The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-05-18

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grafton might go on estnctedly.
1t was well known to the house that
special commissioner was sent out
to this country to carry on negotia-
tions. The result of the negotia-
tion, protocol and despatch was that
convention was made. This con-
vention, while it left out some of
the details, yet reference to it shows
it contains in special terms, all the
conditions that had been proposed
by the Hawaiian Government and
acceded to by the japanese Govern
ment. Among those conditions was
one which was article IL of certain
propositions made by the japanese
Government. Twenty-Five percent
of the wages and other savings of
japanese immigrants were to be
deposited with the Hawaiian Gov
ernment, at interest of five percent.
"A treaty has the same solemnity as
any law which this Assembly NAV
pass which has the signature of the
King. And when it is enquired
what right has the Minister of FL
nance to receive that money, he re-
plies that it is one of the privileges
OF the convention. 1t was point
which the Hawaiian Government did
not only not insist upon, but would
have been refused had it not been
insisted upon by the japanese Gov
ment, so that their people should
not be left here as paupers in case
of sickness or accident. If this
action of the Government, which he
claimed was necessary for the pur-
pose of concluding the convention
with Japan, was illegal, then other
provisions of the convention were
illegal. If it is asked what right
had this Government, in the absence
of legislative sanction, it may be
asked what right had this Govern
ment to agree that japanese laborers
should be free from taxes for three
years. What right had this Gov
ernment, without sanction of the
legislative body, to make such a
provision as this--to return Jap
anese laborers, disabled by sickness
or other reason, without their volun-
tary consent? Would hon. mem
bers state why this is legal, which
is in direct contraventlon of habeas
corpus law, and yet it will not pre-
vent this Government from carry
ing it out? There was no Legisla-
ture to place it before. lie claimed
that if the Government had, under
those conditions, as they had bound
themselves, placed it in any private
bank, then their action would have
been illegal, but not when they re-
ceived it at five percent. He quoted
from despatch of the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Hawaiian Isl
ands, and said that the action of
the Government was perfectly legal.
| Noble Rhodes explained that 1t
was not the legality of receiving the
money that was questioned, but as
an appropriation was inserted for
the interest there should be- one for
the principal.
Minister Neumann said he should
speak on that hereafter. This policy
had saved the Hawaiian Govern
ment $1,000 or $4,000. If they
had not been bound to do it, it
would not have been done. The
arrangement had to he carrid out
till they had the consent of the Jap
anese Government to strike it out.
When the Hawaiian charge d affaires
was here it was concluded that the
clause should be stricken out, and
that the japanese Government should
seek n bank elsewhere. 1t could
not have been done by this Govern
ment en parte without the consent
of the other party, and when that is
done the entire fund will he taken
away, for it has been nothing but
trouble. When certain items had
been inserted in the Appropriation
Bill-immigration, waterworks, etc.
it was discussed whether this item
should have been placed in "immi-
grafton" or not. The Minister of
Finance came to the conclusion,
and the speaker ventured to say
proper one, that all those items
should be left out of the bill and
nothing but what was necessary put
in, leaving the Legislature to deal
with the rest of them. Whether it
was proper to put this item in he
was not prepared to say, but at any
rate it was intended to lay this mat
ter before the Legislature when it
came to the appropriation under the
loan fund. For fear it might be
stated that he had avoided point,
: he said the Government had allowed
= interest according to stipulation.
. 1t was not a special deposit with the
Hawaiian Government, because if it
was paid in in that way it might be
paid out of the general fund for any
purpose for which moneys can be
paid out of that fund. He believed
that if ever the japanese Consul
made his demand upon the Ha-
7 waian Government for that money,
: the long prophesied bankruptcy Of
/ the Hawaiian Government would not
: have taken place. Negotiations were
now pending to place this fund
wherever the japanese Government
might like to place it,
Rep. Dole was very glad to have