The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1865-02-04

pels every vessel 70 obtain q certificate Of sea-
worthiness from a board Of inspectors. for which
nine dollars a year must be paid, and in addition
thereto q passenger license from the Collector
General, for which a fee of fifty cents per ton
must De paid, if under eighty tons. forty dollars
if from eighty to one hundred tons, and fifty dol
lars for vessels over one hundred tons.
No vessel. 50 inspected and licensed. can carry
more than one passenger 10 every wo tons. FOR
instance, the Nettie Merrill, of 100 tons register,
can never carry over fifty passengers Steamers,
however. may carry two passengers to every three
tons register-a very liberal exception in favor of
u government monopoly. Under this law, the
hiiauea, of AZ tons register, can never carry
over 27S passengers. lis 4 pity the Legislature
did not make provision respecting the amount of
freight each vessel might take. II is barely
possible some of them may be SO loaded down as
to endanger the lives Of the limited number of
passengers allowed on board.
Furthermore, this law makes it unlawful for
any vessel 10 carry q female (white or red-skin)
under p years of age. from Hawaii, Maui.
Lanai, MolOkai, kahoolawe or Kauai, TO Oahu,
unless she has a passport, which can be obtained
without charge from the governors, judges, or
other local officer. The only way girls can evade
the law, is by swearing themselves over 25, or
going to Honolulu oia N1'hau, which by some
taur pas has been omitted from the tabooed
islands As to the age of female Hawaiians, not
one m L hundred can tell her own age, and we
all know how hard q thing it is TO find out the
ages of foreign ladies. just think Of Capt. Frank
Molteno or Capt. NJ Gregor trying to get the
ages of a bevy of girls who may rush on board
the steamer or the Nettie, and all VOW they are
thirty years old, and the mothers of three children
each. Who's the umpire to decide when doctors
disagree?
This law is so ridiculously absurd and con-
temptiblc, that its authors should be set down as
candidates for the new Insane Asylum. How a
Legislature could ever be brought to seriously
adopt such provisions is a wonder. The public
can never sustain such q law, and without pub
lie approval it must be practically a dead letter.
There are some good provisions in it-that
requiring a sufficient quantity of water and food,
and 4 person us master who is capable of mnviga-
ting. This latter clause will, however, operate
hard on native captains, and drive them all out
of employ for it is impossible for them to learn
to navigate by the use of nautical instruments.
4 law might have been framed that would be Il
public benefit bat this will never be so, but on
the other hand, it is silly, arbitrary and oppres-
sive. and can never result in good to anybody.
Ii these laws that we have this week noticed,
are fair specimens of the legislative ability and
wisdom lately in session, it is the most ignorant
and stupid body of men that ever assembled in
this kingdom for this purpose Imposing a tax
Of 60 to 100 per cent. on imported rice-taxing
machinery and agricultural implements 10 per
cent, which before were admitted free-licens-
ING the erection of distilleries. and then permit
ting their licenses to be taken away by public
auction competition-foIbidding cousigmees and
owners to accompany their goods with free
letters-and compelling females to get passports
before visiting the metropolis-are fair speci-
mems of the work accomplished at the remarka-
session of 1864.