The Hawaiian gazette., 1884-06-25

. builder Mr. H Tennent went to the Minister Of tia
Interior and proposed to build the Wamea bridge for the
sum OF $1,000 offering good and sufficient bonds that the
work should be completed in manner satisfactory to
the Minister his deputy. This offer was refused and
the contract above stated awarded to JAS G. Hays
eden for the sum of Sl45 800
If the contract prices paid for the other bridges men,
toned above bear the same relation to the prices for
which they could have been contracted in this case
the country has been defrauded of over $4,000
by an incompetent or dishonest official Your Commit
tee sorry to have to say that in view of the manner
in which the contracts awarded and the facts con-
nected Herewith they do not how they avoid
the conclusion that these contracts would not have been
awarded at such prices unless some profit accrued there
from to the Minister who signed them.
I There are many other instances of contract work
which seem to have been paid at the extTavagant
rate A contract was awarded to Jas G. Hayselden to
make addition to wash houses for the of $3.50
The first wash house building contained l6 Il
which included the cost of large redwood tub in each
and the cost of the piping The addition built by
Mr. Hayselden three-fourths the size of the old
building containing only IL rooms, and in addition to
the contract price, the piping put in at cost Of
1854 s.
Out of the appropriation of Repairs to Government
Buildings Sl0S92 as spent for buildings Palace
Walk In the rear OF the Palace for the of persons
connected with the Palace and 1884 AZ account of
completing new Palace Such large proportion hav-
ing been taken many other public buildings have gone
without much needed repairs.
The Custom House had needed extensive repairs and
the appropriation made partly for this purpose;
but save for paltry expended nothing has been
done upon it.
Of the sum of SS442 3awhich was expended ON ac-
count of Repairs to Waterworks $60304 80 was paid
for large lot of water pipes and hydrants the most of
which have far proved of value whatever for the
increase of the water supply of Honolulu. The pipes
still lay stretched along the Nuuanu road and piled
around the Custom House and wharves Thus large
sum of money which Is sadly needed for the purpose for
which it appropriated has been locked up by an ILL.,
advised expenditure made without due consultation
with competent engineer.
Under this appropriation is item of $500 for
Purchase of Artesian Well, from His Majesty. This
was purchase of the Pualeilan well at a price con-
siderably above the cost and at the same time right
to considerable portion of the water reserved by
His Majesty
From the appropriation for Police Court Public
Works Water Works Tax Assessors &c, Buildings for"
the of $4,000 paid for the purchase of land ON
Merchant Street Honolulu for the site of the Police
Court; this purchase wholly unauthorized More
over further of 50 $50 paid to Loveioy Co.
for cancellation of lease the same premises And
from the appropriation for Buildings and Repairs of
Court Houses and Lock ups we find that the sum of
$500 paid in March last attorneys fee to r.
F. BckertOn for negotiating the purchase of the land
This seems to be utterly nexcusabe for at the time
there was an Acknowledgement whose duty it was to at
tend to all legal work of this nature and besides he was
at the time employing a lawyer on large salary to
to assist him, and he had a clerk on full pay.
THE POST OFFICE
The very full and valuable report of the Postmaster
General renders any extended notice of this important
branch of the Government service unnecessary it may
accounts found in order.
The Report of the Minister of Finance however
states that the income for the late biennial period was
only S366S2 Sc. whilst in reality it $6074S So the
difference of S24065 81 being the receipts for the last
nine months of the year which not paid into the
Treasury in time to appear IN the financial statement
although the amounts forwarded from the Post
office on the 9th OF April and 1T seems rather strange
that all the drafts against Postofce appropriations
which taken up at the time should have been
drawn from the Treasury whilst the credit of $2065 90
held and will appear "PoStofice Receipts
for the next period
The Finance Report is also misleading with reference
to the lncidentas account which in Table page g. is
stated to be overrawn 50 500 So whilst in reality II
has been overdrawn S4S63 So the additional amount
of $1,000 so appearing in what is called an Indemnity
account, page 80. sum of $3.50 so has been paid
which by rights ought to have been charged to Repairs
of Government Buildings, as the disbursement for
repairs and alterations to the POstofice.
The working of the Postal Money Order system was
looked into and find that whilst the domestic branch
of this service yields fair profit the foreign branch
consequence of the high price of exchange caused by
the disOrganization of the money market carried on
at great disadvantage to the Government the actual
loss from the 9TH of any 1884 to the 18th of Nav 1884
being no less sum than $l.602 06.
The Postmaster-General has asked for additional
clerical assistance which we recommend be granted
HEALTH
It will be noticed that the amounts stated to have
been discussed in the Report of the Minister of the
Interior account of the appropriations for Govern
ment Physicians and Building and maintaining Hos
pals do not agree with the ReDor of the Minister of
Finance In the first named appropriation the differ
ence is $780, which caused by draft of the Minis
ter of the Interior for pay of Government physician
having been charged in to the appropriation for
Building and Maintaining Hospitals the error was
caused by careessness in the Interior Department The
difference of S23S 50 in the appropriation for Building
and Maintaining Hospitals is also attributed to the same
cause. A draft was drawn the Finance Department
The body of which was filed up for 1864 o. whilst the
stub of the draft and the corresponding voucher only
called for 1926 40. In justice to the clerk however
we have to state that voucher for the difference was
produced These instances serve to show
that and precision not always exercised in the
Department of the Interior.
The ledger submitted for inspection by the Secre-
ary had evidently been prepared for the OCCASION as it
was in the handwriting OF person who has been but