The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1862-06-05
The LEGISLATURE.

The work before the House of Representatives
progresses as rapidly as can be expected, and by
the time the subject of voting the supplies of the
government comes up, most of the minor bills
Will be out OF the way. On the 18th of May,
the House, through it's Committee on Elections,
decided that there had been no bribery in the
Lahaina elections. 1t will be remembered that
the PO/ynesldn and its protege the HOku Pakipika,
made a great deal of noise ON this subject, and
some OF their supporters went so far as to bring
a suit against the two members elected from that
district, the judge at Lahaina deciding that one
OF the parties was guilty. After examining II
witnesses, the House decides that there Is no evil
dence Of bribery. There ought to have been
some more punSent expression of its opinion
against the wanton suit brought by defeated
rivals and their ~abettors, whose only object was
to impugn the character of the members elect.
The finger of public scorn cannot be pointed too
sharply at such persons.
y very singular bill, granting a monopoly to
the Hawaiian Steam Navigation Company for -
years, came up before the House on the same day
(2Sth,) and was referred to a Select Committee,
which has not yet reported. The bill asks for
various privileges, and in addition, n subsidy for
carrying the mails, Of So, 1000 per annum for each
Of The three steamers, or 50 600 a year towards
their support. Such an extraordinary PROPOSE
ton will arrest public attention. We want to
see steamers established here, if the of
the group will sustain them, without any mono
poly, but do not think that the sailing coasters
ought to be sacrificed in any efforts to favor
steam. Let each enterprise stand on its own
bottom and merits. The example of England in
Substituting her various lines of steamers, it must
be admitted, affords a strong argumen to the
of the bill but the two nations do
not furnish exactly parallel cases. A law of
this nature ought not to be passed without a full
discussion of the probable results. We refer our
readers to the discussion on it.
\ bill modifying the present wholesale liquor
has passed the Lower House. 1t allows
wholesale dealers to sell in quantities of one gal
Ion or one dozen bottles or more, prohibiting
under a penalty, the sale or furnishing of liquor
in smaller quantities to be consumed on the
premises.
On Thursday last, the famous Koolau election
case came up, the two candidates claiming a seat,
each having a certificate. The House concluded
that it could not decide which was the best man,
and sent them both away to appeal again to their
devoted constituents. Next week another election
will be held there. \ law was Immediately
brought in, which has been passed, amending the
election law, and providing that when more votes
are found in the box than names registered, the
inspectors shall withdraw the surplus number in
the mode prescribed in the Act.
The Appropriation bill was yesterday reported
by the Finance Committee, and will soon come
before the House for discussion, furnishing staple
for any amount of patriotic effusicn and bum
comb. We understand that it has been materi-
ally changed from what it was when presented
by the Minister of Finance, and that the prun-
has been freely applied in items where
the Cabinet had not the courage to make incl
sions. All that the public ask for is that the
be reduced only to the limit which pro-
priety and the revenue of the State sanction.