The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-07-16
II H r
THE LEGISLATURE.

The Legislative Assembly had varie-
ty OF questions before it yesterday, chief
OF which, however, was the Internal
Tax bill which was considered in Com
nittee of the Whole. The committee
got no further than the first section OF
the bill, defining real estate. The first
subsection recites that real estate shall
be taken to mean "the possession of
claim to, ownership of, or right to the
possession of land, whether covered by
water or not SO covered This defini-
ton was unsatisfactory to Messrs. Castle,
Brown, Dole and ThurstOn. The Hon.
&. FL. Judd likewise opposed the section,
speaking in Hawaiian. 1t was contended
by the frst-named gentlemen that the
definition of real estate in the existing
law was sufficient. 1t was easily under
stood by assessors in rural districts who
were generally Hawaiians, whereas the
bill under consideration, if it became
law, would confuse them. Exception
was also taken to the proposal to tax
mortgages and other evidences of indebt-
edness, and Mr.. Geo. Richardson re-
marked that legislation could not pre-
vent the money lender from STIMULATING
that the borrower should pay the taxes
This was in reply to Mr.. Haysefden,
who said that the bill contemplated the
relief OF the poorer classes, by compelling
mortgages to pay taxes on the amount
OF their mortgage loans
1t Is pertinent to remark ut this point
that Mr.. Richardson is somewhat in
error regarding the power of the Legis-
lature. There is nothing to prevent it
making a cast-iron law on this subject
The mOney-lending power in California,
as IN other States OF the Union, fought
this principle of taxation for years
When driven to the last ditch by the
advocates OF equitable taxation, its
champions declared that the borrower
. must still pay the tax, either in the
shape OF advance commissions on loans
or through specific contracts but the
organic laws of the several States, and
the statutes formulated thereon, have
proved to be an effectual protection to
borrowers. OF course, borrowers must
always pay the ruling rate of interest,
just as they must pay the market value
for any commodity they buy The rates
OF interest cannot be regulated by law
any more than the price of sugar or
flour. And in reply to Mr.. Thurston' s
sneer about the Sand Lot Constitution
OF California, it may be proper to say
that if he took pains to inform himself
upon the subject, he would find that at
least a dozen of the more progressive
new States of the Union have adopted
the same verbal definition of realty.
Whether it is the best definition that
could be adopted for this Kingdom is Tor
the Legislature to consider, but We as
sumo that what has proved satisfactory
in great part of America cannot we'll
prove injurious in these Islands.
Mr.. Dole appeared to be surprised to
learn that the object of the bill was to
raise revenue. For what other purpose
are tax laws made? Most assuredly the
primary object OF the bill is to raise
revenue; its secondary object is to in
sure an equitable distribution of the bur
dens of taxation upon property and per
son throughout the Kingdom. And one
cannot help thinking that Mr.. Kaulu-
kou was right when he said that the
strenuous opposition offered to this sec
ton of the bill showed that somebody
was being pinched; in other words,
that persons who have escaped taxation
under the present law would be reached
under the proposed one. This remark
ELECTED a heated reioinder from Mr..
Cecil Brown, whose loss of temper did
not add to the force of his argument.
The truth appears to be land it was
admitted during the debate) that the
large land owners of the country do not
as a rule pay their just share of taxation
and Mr.. Thurston admitted that the
eight-year leasehold valuation section OF
the present law enables owners of land
to evade paying taxes on its value. That
fact conceded, with what pretense OF JUS
tice can the champions of the present