The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-05-25
REMARKS

IhN -S
follows
NE. PREsrpENT Il see that this Report is print
81 before presenting it to the Assembly, and a. its
t.tenents are likely to be largely circulated, 1 wish
at once, without attempting any extended answer,
10 refer TO some of these charges. This Report Is the
Lomb-sheIl the very reading Of which, it has been
publicly asserted by members Of the Committee,
would scatter the ministerial camp Ike leaves before
the wind. From the moment this Committee was
appointed, their report was industriousIy fore-an-
uouucei rs something to which this administration
would Immediately succumb. The Honorable Chair
man Of the Committee On Finance, III a recent speech
making u pointed attack upon the Ministry, took
pains 10 declare, that he "cOvets 10 mans Office"
Assuming that TO be q fact, although 1t Il entirely
immaJeriai whether he desires Office Or not, although
II - no crime for him, or any one, to seek honorable
public seryIce,-yet II Is plain that he mas incOrpO-
rated IN his Report about all that the bItterest per-
sOual or official enemies Of the administration, those
desiring Office for themselves, or their friends, those
having any real or fIncIel grievances, those who
willingly hear and spread personal caIumny-haVe
ever said against this administration. Ii Is also
clear that he has neither presented nor sought 10
present any such explanations or statements ~ were
offered 10 him., or were easily accessible, IN regard
To the serious charges he makes. This report theIe-
fore may fairly be regarded a. showing the most ana
the worst that can be said against the Ministry
without mitigation or explanation. Ii not only con
Iaius the suggesiiO Ueri, the c0uceaInent Of material
truths, but also that which Is worse than open al
tack, the suDpressi0 f1isi, or in=inuatIon Of eva mo-
rIyes or acts, all Of which shows whether the Honor
able Chairman who presents il Is himself actuated
by a desire TO ascertain the truth, or not II theh,
on full enquiry, all these outrageous charges SHAH
be shown TO be untrue, or else to be explained 10 the
satisfaction of flIr-miuded men, this Report viii re-
ceive the consideration 1t deserves, and DO more,
aud possibly its authors may be, " hoist with their
own petard." l pronounce these charges against
nv honest and faithful discharge OF Official duty,
r.Tys rv urOupT disbursement of and accounting
for public money, and against my keeping full and
exact accounts Of public money. as untOunded IN
fact, and AS evidently melted by "a spirit far different
from that Of one who seeks TO know the simple truth.
To refer briefly to each charge. The Report states
that 3 ,5SJ.25 was paid out Of the Hawaiian Treas
ury, a. the Committee think, without the authority
Of law, to the holders of Hawaiian Hotel Bonds,
=. among whom was the Minister of the Interior, and
whose attorney was the present Attorney General
The fact l., that before entering this Office | had rs
counsel for the bouGholders advised them that they
undoubtedly were entitled by law to this money;
that the statute under which these bonds were
issued, and the letter of the bOH2S themselves, pro-
vided that the profits Of the HuUaiiaH Hotel should
be devoted to paying their Interest up TO nine per
cent per anuum, and that all this money was the
Hotel profits, and really came to only about y per
cent. on the bonds. Before accepting my Office, |
stated to those who conferred with me, that one
condition must be, the immediate payment Of that
money to those to whom 1t belonged. | found a
written opinion of my predecessor, that he regarded
1t as = : the bOunden duty - of the Government 10
paw this money TO the bondholders. The faith of the
nation was pledged to its payment, and ! could not
consent to going before the Court and asking that
the money should not be so paid. No case had been
argued before the Court and [ took no action as the
Report states : without Difference to the action OF
the Court" When Kamehameha V. sent for Inc to
take office in this kingdom, he did not send for one
who would throw oil and evade any just RESPONSE
biIity, or who feared to meet any fair and honest
enquiry into his official or unofficial acts.
