The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1871-10-07
TIE PACIFIC
Commercial ASbrrtlser.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER Z.
A ministerial "Emergency."

II IL
If His Ma;estv's Cabinet brings the Hotel scheme
mn in a new light. As journalists, we felt called
unou 70 defend the so-calIed shareholders and the
taxpayers but now, we have the cause oil the
latter ONLY to defend. The shareholders, as such,
have been appeased by the assurance that extra
assessments cannot be levied or, IN other words,
that they are not shareholders, and that the
money which they have advanced is considered IN
the light of a loan to the Government, for which
they are to receive bonds payable in five years.
After perusing the minutes of the extraordinary
meeting held at the Office of the Minister OF
Finance, we are satisfied that the principal anxiety
of the persons present, was to establish their
status. Were they, or were they not, RESPONSE
BILE shareholders? Could the ghost of untold
assessments be laid, they were satisfied. We are
not convinced that the last plan developed was
the original one, but believe that a concession
was made in Difference to public opinion; tgura-
lively, the tub was thrown to the whale 70
divert attention from the boat
To the would-not-be shareholders, we have
simply to say, that although relieved OF all re-
snonsibiIity as shareholders, they have still a
duty to perform as citizens, to prevent the en-
croachmenIs of a seemingly irresponsible Ministry
upon the public treasury. 1t will be remembered
by many, that at the session of the last Leg
islative Assembly much dissatisfaction was ex-
pressed with the Report of the Minister OF
Finance, because several appropriations in excess
of necessary expenditure were tapped and diverted
to meet expenditures in excess of appropriations.
Remarks which fell from leading Mobiles and
Representatives showed conclusively that they
REGARDED the license taken by the Finance De-
partment with no little alarm.
We are aware that Article Is of the original
draft of the present CONSTITUTIONAL character
of which was so ably criticised at Livuka recently
AS presented to the Convention by the Ruling
Genius of His Majesty's Cabinet, read as follows:
mo subsidy, duty or tax of any description shall De estab-
lishsd or levied without The consent e pn o. me TI neslSlS'I Without q
such consent except when between the sessions u n Lsgn s
lature an unforeseen emergency shall arise, and Ihen o Will
out the concurrence of all the Cabinet = ="
The very vague expression-''an unforeseen
emergency shall arise, ''-immediately attracted
the attention of a native delegate, who claimed
that /" the nature of every emergency should be
specified and by motion Of a foreign born
Noble it was amended to read,-
"No subsidy, duty or tax Of any description shall be estab-
nshed or levied, without the consent Of the Leg imS assem-
Without such consent except when between the sessions oil
Js5sHlon, p~estiIence, or other pubic disaster shall Grise,
and then not without the concurrence of all the Cabinet and
or majority Of the trhoLe PriUy Council /" =
Quite a spirited discussion took place upon the
amendment The then Attorney General, Charles
coffin Harris, was pleased to say
. His Majesty did not at all desire that the public
fH1s -hOuld be appropriated without check Contingencies
~metimes arise that could mot be ioreseen; ms Is
7eeessary 10 build ii up again, or hire another - ,ns
r-eszazry iu order TO save the lives Of the pc pile, TO appropriate
uoney. SD tie Privy Council became responsible for $4,000.
. the Eiristry should be trusted sufficient 10 carry on
- 1890 "a :, o. !. I . Rpu y oIbes p peopie'g money, and this
mus he Fusr5sd aTvirst."
10 is q matter of regret to us that we cannot
oftener agree With Mr.. Harris; but when he re-
marks shat sometimes people are apt to be lavish
of other peoples money, and such a condition OF
aaairs needs to be guarded against, we heartily
concur. A case clearly in point, is his lavish ex-
penditure of the money of His Majesty subjects
upon his insane Hotel scheme, and our humble
efforts are directed to the end that it may be
guarded against. We do not suppose that with
all the assurance and audacity for which he is
noted,-with all his extraordinary capacity for
distorting facts,-the Ruling Genius will claim
that war, invasion, rebellion, pestilence, or
other public Disaster is imminent, calling for
this extraordinary diversion of public moneys !;
and if not, then somebody is guilty of a breach
of trust in issuing bonds payable in five years.
What would be thought of a merchant who
purchased stocks, offering in payment drafts up
on a bank with which he had made no arrange
ment or deposit of funds? Wherein does this
extra-C Constitutional act of the Minister differ
from the criminal parallel which we have drawn?
The Attorney General of Convention times
thought that the Ministry should be trusted suf-
o.ookIu 10 ON tho GOvornmRnf Trua n
Ministry ought certainly to possess the public
confidence sufficiently to be SO entrusted. But
when we consider the tortuous path by which he
reached his then position his infamous treat
ment of the American Missionaries when he hoped
that another religious sect would supplant them
the part be bore in wrestling the Constitution
of 1852 from the people his overbearing manner
towards Representatives in the Assembly the
manner IN which he secured the appointment of
the late Envoy to Washington, in direct opposi-
ton to the wishes of parties most interested :
not to speak of acts more intimately connected
with his official career,-this retrospection is not
calculated to strengthen trust in the Ministry he
rules.
If, as is now claimed, the Hotel scheme is a
purely Governmental one, a matter of public i'm
DAO WHY w ~
Department of the Interior, where such matters
belong? Why was not the Minister of the Int
rior present at sne harmonious meeting of which
we read? 1t is true, however, that the Minister
of Finance excused the non-attendance of the
head of the Interior Department on the ground
that his views in regard to the size and cost of
the structure were not in harmony with those
of his colleagues. In other words, this expendi-
ture of the public funds is not concurred in by
80 all the Cabinet" as the Constitution demands.
Let our readers seriously ponder upon the ex-
ira unconstitutional acts of the present Cabinet,
and say, if they can, where its encroacLments
will end and ask themselves if the time has not
come when the third estate should make itself
heard as q party to the Constitutional Contract.
Tur /, -anese Government, in imitation doubt
- ~ ooverriSuents, owns q newspa-