The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1861-02-28

clothing 70 inmates of the hospital quarterly the
most glariug frauds upon the government have
been perpetraJed by the respective consuls of
Honolulu and Lahaina. for they are directly
implicated in permitting and going 50 far - 10
even compel inmates OF the hospital 70 sign
blank vouchers. which subsequently, were filled
up with whatever quantity of clothing and price
or prices the inordlnate cupidity of the cOusuls
or their employees might deem eXpedieut, and
the vice consul at Lahaina even admitted that
the blank bills were sent 10 the hospital many
days before the delivery Of the clothing-were
signed by the men and witnessed by the stewards
OF the hospital IN b!ank-then returned 10 the
consulate and subsequently Sled up with guam
tty and Drlces.
The commission was undoubtedly surprised, and
not without reason, 70 find that 50 many men in
good health had resorted 10 the hospital, but it
was not surprising when the cause was made
manifest it arises from the fact that every means
IS resorted 70. 10 impoverish the sailor by strip
ping him of his Just dues, and the exaction of ille-
gal fees and commissions. and by masters Of
whalers falsely reporting the amount Of their
catch, or number of barrels OF oil taken in a
cruise. such report being the basis of settlement
with seamen. it being shown that such false re-
port Of the fleet of whalers r~esOrting 20 these is
lands, was on an average 100 10 $50 barrels Of the
true catch. That upon making settlement Of
voyage with seamen when their share or Law has
been questioned. seamen have been refused per-
mission by the Consul to examine the shipping
articles by which their rights could thereby be de-
termiued. Also the e~xaction from the sailor of
81 for shipping. and 81 for discharging, over and
above the so cents paid by the ship also the re-
tcntOn of 81 from the two months extra wages due
seamen on their shipping to got the United States,
and the unjust custom of compelling agents and
shipmusterS to pay off their men at the consulates,
the consul of Honolulu being thereby enabled u
deduct y per cent. and the Consul Of Lahaina as
high rs per cent. commission from the balance
of wages due the sailor. The amount thus lille
/ pD mid I- +ha n. NJ tho. nGr, n g IlA-a
lulu being not much less than $4,000 for commits
slOns on wages, and the sum of 81 for discharg-
ing and 81 for shipping, and the retention Of 81
from the two months extra wages. swells the lie
gal and unjust exactions OF this consulate 10 the
enormous sum Of about $4,000 per annum.
1t Is well known that our Government has
ever manifested an anxious solicitude 10 relieve
the wants of its seamen when sick and disabled,
and FOR their better guardianship, has so framed
Its laws and consular instructions as To protect
them, but regardless of the laws of the United
States and consular regulations. the cOnsuls of
Honolulu and Lahaina, instead of acting as their
friends and advisers, have by every means in their
power deprived them of their slender and hardly
acquired earnings. and instead Of being the legal
lzed rcdreSSersO of the seamcns wrongs as well as
the distributors of the benehcence of Congress.
have cUnnived ut and countenanced every scheme
Of vIllainOUS masters and those Interested by
greed OF gam TO impose upon their want of knOwl-
edge and ineXpcrience III the settlement Of their
llwtui dues, and in pursuing such impOveriShing
courses thrown them for support upon the Relief
Fund so bountifiily provided by the Congress of
our country.
1t was c0nclusivelv shown that every means had
been resorted To by these consuls to get men into the
hospitals. III cite hut one of the many instances
That q naturalizod citizen of the kingdom stated
upon his examination 1T LaEaina that he was in
destitute circumstances applied to the consul for
relief relieved his then present wants and request
eu him 90 come to the consulate; weht; informed
the consul that hc was Il naturalized citizen of the
kingdom, took the oath in 1916. Consul said he
dIdnt wish 10 hear anything about that, hut ad-
mlttcd him into the hospital, whereby be became
"a charge against the government for the snug lit
tie sum Of 1921 20. From Il review of the above
instance Zone of many | am assured 1t is too
glaringlv manifest that the corrupt practice incl
dent to getting men into the hospital cannot be
otherwise than we'll known to the cOnsulS.
The greatest and most glaring frauds pcrpctra-
ted by these consulatcs against the government
being IN the system pursued In reference TO the
clothing department, | will give you Il brief syn
Opsis
Inmates Of the hospital were obliged, and in
some instances compelled, To sign blank bills for
clothing, no specification thereof, quality or price
being noted that they were signed at the hospi-
tai many days prior TO delivery of the clothing
that the clothes were sent from the Consulate in
bundles to the steward OF the hospital. and 10y him
delivered to the inmates according to the address
on each bundle that blank bills. when signed
and Witnessed. were ut Lahaina returned ~ the
Consulate. ut Honolulu to the Purvcyor; that
those persons who IcOrEed ont. and recc3rea
tcdgeS. returned to the hospital at end Of zach
quarter aud signed blank bills for clothing that
the clothes served out were of very inferior quail
ity, and We're at Lahaina, in Il majority of iustun-
Ces, sold each quarter by the inmates for as low
AZ 81 30, and not exceeding 81 80 per bundle;
that same quality and description OF clothes were
praised hy competent merchants and traders ~
not being worth more than six or eight dollars
per bundle. nevertheless the United States Govern
ment had been charged each quarter not less than
:S2S, and even as high as sol per bundle. That
the employees OF the cUnsulS Of Honolulu and
LahaiHa, while receiving wages from their prin-
had been in the habit of signing blank
bills for board and lodging, medical attendance r,
clothing, and the cUnsulS collecting such iiIc-
charge from the gOvernInent-that the consul
ut Lahaina. (for no other purpose that can ho
other than 10 deceive the department
- :, the real V~uryeyur oi the clothing department
Of the conSuldtc,) at the end of each quarter.
upon making up the vouchers and accounts
against the government for clothing distributed,
procured the receipt of the stewards Of the huspi-
which purported that he received for the said
quarters the sums of money expressed in the ac-
the one for quarter ending Dec. 81, 1859.
being as follows Received from Arson C..
Chandler, l.. =. Consul, FIVE thousand five hum
bred and sixteen dollars 46-I00 in full of the
above accounts. ~(>igncd) |. I. Slower. Where
Is, the fact was that he was not the puTyeyor-
never received any money from the consul, and
his wages We're paid by the physician Of the
lospital-but that the real purveyor was the car
mrs cicrb, and at the time of The investigation
the then acting rice consul
From all that could be gathered from the books
1t the consulateS OF Honolulu and Iahaina, there
10 guide to ascertain whether >"ameu had
discharged AT til" consulate according to the
or not. the consUI's certificate Of discharge
rot stating the grounds of the discharge, or
whether the three months extra wages had been
As required by law OF not. At Lahaina
even worse than at Honolulu, for 1T that
Consulate not even "a list could be found of the
discharged who had paid the $50, or to
whom the S24. or > months extra were due in