Aud yet, in face Of these facts, this Report insin-
49, H. IL n.ap ~ thn. gunwgn ~ this
money was, that the Minister of the Interior was one
OF the tondhOlders, and L had been coun-
sci in the matter. To those who find
weapons of attack from such an arse
nal, who rely for their opposition on such resources,
my first impulse is, to let them go on, and TO offer
no reply. But still if nothing Is said in reply, all
this parade of exaggeratiOn, misrepresentation and
absolute inaccuracy may be supposed to be sig
niticaut.
The next charge is, that, without legal sanction, 1
drew out 50, 926 from the Treasury at the end Of
the fiscal period, and placed it to my credit in the
bank a a reserve fund for contingencies. The Hon
orthIe Chairman fails to state that which my books
show to be true, and which L especially requested
him, IL also the Honorable member from Hamakna
(Nir. Bickertou), to bear in mind that | drew out
Tor police pay and salaries IA certain amount, which
was paid over TO the proper officers, according to
law, and that really the only balances which | had
left were Sl,3T4 i6-bcing S423 for COrOner's iu-
quests, S9iT 90 for apprehension of criminals, and
$3 81 for incIdentals that n special deposit Of this
was made to the credit OF the Acknowledgement,
and not to my private account that the whole
amount, and also the drafts which have been made
upon 1t, appeared in my books, aud that about $3.50
balance now remains. 1t also Is true, notwithstand-
ing that the Report states that it d" Is somewhat con-
tradictcd'' 10y u former Report in 1876, that this
practice has been followed by my predecessors, and
this their accounts III my Office, to which the Com
mittee had full access, will show. The Honorable
member from Kohala, who was my predecessor, will
confirm me in this statement.
Again, the Report finds, that of the incidental
pyueufIrure in the Attorney Generals DEPARTMENT
n considerable amount has no other voucher than
the verbal assurance of the chief of the Department"
The Incidental fuud-Sl. 0OO-for this Department
Is used for supplying stationery to all the officers,
paving travelling expenses, purchasing what may be
required for use in the different offices, and many
small OUTLAWS. as, for instance, printing, occasional
fees, for legal services required for the Attorney
Generals assistance when be Is otherwise engaged.
Every cent of this outlay is specified in my books,
and all OUTLAWS Of any considerable amount, and
many for very small amounts, have receipts. Nothing
more has ever been done in this or any other De-
paUtmeut Of the Government, and there has been no
more reason for their comments on my Department
than on any other, unless it tie actuated by a spirit
not seeking solely the public good.
Again, the Report states that The Attorney
General has been requested by the Minister of For
eign Atflirs TO draw up a form of Consular instruc-
tIous, for which the Acknowledgement charged and
received the sum OF SlOO," but - subsequently re-
funded TO the Office 500, and insisted upon the re-
turn of his receipt This is incorrect, as the Hon
orable Chairman might have learned by asking
myself, or any of the other Ministers. When Mr..
Carter was Foreign Minister, at his request, | ex-
nmined and revised all the Instructions TO our Con-
suls abroad, and the laws and treaties relating to
them. For this work, occupying some days, no
charge was made by me, and no pay was accepted or
thought of. | found that our COnsuls abroad were
in the habit of having sea letters, passports or other
documents prepared for foreign ship-owners upon
placing their vessels under the Hawaiian flag. For
these documents, which apparently had been pre-
pared by attorneys or cOnveyaHcers in foreign ports,
- ,rLT,I, yarIoI vsrv much ~, thair contents rs
prepared in Liverpool. Bremen, San Francisco and
elsewhere, the Consuls and their conveyancers were
paid by the ship-owners, and no payment of such
receipts was ever made to this Government. Find
ing no law TO authorize such documents, l so in
formed Mr.. Carter, and then ut his request prepared
such a form Of document as | thought would be re-
spectei under rules of international law, for which
service 1t was understood | was TO be paid 500 from
the moneys thereafter paid TO the COnsuls by the
foreign sh~ip-owners, as they issued the papers.
This was not work which was required of the Attor-