [secs. 1910, 1912, p. 337](/us/rs/s1910/1912/p337).
Vol. 24, p. 170. eighteen hundred and ninety-one, inclusive, nineteen hundred and ten and nineteen hundred and twelve, of the Revised Statutes, and the amendments thereto, and an Act entitled ‘An Act to prohibit the passage of local or special laws in the Territories of the United States, 444 to limit territorial indebtedness, and for other purposes,’ approved July thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, and the amendments thereto, shall not apply to Hawaii.” " Sec. 2. Legislature.
That section twenty-six of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows: " “Sec. 26. Compensation of members increased. Vol. 31, p. 146, amended. That the members of the legislature shall receive for their services, in addition to mileage at the rate of ten cents a mile each way, the sum of six hundred dollars for each regular session, payable in three equal installments on and after the first, thirtieth, and fiftieth days of the session, and the sum of two hundred dollars for each special *Proviso*.
Extra sessions for appropriation bills. Vol. 31, p. 150. session: *Provided*, That they shall receive no compensation for any extra session held under the provisions of section fifty-four of this Act.” " Sec. 3. Appropriations. That section fifty-two of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows: " “Sec. 52. Legislature to make. Vol. 31, p. 149, amended. That appropriations, except as herein otherwise provided, shall be made by the legislature.” " Sec. 4. Legislative powers.
Vol. 31, p. 150, amended. Indebtedness restricted. That section fifty-five of said Act is hereby amended so that the part thereof relating to public indebtedness and beginning with the words “nor shall any debt” shall read as follows: “Nor shall any debt be authorized to be contracted by or on behalf of the Territory, or any political or municipal corporation or subdivision thereof, except to pay the interest upon the existing indebtedness, to suppress insurrection, or to provide for the common defense, except that in addition to any indebtedness created for such purposes the legislature may authorize loans by the Territory, or any such subdivision thereof, for the erection of penal, charitable, and educational institutions, and for public buildings, wharves, roads, harbor, and other Maximum. public improvements, but the total of such indebtedness incurred in any one year by the Territory or any such subdivision shall not exceed one per centum of the assessed value of the property in the Territory or subdivision, respectively, as shown by the then last assessments for taxation, whether such assessments are made by the Territory or the subdivision or subdivisions, and the total indebtedness of the Territory shall not at any time be extended beyond seven per centum of such assessed value of property in the Territory and the total indebtedness of any such subdivision shall not at any time be extended beyond three per centum of such assessed value of property in the subdivision, but nothing in this Act shall prevent the refunding of any indebtedness at any time; nor shall any such loan be made upon the Term of bonds. credit of the public domain or any part thereof; nor shall any bond or other instrument of any such indebtedness be issued unless made payable in not more than thirty years from the date of the issue thereof; nor shall any such bond or indebtedness be issued or incurred *Proviso*.
Condemnations for public uses. until approved by the President of the United States: *Provided*, That the legislature may by general act provide for the condemnation of property for public uses, including the condemnation of rights of way for the transmission of water for irrigation and other purposes.” Sec. 5. Public lands. Vol. 31, p. 155, amended. That section seventy-three of said Act is hereby amended by adding thereto the following: " Issue of certificates, leases, and agreements limited.
“No person shall hereafter be entitled to receive any certificate of occupation, right of purchase lease, cash freehold agreement, or special homestead agreement who or whose husband or wife shall previously have taken or held any land under any such certificate, lease, or agreement hereafter made or issued, or under any homestead lease or patent based thereon; or who or whose husband or wife, or both of them, shall then own other land in the Territory, the combined area of which and the land in question exceeds eighty acres; or who is an alien, unless he has declared his intention to become a Citizenship required. citizen of the United States as provided by law; nor shall any person who, having so declared his intention, shall hereafter take or hold 445 under any such, certificate, lease, or agreement, continue so to hold or become entitled to a homestead lease or patent of the land, unless he shall have become a citizen within five years after so taking.
“No land for which any such certificate, lease, or agreement shall Transfers to corporations or aliens restricted. hereafter be issued, or any part thereof or interest therein or control thereof, shall, without the written consent of the commissioner and governor, thereafter, whether before or after a homestead lease or patent has been issued thereon, be or be contracted to be in any way, directly or indirectly, by process of law or otherwise, conveyed, mortgaged, leased, or otherwise transferred to or acquired or held by or for the benefit of any alien or corporation; or, before or after the Before issue of patents, etc. issuance of a homestead lease or before the issuance of a patent, to or by or for the benefit of any other person; or, after the issuance Limitation. of a patent, to or by or for the benefit of any person who owns, holds, or controls, directly or indirectly, other land or the use thereof the combined area of which and the land in question exceeds eighty acres: *Provided*, That these prohibitions shall not apply to transfers *Proviso*.
