The Hawaiian gazette., 1884-06-25
GENERAL REPORT
THE FINANCE COMMITTEE
LEGISLATI ASSEMBLY
OF 1884
GENERAL REPORT
To THE HONORABLE GODFREY RHODES,
President Of the Legislative assembly:


Your Committee on Finance respectfully report that
they have sought faithfully to examine into the accounts
of the various Departments and Bureaus of the Govern
men The investigations have entailed unusual care
and labor by reason of the confusion of accounts and
discrepancies in some instances and for payments fol
some objects having been made from different appropra
ons and from the many improper disbursements which
have demanded the most rigorous scrutiny.
As to the general method of keeping the public
counts the system heretofore observed has been followed
by most OF the Departments with certain exceptions
which Will appear in the of this report Your
Committee first visited the
DEPARTMENT. OF THE, ATTORNEY GENERAL
And found the system of accounts which had been esab
lished in the previous biennial period had been main
tanned during the period just completed The books
were well kept and the balances correct.
The several salary appropriations appear to have been
expended as authorized The accounts of the sheris
Maui and Kauai were well kept and commended them
selves to the Committee; these officers to have
compehended and observed the statutes and regulations
relating the payments account of criminal expenses
and incidentals The accounts of the shers of Hawaii
were not as satisfactory in his vouchers
even being wanting. Aside from the amounts he had
received for
INCIDENTAL EXPENSES,
he paid out upon tins account SlS46 ~ from the
appropriation for criminal expenses The item OF
payment for legal services for attorneys to appear for
him and prosecute police court cases appeared fire.
quently With the large number of police officers in
Hlo it would seem strange that of them were COM
petent to attend ordinary police court prosecutions
The accounts of the police of Oahu show expendi-
ture of S1,21 6S account of incidentas Lighting
the streets of Honolulu cost S9S52 The appropriation
for coroners nquests showed liberal payments for
penses in the few inquest which were held The Com
mittee would recommend that the appropriation be
somewhat increased in view of the Importance of such
iniuestS being more frequently held
The accounts of the expenditures of the appropriations
for Apprehension of Criminals Incidentals" and
Criminal Expenses were surprizng we found that no
less than 40 had been paid from these appropriations
for legal services of which abut $3.50 were paid during
the last ten months of the period Fees for civil cases
such as the maadaDs in the matter of the Bonds
the matter of the Gdz charter advice to H. Haysel-
den tax assessor matter of the Tax Appeal Board and
similar matters charged to criminal expenses On
the 14th day of December 1888 $500 were paid from this
fund for fees in the mandamus case February 90 1888
there charge of $50 for engrossng Patents of Royalty
charged to the ncidentas the subscriptions paid to the
p C. Adretis for the AttorneyGenerals and Marshals
Offices amounted to $40 90 another item May u 1888
lis S1 s. paid for costs in the case of Lam Pong vs. r. F.
Bickerton. We understand this was a civil action for
which Judge Bickerton personally responsible Sep
TENDER 49, 1888, S75 is charged for payment to W. L.
Wilcox for acting police judge this should have been
paid by Judge Bickerton for whom the service was
dered February H. 1854. the Acknowledgement Paul
Neumann drew 800 for travelling expenses to Kauai to
attend the Circuit Court the usual charge of the Kauai
term being from s25 to $50 The charges for express
hire were very light until the three months ending
March 81, 1884, when in the Attorney Generals office
alone SIS paid for that object Among other ex-
penditures find $500 paid to Capt Trip and $50 to
one Carson IAN employee of the p c. Adreti) for GER
tain fruitless secret service expeditions
Under the appropriation for the Apprehension of Grim
nals found two items charged of 800 EACH which
most mproper the first for fees to attorneys
for defending two Chinese constabes Akana and Akiona