The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1876-03-04
HOTEL BONDS.

In pursuance of public notice given, som ff-
teen of the holders of hotel bonds assembled at
the room Of the Chamber of Commerce on Mon
day morning last, to consider the subject of inter-
est OIL said bonds, declared payable at the Treas
ury to the extent of three and a half per cent.
Mr.. j. G. Glade was called to the chair and Mr..
F. A. Schaefer was chosen secretary. Mr.. j. L.
Warehouse addressed the meeting, taking the
ground that the government was attempting to
withheld two-thirds of the profits of the hotel,
now in hand, which he claimed should 60 to pay
interest on the bonds held by private parties.
After some farther discussion, Messrs. Glade,
Patty and May were appointed a committee to
correspond with the Minister of Finance on the
question, and also to procure legal advice as to
the rights of bond-holders under the Act of July
%, 1872. We do not presume at this stage to
forestall any legal opinion which may be forth
coming as to the construction of the law in ques-
ton but We cannot help calling to mind the fact
that at the time the money was loaned it was
well understood as for the purpose of securing q
needed public improvement, and that there was
very little said or thought of getting interest
thereon SO long as government assumed the ulti-
mate payment of the principal. At the meeting
on Monday, Mr.. WaterhouLe said
Our money in hotel bonds was originally loaned subject to
verbal promises by two Of the Cabinet Ministers to do their
them our respective interest in the land and Improvements, by
arrangement as security"
At a meeting of the subscribers to the { : hotel
stock, - held in September, 1871, called at the
instance of Mr.. Warehouse, that gentleman said ::
ave are no, shareholders, otherwise 1 should have adopted
and ask no questions. If we had been shareholders i would
have made inquiry in regard to the building, and asked for q
report. = l expressly disavowed At the time that /
" dsi,b be of a ,h ss0Sn. no sor = n 1 made my subscription on
was to receive my bonds for it,. Its bonds are very good prop
most favorable circumstances, no doubt will be below par"
We had supposed that the financial credit of
His Majesty's government was really the public
credit, and that every individual in the commu-
nifty was interested in maintaining it; that any
injury to the public credit would reflect some
what injuriously upon all credits based upon
property in the kingdom. We cannot however
reconcile this view of the matter with the intern
perate, perhaps careless. language of q writer in
the Gazette, who without reasonable or we'll
grounded cause intimates that the action of the
Minister of Finance in relation to the dividend
declared upon the hotel bonds, is but the fore
runner of Reputation" We cannot believe
that the writer had weighed his words and per-
haps he fails to comprehend the force of repudia-
ton. The credit of the government stands high
with home money-lenders, and all future progress
of the kingdom is based upon its ability to raise
money to carry out projected measures. But
with such careless writers as the one under re-
view in charge of types and ink, the autonomy of
the kingdom Ito use a popular expression) is GER
taiAly in jeopardy for without money the prob
lens of population, labor and kindred matters
will remain unsolVed.