The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1859-03-10
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
THURSDAY. r 10.

DURING the past two or three weeks, the House
of Mobiles has been working with a commendapie
degree of industry upon the Civil Code as sent to
them by the Representatives having passed IN
one day as many as one hundred sections. The
question might be very pertinently asked. at such
a rate of progress, what amount of consideration
was bestowed upon the serious business of law
making? But it must be remembered that the
Cabinet Ministers hold seats in the upper House,
and that it is most emphatically a ministerial
body. We doubt if any measure OF public pohty
brought forward by the Ministers, however i'm
polite, would fail of being swallowed by the
Honorable Upper House.
Thus far, they have. done very well, and have
proposed some very good amendents to the Code
as passed by the Representatives. Among others
we only particularize one in regard to seamen.
Tie law of 1852 provided that a ship could not
be held or detained for the debts of any seaman
regularly shipped on such vessel. or the debts OF
any seaman discharged for sixty days under the
Harbor-Master's permit. The House OF Repre-
sentatives, in discussing the Code, amended this,
so as to read, "except for necessary articles sup
piled such seamen.' Here was a wide door left
open for the operations of land-sharks and Others
of that ilk. Jack could easily run up a pretty
good bill for clothing that he did not need, and
as easily trade it off for grog, or what would pur-
chase the same, and there would be no end to the
annoyance inflicted upon ship-masters and agents.
When the subject came before the Mobiles, the
matter was viewed in its proper light, and the
amendment thrown ont. \ petition (Which will
be found in our legislative proceedings) was on
Monday presented to the House of Representatives,
signed by all the prominent merchants OF Homo
lulu. and by the ship-masters in port. asking that
the law of 90 be suffered to remain unaltered,
as, in their opinion, its operation had done more
than any other one thing to attract the visits of
whale-ships to these islands. We doubt not the
common sense of the leaders of the lower House
will induce them to look a little more carefully
into this subject, and to retrace their action.
On Monday last, a new section was adopted
by the Mobiles, in that part OF the Code regnlat-
ing the currency, providing for the depreciation
of Spanish quarters and reals to twenty cents and
ten cents, at which rates they are declared a legal
tender. This amounts to initiating the system of
American currency of dimes and half-dimes, than
which no better circulating medium could be had
for these islands. The code will not go into eff
feet until the first of October next. so that, should
the prOpOceu scctioH NC nd>>Su W JUL IAo"sNT,
sufficient time will he allowed to ship off most of
the coin intended to be deprecated before that
date.
Having got through what a sailor would call
" the standing part" of the Code, the Isepresen-
~tatives have for the past two weeks been busying
themselves with the consideration of deferred
sections, among which are the So assessment and
collection of taxes, and the new tariff, the latter
based upon the supposed privileges gained by this
government under the recently negotiated treaty
with France. In Al succeeding number we pro-
pose to offer some remarks upon the subject of
the tariff-a subject of vital interest to the COM
mercial prosperity Of the country. The assess
ment of taxes is also IL matter no of small import
arce, whether by impost duties or by property
tax. But want of space compels us to be brief.
The Legislature will probably Cor at least it
should) adjourn three weeks hence at ~farthcst.