The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1880-10-16
THE CONDITION OF THE CITY.

III. .fsE.
The absence of any vigorous and VigiIant
government Of the city is shown by nothing more
plainly than by the want of Building Regula-
tions. Had there been any form. however i'm
perfect, OF municipal government, restrictions
would long ago have been placed upon builders
and their employers, both in regard to the
character of their structures, and their inter-
ference with the public highways. The latter,
which is the minor matter. has attracted a good
deal of attention lately on account of the incon-
venience to which the public have been put by
the manner in which f~ootpaths and roadways
have been DISTRACTED by builders and other
tradesmen. We do not know whether the laws
Of the kingdom provide any remedy when these
distractions are carried beyond bounds or not.
That they have been carried beyond all reason
able bounds in several instances of late no one
but the culprits themselves will venture to deny.
If a man should drive on the wrong side of the
street he is liable to be fined heavily but, so
far as we know, his piling bricks in the street so
that there is not room left for two vehicles to pass
either on the wrong side or the right is not a
punishable offence. Elsewhere the builder il
confined TO certain limits proportioned to the
work he has on hand, and also to the available
width of the street. He has also to erect q hoard
ing round the space he is permitted to use, and
has to construct q sufficient footpath of planks
round his boarding, and protect the same with a
hand-rail. He is also obliged to provide lights
sufficient to prevent accidents arising from his OBJ
structions not being seen. The sooner such regula-
tions obtain in Honolulu the better. If they are
daanad np0-ton IN fouvn, rho.o ~ ek-.ok, no
sixty to a hundred feet wide, how much more are
they needed here. ,-rLH 80 .4s.4 H.. aaH
Far more important, however, are the Regula-
tions which control the style and character of
buildings. What We lack here can best be
pointed out by detailing what duties are imposed
on persons building in other towns where vigorous
and vigilant municipal government exists. The
man who desires to build, or even to make sub
stantial alterations in an old building must first
stating what be wishes to undertake. and hand
ing in his plans and specifications. 1t is the duty
of the surveyor to see that these plans conform to
the bylaws. The latter generally prescribe GER
tain areas within which the erection of wooden
or iron buildings is not allowed precaution Of
the utmost Importance in a town as crowded as
Honolulu is. Beyond these prescribed areas
wooden buildings are still under restriction, it
being usual to fix a distance, generally ten feet,
within which no one may approach his neighbours
boundary with a wooden building. Wooden
buildings are not allowed to closely adjoin one
another-eVen on a mans own land unless
divided by brick or stone walls carried two feet
above their roofs. Brick buildings must have
THAR 6iui6in0 xpalla ainniloriu oorriad M hayNnd
their roofs. These restrictive measures have been
dictated by alarming and costly experience, and
it is too much to expect that Honolulu will escape
similar emphatic instruction for an indefinite
period, unless we follow in the footsteps of those
who have learnt the lesson, and now take pre-
cautions to prevent a recurrence of such forced
studies. 1t is not merely for the sake of precau-
ton against fires that Building Regulations are
enforced elsewhere. Safety of construction is
insisted upon, and, according TO the size of the
building, certain measurements Of beams, ioists,
bressemers, and 30 forth have to be used, whether
the buildings be of wood or of more substantial
Moreover, in regard to all parts of
buildings which o~verhang or cover-in the public
footpaths, strict regulations are enforced. We.
randahs must be carried to the full width of the
NP P"O''aSA WIZ piOpCI CUTTERS anu
doHnpipes to conduct rainwater into the channels.
In this town the value and propriety of CUTTERS
1T the caves Of buildings does not appear to have
been recognized. The water that falls on our
roofs is allowed TO find the readiest way to the
ground. We have in our minds eye at this
q store which, as buildings go in Homo
is one of some pretention, the uinwater
rom which is carefully gathered into downpipes.
md by them discharged on to the verandah roofs.
From thence It finds its way to the street channel
n great streams, the verandah having no cutters
IT downpipes except at one point where they have
been found desirable to protect the spot where
'ustomsrs' horses are generally hitched up. The
Phe natural consequence Of this arrangement is,
hat the channel IN worn into hules at certain \
faces, in which POOLS of water and mud remain
ong after other parts of the street are dry. This
3 no solitary case. 1t differs from the majority.
nsomueh as any guttering and spouting is used
all. As at least half the Verandahs in the
own are not as wide as the ~lootpath, the rain
alling FROM them destroys the paths. Surely it
3 time that some authority, be it Minister of
Interior, or Royal Commissioners, or a full-blown
Council, were empowered to deal with these
lstters. If only for the sake of being like other
ivilized people, We should like to see a change, i