The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-05-16

Several amendments Of Custom House regula-
tions are proposed by the Attorney General.
Section 574 Of the Civil Code is to be amended
by the addition Of a provision for q health eertit-
cate 70 all foreign bound vessels, for which one
dollar Is to be charged. Section $40 of the Civil
Code 70 be amended by the addition Of 4 proyi-
sion to the effect that in order to the recording OF
any transfers, etc, Of a Hawaiian vessel, they
must be acknowledged before the Collector Gen-I
eral or his Deputy, the fee for which viii be one
dollar. Section Go, respecting passports, TO be
amended by an additional provision, that all
protests against the granting Of a passport shall
be made on q stamped form TO be furnished by
the Collector General Of Customs for which a
charge Of FIVE dollars Is to be made. An amend
ment (Which will gain the hearty approval of the
mercantile community is proposed to the law
respecting Consular certificates, as follows: "Sec-
ton "a. The Collector Of Customs shall be
authorized to grant a further time Of six months
to PARTIES not having n Consular certified invoice,
upon their filing a bond with good security, to
produce the same within that time the charge
for which bond shall be two dollars In regard
TO these proposed amendments. excepting the last,
we observe frst,-that all American vessels are
-N1NAANA ~ NAAC = rum ALC NOLl5A
here, (for which they pay $3.50 to the effect
that 4" no cholera, plague, or other contagious or
dangerous disease exists at this port or its imme-
date neighborhood, and this requirement by
our Government Of an additional certificate from
the Custom House will be likely to be viewed
rs a petty imposition second, that the charge
for acknowledging of transfers, etc., of vessels,
Is apparently only a diminutiye mode of adding
to the receipts of the customs and third, that
charging five dollars for the exercise Of the privi-
lege Of stopping a mans passport, may possibly
work well so far as preventing petty claims from
uselessly stopping poor debtors from leaving the
country. And here we beg to suggest an amend
ment to this passport law. which it occurs to us
would be just and proper. We would amend
Section 65l of the Civil Code by inserting in the
second line the words knowingly and intention
ally" before the word convey SO that the
knowledge and intention of any master of 4 vessel
to convey any person out of the kingdom without
a passport, would have to be proved by claimants
before the heavy penalty of the law could be
enforced.
Petitions are numerous, and upon every posi-
bic and impossible subject, but in every half q
dozen presented there is sure to be one praying
for a general reduction of salaries of Government
officials. And judging from the temper of the
House so far, economy in the public expenditures
will be a leading idea throughout. This was
eyinced on Wednesday, in the discussion of a
proposition TO print for Information the more inn
portant bills presented. Members would like to
have bills before them, and indeed they cannot
really vote intelligently without, but the consid-
Grafton Of the expense caused the defeat of the
proposition. This sort Of economy is very ques-
tionable.
\ rather striking Illustration of the peculiar
tone and temper of the present Legislative As
sembly, $50 far at least al the Representatives are
cOncerned) was afforded n the nearly successful
attempt on Wednesday to rush through a bill,
the object of which was t. prevent the proposed
sale of the old Court House property, as adver-
tised by the Minister of The Interior. Section ~
of the Civil Code provides that tho Minister, with
the approval of the King and Cabinet, may sell,
lease or otherwise dispose of all public lands and
other property. 1t was proposed to amend this
by excepting 49, all pieces Of Government land in
the district of Honolulu, which may only be
disposed OF with the CONFETTI OF the Legrsardre.-
This jealous feeling as to the disposition of Gov
eminent property comes rather oddly from men
WIZ fcAAAANeAAJ 5'fN ~ . ~ . AAObSS "
Representatives last week, and with it the control
of the public purse. The policy of selling valu-
able property of the Government just at this
~iuncture of affairs may perhaps be questioned; but
it is also n question whether the advocates of the
proposed amendment were Influenced by consid-
crations of that sort-or by those of a less public
nature. At all events, the movement looked
very much like an attempt to censure the Min
istry, and Judging by tho air of solcitude with
which 1t was contested by the Ministerial side, it
was so construed. By a small majority Of five
only, the bill escaped being passed for engross-
ment, and was given to n select Committee, with
a strong friend of the Ministry as its Chairman.
The BIENNIAL REPORT of the Minister of Finance
was laid before the Assembly in printed form on
Wednesday last. 1t makes n pamphlet of thirty
four pages, with the accompanying tables, and
within that space will be found n very thorough
and correct statement of the Hawaiian situation.
Whether or not the near future shall show US rs
having been to-day on the brink Of a national
colIapse-the document before us will be of histo-
rical interest.
Our space will permit us to present only the
more salient points.
In the Treasury March 81, ls72.$ 59!52A
The receipts TO March 81, 1874. l,l36,523 %
Expended up to March 81, 1874. s1,I92, 51I 70
Balance in Treasury on that
I64 %
The total amount of the public debt is stated
at 1855, $50 &c, of which S25 400 falls due dur
ing the present fiscal period, besides accruing in
terest amounting to 500, 900.
The estimated receipts for the uext two yearsis