The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-06-25
ChE daily q AlletiN.
FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 1856.
MR.. WhlINEY'S Letter.


lature Yesterday. 1t has appeared
in the 1duorttSer with two impor-
tant misprints of figures, 81, 900 in
stead of $4,000 being given twice
as the appropriation for money
orders ST.
Hon. j. S. WALKER, President of
the Legislative Assembly.
Sir. - Statements having been
made by the Minister of the Inte-
rior and the Postmaster-General
during the debate in the Legislative
Assembly on Monday last on the
appropriation for the Postal Service,
which appear to reflect on my adj
ministration if not on my honesty,
beg to make brief statement to
you, and through.y you to the Legis-
lative Assembly so far as the dis
cussion refers to my administration
as an officer of the Government.
According to the published re-
ports motion was made by the
Minister of the Interior to increase
the item of incidentals for the Postal
Service from $4,000 to S22 900,
the reason assigned by him for this
change being that the latter amount
was required to pay off certain
claims incurred by it prior to April
/, 1886. Relative to this, have to
say that every bill presented for
payment prior to March 81, 1886
with a single exception referred to
below, was settled, and balance of
cash remained on hand that day of
S9O4.S 80 in the General Post Office
and 50, 239.5S in the Postal Money
Order branch, which amounts were
paid into the Government Treasury.
On inquiring at the General Post
Office as to what gave rise to the
Ministerial assertion referred to, i
was informed that owing to a pro-
posed change in the system of set
Ting the accounts of the country
Post Offices, about So, 900 will be
required to pay salaries, mail car
riers on the other islands, and for
sundry bills for the current expenses
of the Postal Service, which claims
have been presented since April lst,
and which formerly, ever since the
Postal Service has been in operation,
have been passed over for settlement
to the succeeding biennial period, as
is customary in the United States
Postal Service and that of Great Bri-
tain, after which ours is modelled.
Early in March, j was notified from
the Department of Interior to have
the Post Office accounts closed
promptly on the 31st of March, and
my report, as well as accounts handed
into the Department of the Interior
by April 9TH, otherwise the accounts
would not be included in the Treas
ury report to the Legislature. You,
as Auditor General, may remember
that the Post Office financial state
ment for the last quarter of the
biennial period of 1881 was excluded
from the Finance Report to the
Legislature of that year, because it
was handed in a day or two later
than the time set. TO avoid re-
currence of this, my statement and
report we're made up promptly OF
April lst, and passed in to tho
Minister on the 9th. 1t will thus bC
seen that no bills or claims received
at the Post Office prior to Marcel
31st were left unsettled, and that thu
work of the biennial period just
closed was completed in accordance
with strict orders from the Minister
and also in accordance with custom
airy usage here and abroad. Th'
statement made in the Assembly by
Mr.. Kaulukou that safe had beer
purchased by me two years ago anC
was not paid for, has no truth in it
Two Postmasters-Mr. Turton O.
Lahaina, and Mr.. Meinecke at Kal
had each a safe, which the.
wished to sell to the Post Office TO
the money order business. re
piled that when the next Appropria
ton Bill was passed provisionwoult
probably be made for purchasing
them if they proved, after inquiry
to be what was wanted for the ser
vice.
Reference was also made In tn
/ Assembly to bill of about 1920
owing by the Post Office for wor
done by the American Bank Not
Company of New York. This bill
which was received in 1884, was, b
oversight, filed away inside of tn
letter which accompanied it, an
was entirely overlooked and forgot
ten until after my leaving the post;
service, in April, when letter froI
the firm to me called attention to il
not having been paid, and on exam
ination it was found to be correct
The fact that / had been in frequer
correspondence with the firm durin
the past two years, in which l ha
9 paid them several bills for wor
done since, and no allusion had bee
made by them to this bill, may full
account for the circumstances a
tending its non-payment. On asce
tanning that it was still unpaid,
Immediately wrote to the firm, sta
S ing the above circumstances, apol'
giving for its non-payment, an
assuring them that it would soon |
settled by my successor in office.
My attention has also been Gale