Inheritances, etc. or acquisitions by inheritance or between tenants in common. “Any land in respect of which any of the foregoing provisions shall Forfeiture for violations. be violated shall forthwith be forfeited and resume the status of public land and may be recovered by the Territory or its successors in an action of ejectment or other appropriate proceeding. And noncompliance with the terms of any such certificate, lease, or agreement, or of the law applicable thereto, shall entitle the commissioner, with the approval of the governor before patent has been issued, with or without legal process, notice, demand, or previous entry, to retake possession and thereby determine the estate: *Provided*, That the times *Proviso*.
Extension of time. limited for compliance with any such terms may be extended by the commissioner, with such approval, upon its appearing that an effort has been made in good faith to comply therewith. “The persons entitled to take under any such certificate, lease, or Proceedings to secure lands. agreement shall be determined by drawing or lot, after public notice as hereinafter provided; and any lot not taken, or taken and forfeited, or any lot or part thereof surrendered with the consent of the commissioner, which is hereby authorized, may be disposed of upon application at not less than the advertised price by any such certificate, lease, or agreement without further notice.
The notice of any sale, drawing, or allotment of public land shall be by publication for a period of not less than sixty days in one or more newspapers of general circulation published in the Territory. “The commissioner, with the approval of the governor, may give Preference to present residents. to any citizen of the United States or to any person who has legally declared his intention to become a citizen, and who shall hereafter become such, which said person has, or who and whose predecessors in interest have, improved any parcel of public lands and resided thereon continuously since April thirtieth, nineteen hundred, a preference right to purchase so much of such parcel and such adjoining land as may reasonably be required for a home, at a fair price, to be determined by three disinterested citizens appointed by the governor, in the determination of which price the value of improvement shall, when deemed just and reasonable, be disregarded: *Provided, however*, *Proviso*.
Lessees excluded. That this privilege shall not extend to any original lessee or to an assignee of an entire lease of public lands. “The commissioner may also, with such approval, issue, for a Patents to religious organizations. nominal consideration, to any church or religious organization, or person or persons or corporation representing it, a patent for any parcel of public land occupied continuously for not less than five years heretofore and still occupied by it as a church site under the laws of Hawaii. 446 Limit of area or value.
“No sale of lands for other than homestead purposes, except as herein provided, and no exchange by which the Territory shall convey lands exceeding either forty acres in area or five thousand dollars in value Leases of agricultural, pastoral, or waste lands. Approval of board. shall be made. No lease of agricultural lands exceeding forty acres in area, or of pastoral or waste lands exceeding two hundred acres in area, shall be made without the approval of two-thirds of the board of public lands which is hereby constituted, the members of which are to be appointed by the governor as provided in section eighty of this Act, and until the legislature shall otherwise provide said board shall consist of six members and its members be appointed for terms of four *Provisos*.
Sale of residence lots. years: *Provided, however*, That the commissioner may, with the approval of said board, sell for residence purposes lots and tracts, not Lands for public utilities, etc. exceeding three acres in area, and that sates of government lands may be made upon the approval of said board whenever necessary to locate thereon railroad rights of way, railroad tracks, side tracks, depot grounds, pipe lines, irrigation ditches, pumping stations, reservoirs, factories and mills and appurtenances thereto, including houses for employees, mercantile establishments, hotels, churches, and private schools, and all such sales shall be limited to the amount actually necessary for the economical conduct of such business or Approval by board. undertaking: *Provided further*, That no exchange of government lands shall hereafter be made without the approval of two-thirds of the members of said board, and no such exchange shall be made except to acquire lands directly for public uses.
Agricultural lands. Opening to homestead entry. “Whenever twenty-five or more persons, having the qualifications of homesteaders, who have not theretofore made application under this Act shall make written application to the commissioner of public lands for the opening of agricultural lands for settlement in any locality or district, it shall be the duty of said commissioner to proceed expeditiously to survey and open for entry agricultural lands, whether unoccupied or under lease with the right of withdrawal, sufficient in area to provide homesteads for all such persons, together with all persons of like qualifications who shall have filed with such commissioner prior to the survey of such lands written applications for homesteads in the district designated in said applications.
The lands to be so opened for settlement by said commissioner shall be either the specific tract or tracts applied for or other suitable and available agricultural lands in the same geographical district and, as far as possible, in the immediate locality of and as nearly equal to that applied for as *Proviso*. Crops on leased lands. may be available: *Provided, however*, That no leased land, under cultivation, shall be taken for homesteading until any crops growing thereon shall have been harvested.
Surveys for homestead entries. “It shall be the duty of the commissioner of public lands to cause to be surveyed and opened for homestead entry a reasonable amount of desirable agricultural lands and also of pastoral lands in various parts of the Territory for homestead purposes on or before January first, nineteen hundred and eleven, and he shall annually thereafter cause to be surveyed for homestead purposes such amount of agricultural lands and pastoral lands in various parts of the Territory as there may be demand for by persons having the qualifications of Area. homesteaders; and in laying out any homestead the Commissioner of Public Lands shall include therein an amount, not exceeding eighty acres in area, sufficient to support thereon an ordinary family;
Expenses. and all necessary expenses for surveying and opening any such lands for homestead shall be paid for out of any funds of the territorial treasury derived from the sale or lease of the public lands, which funds are hereby made available for such purposes. Agricultural and pastoral lands. “Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent said commissioner from surveying and opening for homestead purposes and as a single homestead entry public lands suitable for both agricultural and pastoral purposes, whether such lands be situated in one 447 body or detached tracts, to the end that homesteaders may be provided with both agricultural and pastoral lands wherever there is demand therefor; nor shall the ownership of a residence lot or tract, Rights of residence owners. not exceeding three acres in area, hereafter disqualify any citizen from applying for and receiving any form of homestead entry, including a homestead lease.
