The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-11-19
correspondence.

I'VE do no. hold, ourselves responsible for the views OF our
correspondentsl,
Mr. EDlroR IT may possibly be remembered
by some of. your readers that the last Parliament
was asked to. give ten thousand dollars towards
beginning a read through forest and mountain. over
swamps, lava flows, elinkers and the like, from Hilo
to Kawaihae, said road to develop no end of wealth,
open out new fields for enterprise, and make wilder
ness blossom like the rose.-aT bold and patriotic
conception, TO be worked out minus engineers. but,
as it Were, by faith, instinct and barney. Where
upon one of the Hio members rose, and feebly
suggested whether half of aforesaid sum might not
be more wisely and ~proftably expended on the old
long suffering track, which, g like a wounded snake,
drags its slow length along" past the plantations
and through the coast, and only settlements towards
Hamakua, and ultimately to Kawaihae also. This
was a very pertinent amendment to offer, but a
severe wink frsm His Excellency of the Interior,
who is s.in his place on such occasions, recalled
that rash, though welLmeaning Hilo patriot, to his
senses, and blushing, and half frightened at the
possible consequences of his own temerity, he inno-
Gently dried up and apologetically resumed his
sagacity and his seat. So the item passed, g such a
road - said His Excellency, : being much desired
by a majority of the Hilo people, which surely
could only have been reported to him in a dream.
A good deal of read-making seems to be accom-
plished in the offices of the Interior Department, and
unless 1 am grievously misinformed, something like
So, 500 out of that SIC, 900. being the price of a
seven mile contract, and a seventh of the entire
Undertaking, is already, or viii presently be.
g tucked away in foolscap,'' and placed on flea
stationary monument to the faithfulness, zeal, econ
omy, and genius of that Bureau, whilst for the
maker of the material road itself-ah But I
say 20 asks barnacle junior. &c look here, you know
Is this public business?i'l -a# ts9l aHa.I
Well, I suppose that the Superintendent of Public
Works may be considered officially a public man,
and 1 should like to know what that martyr to
mistakes reported to his chief on the subject, after
much valuable boots, and no end of
temper and sticking plaster in his vain, though
toilsome search for that portion of the road, so inno-
Gently presumed by him to be . fat a%ccOmpIi, and
perhaps a long step towards posthumous fame
whilst his excellent friend must surely have been
laughing in his sleeve at home, to think how cleverly
he had contriyed not to do it,-namely, by exhaust
ing the contract first, aud then engineering, the result
which history must record, a failure. How long
can these tlock-cuttipg razors endure? Take SO 500
from $1O,eOO-(which is near enough) and $4,000
remains for further action. What will they do with
it2 VIII they pay the Hilo member an honest COM
pliment, Though he don't need it now and under
the circumstances adopt his amendment only more
SOL. Or with the red tape-of a " special appropri-
alton y tie their hands? Should a too inquisitive
public want to know, peradyenture the iveliest
barnacle amongst them will, point the course.
IS Why, you'l-yoall ask TIL they tell you." =
NOurC