The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-05-25
RE
or His EXCelIeney 4. S. HartweIl, In the Assembly
May 23d, on the Report of the Finance Committee.

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The Attorney General spoke, in substance, as
follows
Mr.. President Il see that this Report is print
ed before presenting it to the Assembly, and as its
statements are likely to be largely circulated, | wish
at once, without attempting any extended answer,
to refer to some Of these charges. This Report is the
bomb-shell the very reading Of which, IL has been
publicly asserted by members of the Committee,
would scatter the ministerial camp like leaves before
the wind. From the moment this Committee was
appointed, their report was industriously fore-an-
nOunced as something TO which this administration
would Immediately succumb. The Honorable Chair
man of the Committed on Finance, in a recent speech
making a pointed attack upon the Ministry, took
pains to declare, that he - coyets no mans Office"
Assuming that to be a fact, although it is entirely
immaterial whether he desires Office or not, although
ii is no crime for him, or any one, TO seek honorable
public seryice,-yet it is plain that he has incorpo-
rated in his Report about all that the bitterest per-
sonal or official enemies Of the administration, those
desiring Office for themselves, or their friends, those
having any real or fancied grievances, those who
willingly hear and spread personal calumny-haye
ever said against this administration. 1t is also
clear that he has neither presented nor sought to
present any such explanations or statements as were
offered to him, or were easily accessible, in regard
to the serious charges he makes. This Report there
fore may fairly be regarded as showing the most and
the worst that can be said against the Ministry,
without mitigation or explanation. 1t not only con-
tains the suggestiO Ueri, the concealment Of material
truths, but also that which is worse than open at
tack. the S~uppreSSio fdLSi, or insinuation of evil mo-
tives or acts, all of which shows whether the Honor
able Chairman who presents it is himself actuated
by q desire to ascertain the truth, or not. If then,
on full enquiry, all these outrageous charges shall
be shown to be untrue, or else to be explained to the
satisfaction of fair-minded men, this Report will re-
ceive the consideration it deserves, and no more,
and possibly its authors may be, " hoist with their
own petard." L pronounce these charges against
my honest and faithful discharge of official duty.
against my proper disbursement of and accounting
for public money, and against my keeping full and
exact accounts Of public money, as unfounded 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 $2,5o9.25 was paid out of the Hawaiian Treas
ury, as 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 is, that before entering this office ! had as
counsel for the bondholders 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 bonds themselves, pro-
vided that the profits Of the Hdcdiian Hotel should
be devoted to paying their interest up to nine per
cent. per annum, and that all this money was the
Hotel profits, and really came to only about p 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 it belonged. | found a
written opinion of my predecessor, that be regarded
it as g the bounden duty - Of the Government 10
pay luIS injury " IL bOIuuOlltTbs Iut Idltu OF the
nation was pledged to its payment, and l 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 me 10
take office in this kingdom, he did not send for one
who would throw off and evade any just response
bility, or who feared to meet any fair and honest
enquiry into his official or unofficial acts.
And yet, in face Of these facts, this Report insip-
yates that the inducement to the payment Of this
money was, that the Minister of the Interior was one
of the bondholders, and | 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 90 on, and to offer
no reply. But still if nothing Is said in reply, all
this parade OF exaggeratiOn, misapprehension and
absolute inaccuracy may be supposed to be sig
ni6cant.
The next charge is, that, without legal sanction,
drew out 1926 from the Treasury at the end Of
the fiscal period, and placed it to my credit in the
bank as a reserve fund for contingencies. The Hon
orable Chairman fails to state that which my books
show to be true, and which | especially requested
him, as also the Honorable member from Hanakna
Mr.. Bickerton), to bear in mind that drew out
for police pay and salaries a certain amount, which
was paid over to the proper officers, according TO
law, and that really the only balances which | had
left were Sl,374 46-being S423 for Coroner's in
quests, S947 62 for apprehension of criminals, and
SO 81 for incidentas that a special deposit Of this
was made to the credit Of the Attorney General,
and not to my private account that the whole
amount, and also the drafts which have been made
upon it, appeared in my books, and that about $3.50
balance now remains. 1t also is true, notWithstond-
ing that the Report states that it " is somewhat con-
tradicted'' by a former Report in 1876, that this
practice has been followed by my predecessors, and
this their accounts in 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
avpap1iturp in the AtfOrngv- (1pupFala IqparfmQut .
a considerable amount has no other voucher than
the verbal assurance Of the chief Of the Department"
The incidental fund-Sl ,0O0-for this Department
is used for supplying stationery TO all the officers,
paying 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 he 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-
partment of the Government, and there has been no
more reason for their comments on my Department
than on any other, unless it be 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 Affairs TO draw up a form Of Consular instruc-
tious, for which the AttOrney-General 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, az 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-
amined and revised all the instructions to our Con-
suls abroad, end 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 conveyancers in foreign ports,
and which varied very much in their contents as
prepared in Liverpool, Bremen, San Francisco and