The Hawaiian gazette., 1880-01-28
More Remarks from truthful James,

Mr. EDITORS of late several articles have ap-
peared in the papers in regard to taxes. Some
complain of double taxation, others of the ruling
of the Minister of Finance, that rate-payers must
make an expose of their books to the assessors,
others again of excessive assessments. What we
complain of is the manner of collecting them in
this district.
Firstly-a leper is made assessor. That is plain
language, but as true the ring of pure gold as
shall prove. This party occupied the position of
agent to acknowledge contracts for this district,
but the Minister of the Interior constrained to
remove him and appoint a cleaner man sundry
articles having appeared in the papers, protests
from residents from being compelled to associate
with him in business. Another branch of the gov
eminent then take him up and make him assessor
in this district and collector in an adjacent one.
This is the Finance Department. Now, as an in
stance of his Ignorance and instability.
The Wailuku Sugar Co. have leased their lands
to planters with written agreements that the latter
are to pay the taxes on the growing crops. In ac-
cordance with that agreement the planters made
returns of the value of the same to the assessor
The assessor refused to accept their returns and
proceeded to the w. S. Co. for the full value
of the whole. OF course the w. S. Co. refused to
pay and only did under protest appealing to the
Supreme Court.
Again, the assessor has merely copied the old
book of last year, and not only the names of re-
moved and excused parties, but even the dead are
called on to appear in court, the collector being
unable to find them. Again, the assessor although
living some miles from Wailuku, has no office IN
town, and rate-payers compelled to carry their
returns to him. He made promises to several par
ties to call for their statements and failed to do sO
and in more than one instance the party waited
for him until the time had passed to appeal.
There is nothing like sticking to the letter of the
law in regard to taxes well In solating lepers
Now we come to the collector, who is a man of
very different stamp. He takes an office in town,
he is not resident in the district, there proba-
bly, being efficient party, residing here to COL
lect taxes. Firstly, there has seldom been year
when there were many delinquents, he having
summoned over 300 to appear in court and answer
why they should not go to prison, their property
be seized for taxes. Probably many of them would
have paid if they had been visited at least once
before being arrested, but no doubt the collector
complied with the law. 1t was noticeable the
number of those arrested who were discharged by
the court, as they presented their tax receipts
This may read very pleasantly but the opposite
are the feelings of the man who with his tax re-
ceipt In his pocket, is dragged from his distant
home or place of labor to court, merely for the
form of showing his receipt. Even on scanning
the receipts some of them proved to have been
signed by another than the collector; but party
who claimed to be deputy collector admitted that
he had signed for the collector but failed to make
an entry of the same. Then again, the collector
neglected to recover ten cents each for dog tags
delivered, but presume he makes good any deficit.
l think the public will agree with me that our
taxes might be assessed, in a more respectable
manner and collected In more business like shape.