“All lands in the possession, use, and control of the Territory shall Commissioner to control, etc., public lands. hereafter be managed by the commissioner, except such as shall be set aside for public purposes as hereinafter provided; all sales and other dispositions of such land shall be made by the commissioner or under his direction, for which purpose, if necessary, the land may be transferred to his department from any other department by direction of the governor, and all patents and deeds of such land shall issue from the office of the commissioner, who shall countersign the same and keep a record thereof.
Lands conveyed to the Territory Status of exchanged lands. in exchange for other lands that are subject to the land laws of Hawaii, as amended by this Act, shall, except as otherwise provided, have the same status and be subject to such laws as if they had previously been public lands of Hawaii. All orders setting aside Reservation for forest, etc., purposes. lands for forest or other public purposes, or withdrawing the same, shall be made by the governor, and lands while so set aside for such purposes may be managed as may be provided by the laws of the Territory.
The commissioner is hereby authorized to perform any Authority of commissioner. and all acts, prescribe forms of oaths, and, with the approval of the governor and said board, make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this section and the land laws of Hawaii into full force and effect.” " Sec. 6. That section eighty-four of said Act is hereby amended to Disqualifications of judge or juror. Vol. 31, p. 157, amended.
Grounds for, extended. read as follows: " “Sec. 84. That no person shall sit as a judge or juror in any case in which his relative by affinity or by consanguinity within the third degree is interested, either as a plaintiff or defendant, or in the issue of which the said judge or juror has, either directly or through such relative, any pecuniary interest; nor shall any person sit as a judge in any case in which he has been of counsel or on an appeal from any decision or judgment rendered by him, and the legislature of the Additional causes.
Territory may add other causes of disqualification to those herein enumerated.” " Sec. 7. That section ninety-one of said Act is hereby amended to Public property. Vol. 31, p. 159, amended. read as follows: " “Sec. 91. That, except as otherwise provided, the public property Transferred to Territory. Vol. 30, p. 750. ceded and transferred to the United States by the Republic of Hawaii under the joint resolution of annexation, approved July seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, shall be and remain in the possession, use, and control of the government of the Territory of Hawaii, and shall be maintained, managed, and cared for by it, at its own expense, until otherwise provided for by Congress, or taken for the uses and purposes of the United States by direction of the President or of the governor of Hawaii.
And any such public Status of restored property. property so taken for the uses and purposes of the United States may be restored to its previous status by direction of the President; and Title to property for public uses. the title to any such public property in the possession and use of the Territory for the purposes of water, sewer, electric, and other public works, penal, charitable, scientific, and educational institutions, cemeteries, hospitals, parks, highways, wharves, landings, harbor improvements, public buildings, or other public purposes, or required for any such purposes, may be transferred to the Territory by direction of the President, and the title to any property so transferred to Transfers to political subdivisions. the Territory may thereafter be transferred to any city, county, or other political subdivision thereof by direction of the governor when thereunto authorized by the legislature.
” " 448 Sec. 8. Officers. Vol. 31, p. 159, amended. Pay increased. That section ninety-two of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows: " “Sec. 92. That the following officers shall receive the following annual salaries to be paid by the United States: The governor, seven thousand dollars; the secretary of the Territory, four thousand dollars; the chief justice of the supreme court of the Territory, six thousand dollars; the associate justices of the supreme court, five thousand five hundred dollars each; the judges of the circuit courts, four thousand dollars each; the United States district attorney, four thousand dollars, the United States marshal, three thousand dollars.
And the governor shall receive annually, in addition to his salary, the sum of five hundred dollars for stationery, postage, and incidentals; also his traveling expenses while absent from the capital on official business, and the sum of two thousand dollars annually for his private secretary.” " Sec. 9. Naturalization. Vol. 31, p. 161, amended. That section one hundred of said Act is hereby amended by adding thereto the following: " Status of records, certificates, etc., prior to June 29, 1906.
Vol. 34, p. 596. “All records relating to naturalization, all declarations of intention to become citizens of the United States, and all certificates of naturalization filed, recorded, or issued prior to the taking effect of the naturalization Act of June twenty-ninth, nineteen hundred and six, in or from any circuit court of the Territory of Hawaii, shall for all purposes be deemed to be and to have been made, filed, recorded, or issued by a court with jurisdiction to naturalize aliens, but shall not be by this Act further validated or legalized.
” " Approved, May 27, 1910.