The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1876-09-06
The Legislature.

The Assembly has been in admirable tenn
per the past week, accomplishing more actual
work than has been performed before in twice
the time. The work is not ofthe kind that will
show much upon the book of Session Laws, all
the better for this, for the business has COIL
sisted of Kidding the order of the day " of "a
number of useless bills On Wednesday a
resolution was introduced by select COM
mittee, proposing to adjourn the Assembly
sine die, and giving the Ministry tile power
to make expenditures upon the basis of tie
Appropriation Act of 1874, excepting such
items as may have been stricken out or modi-
fed by the action Of the present Assembly.
This resolution occupied the attention of the
Assembly the greater part of the day and was
finally indefinitely postponed
On Thursday bill changing the conditions
under which auction licenses may issue pass
ed on its second reading. The Minister may
issue an auction license to any person paying
$500 for the same, and entering into bond to
pay into the Treasury not less than one-balf
of one per cent. of proceeds of sales. We be-
lieve that this change refers only to licenses
issued for this island.
A bill to protect forests also passed on its
third reading.
On Friday the bill repeating the Poll Tax
passed its third reading by a large majority
The Ministers were divided in their counsels
on this Act. The Minister of the Interior
voted in favor of the BILL the only one of the
Cabinet who has been consistent in his course
on the several readings of the Act. The Hon.
Mr.. Aholo intimated that if the bill did not
pass, the representatives would not vote in
favor of the several revenue bills which the
Ministry had introduced.
On Saturday the Assembly discussed tile
KuokOu newspaper in most complimentary
manner 1t would seem from the discussion
that a writer for that paper had referred to
the members as an assemblage of "empty
heads F" who were led like fish with silver
hooks in their jaws" The debate was cat
short by a call for the " order of the day"
But on Tuesday the ire of the members burst
forth in resolution presented by the Hon.
Mr.. Kalaukoa setting forth that the Kuokoa
in its issues of August 20 and September had
held the Assembly up to the contempt and
ridicule of the public and ordered the Ser
geant- of the Assembly to arrest the
Publisher, H NJ. Whitney, and the Assistant
Editor, J. Q. Kawainui, and imprisOn them
for thirty days. The Hon. member then pro-
ceedei in strain that would justify the use
of most any epithet or epithets, if it were not
for the waste of ink and space that would fol-
low. The resolution was afterwards modified
to bring the Editors to the bar of the Assem-
bly,, and so far as we have heard the matter
ended here, by indefinite postpOnement
On Monday a large number of bills came be-
fore the Assembly and some two or three
passed on their third reading, among them
the auction license bill. The bill preserving Ger
tain birds for the use of His Majesty, and the
one granting pensions for military service,
went to the wall, very properly.
On Tuesday the Currency bill was the prin-
cipal matter under consideration. The
thoughts of most of the members upon this
subject were somewhat crude, perhaps not
more so than the ideas of American infationists.
In the afternoon, the bill to provide new
Steamer for the coasting service was taken up,
and several speeches made on it, the main
point of difference between the speakers being
as to whether the government should build
and run the boat, or accept a contract from
private parties to do the service. The discus.
sion will continue to-day.
The Appropriation Bill has been engrossed
and is ready to be presented on its final read
ing, when it will probably receive some i'm
portant amendments.