The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1877-11-17

HE TINE is fast approaching when the people
of this Kingdom will be called upon to discharge
what may justly be styled the most important
duty of freemen. In the first week of February
of the coming year, 187S-only eleven weeks
henee-the election for Representatives in the
Legislative Assembly will be holden throughout
the Kingdom. The business which will then
occupy the Hawaiian people is just as important
for them as the recent elections in France for the
citizens of that republic, or, generally speaking,
any similar elections anywhere whatever, for the
electors concerned. 1t would be a great mistake
for any persons here-whether natives or foreign
ers-to underrate the real Importance of these
forthcoming elections for this country. Our
Kingdom, it is true, does not rank amongst the
first of the world and although comparatively
speaking, we may be termed a very small body
polite still as we enjoy the priceless privilege
OF conducting our own affairs constitutIonallY,-
a privilege even still denied to many of the
greatest nations of the earth, such as Russia,
China and others-we really have reason to re-
joice at our especially good fortune, and we
would be downright fools not to appreciate fully
the exalted privilege of freemen which we enjoy.
But, at the same time, it is our bounden duty,
as the subjects of a constitutional King, to make
good use of that inestimable privilege. 1t is
even we'll to recall here that, in monarchical gov
ernments the very term constitutional Mon
arch - is of itself alone calculated to remind the
leiges of their heavy responsibility towards the
crown and the country ;-inasmuch as a consti-
tutional monarch may be said to have handed
over to his people a part of the burden of state
which rests entirely upon the head of an abso-
lutte government. 1t is the duty then, of each
and every one of the electors to approach the
ballot box with the serious conviction that he is
actually engaged in aiding his King to support
the burden of state, and that upon his individual
vote in part depends the prosperity of both gov
eminent and country.
1t is furthermore highly proper for each cleo
tor to have well before his mind the object for
which he is called upon to cast his vote into the
ballot box. That vote goes to resolve the ques-
ton who shall be the select few charged by the
people with the framing of the laws of the land.
1t is needless to observe that it is of vital i'm
portance that the best qualified men in the state
should be elected as it's legislators. Mistakes
have occurred in the previous legislatures, and
such mistakes must be recti6ed. Sound laws
must be enacted for the present and future gov
CIuucul OI III HdLiOu' All III 6uDJcCtb VI LUG
realm have a most decided interest at stake, in
the right use of the ballot-box by the electors,
and they will be derelict to duty if they fail to
intelligently exercise the privilege. In the pre-
sent state of our legislational standing, the i'm
perative necessity of electing the best qualified
men for our legislators is more especially appar-
ent. The Representatives, who shall be elected
in February, will have to face at once some very
arduous duties. In the first place, they will be
called upon to consider the past legislative enact
ments by which the taxation of the country ia
carried out. A great deal has been said and
written lately about a system of double taxation
which has been prevalent in this Kingdom,
under a legislative enactment, whose c~onstitu-
tionality is even called into question. The
injustice in the case refers to the double
taxation of joint stock shares and mortgages.
But, there are also other cases in which the
Representatives elected next February may be
called upon to decide as to the equity of the
past and present systems of taxation. Article IA
OF the Constitution declares that I" Each member
of society has q right to be protected by it, in
the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property,
according to law and, therefore, he shall be OBJ
liged to contribute his proportional share to the ex-
pense of this protection, &C." Now it will be the
Of the Legislature at it's next session, to study
and decide whether each member of this community
really pays, under existing legislation, his pro-
share" of the expense of government,
nasmuch as there is good reason to conclude
a very unfair and unequal system Of taxa
ion actually prevails here, whereby the laborer,
With $l5 a month, Ga perhaps 81 a day, pays
ust as much taxes as the salaried man with
$1,000, $4,000, or even $4,000 a year, supposing
hat neither possess any real estate. Any fnan-
Ter must at once recognise the inequality and
of this condition of things, the remedy
or which is obviously to be found in the imposi-
ion of an Income Tax,-such as prevails in
treat Britain and other countries.
The electors should fully understand and bear
n mind that the men whom they shall elect next
will have an arduous task to perform,
n which the question of equitable taxation Is
kelly to occupy a prominent position. They
hould therefore make up their minds to vote
Dr. the most intelligent men who can be found I
respective of prejudices of race or color. AS G
re have already suggested in q former article on i
his subject, we think that it will be for the q
ecided benefit of the Hawaiian race of these i
stands and their King, if q goodly proportion of /
he men who shall be called upon to sit as Rep !
are foreign born subjects. And this =
IN be accomplished il, instead Of the apathy q.
.eretofore shown, foreign-born subjects OF the .
ling will personally exert themselves in the \
Of their districts.