The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-07-01

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just how their financial affairs stood. AS
the information had not Been vouchsafed,
he thought the only way TO get the state
ment was by refusing 10 go on with the APP
preparation bill. The Representatives hold
the purse strings. and they should not give
the Government one cent until they knew
how they stood.
Mr.. KaIua had never seen anything like
the way this Assembly had been treated
by the Ministry. II made him feel sick at
the stomach TO see the Ministers conduct
As soon as question is asked of them they
get up from their seats and retreat through
the door leading to the Interior Depart
ment. 1t was not treating this Assembly
right. When the items in the Interior De-
partment are being considered the Minis
ter comes in for few minutes, then goes
out and stays away a long time. Look at
the Minister of Finance. He (the speaker)
introduced resolution for him TO furnish
the indebtedness of the Government before
the 18th of June. Here it is the Both, and
he had not yet complied with the terms of
the resolution Where is the Minister of
Finance? He had no hesitation in saying
that the Assembly cannot put any conf
dence i'll this Ministry. The Ministers
might as we'll get up and say to us: who
are you? We do not care whether We
answer your questions or not" While
this discussion is going on all the seats of the
Ministers are vacant. AZ the House can
see. This is a very strange session. Very
rarely are there any Mobiles present. 1t
must be that the Mobiles are Disguised with
the present state of things that causes
them to stay away. He had heard that
the Government owed one individual $780,
coo on demand. If that amount was owing
they ought to know how they stand, as
to meet it. He could not see how the
House could go on with business. If this
House made the appropriations, they must
know the liabilities. 1t was only the other
day that the Minister of Finance told him
that the Indebtedness in his department
was 81 PA 900. He said to the Minister:
why do you not report that to the
House?" The Minister replied that there
were other debts i'll the Interior Depart
ment which he did not know anything
about, and asked the speaker TO introduce
a resolution calling upon the Minister of
the Interior to furnish the amount of his
Indebtedness, and then he could make
statement. Since then he had not seen the
Minister of Finance. Some one told him
it was very little use his introducing resO-
luton. as he would not get any informa-
ton. He hoped the resolution would pass.
If the Minister of Foreign Affairs had been
Minister of Finance the resolution would
have been complied with. He furnishes
information when called upon. ~
Mr.. Thurston was in favor of the resolu-
ton, not because he wanted TO defer action
on the Appropriation bill or the progress
of the business of the House. No one
wanted to get through with this session
more than he did. Every member knows
his business is suffering as long as he is a
member of this House. He was not in
favor of any policy of delay. The reason
he favored the resolution was for the pur-
pose of facilitating business. 1t was self
evident that they must have this infOrma
ton. The main object for which this As
Sembly sits here is to look into the financial
condition of the Kingdom and to arrange
the finances for the next two years. If the
Government owes debts, the members of
the House had to put their heads together
to find the money to pay them.
The debts of the Government are
not the debts of the Ministers, but
of the country and their constituents had
to pay them. The House did not know
how much the debts amounted to. Ever
since last May the House had been wai,-
ing for state 1t was not an inn
pertinent question. but simply in the regu-
lar order of the House. The resolution
had been passed without opposition. 1t
had ne on for month, and no atten-
ton ha ing been paid to it, Mr. Kalua in
troduced another, which he made more
specific. 1t was also passed. Both of
these orders of the House had been met by
the Cabinet with contemptuous silence.
Why did not the Cabinet answer these
questions? Are they afraid to? If SO,
he would give them little gratuitous ao-
vice, and that was to ''tell the truth and
shame the devil" 1t was not right to go
on voting money every day without know
inglhow the Government stood.
Mr.. Kaulukou wanted to have the bust
ness of the House conducted in a proper
manner and proceed in regular order. He
therefore moved that the consideration of
the resolution be indefinitely postponed.
1t was YER evident that the Government
was in dt The Minister of Finance in
his repor id that the Government debt
was over illion dollars. There was no
question put that. The only wise course
for the Assembly is to assist in the passing
of laws to pay this Indebtedness. The
Mobiles absented themselves from the
House because they were soreheaded from
the loss of Office. They did not like to
assist this Ministry, because they were put
out by them. The Sergeant-at-Arms
should serve warrant for the arrest of
those Mobiles. He asked the members to
vote against the resolution.
Mr.. Aholo was in favor OF the resolution,
which he thought a good one. Informa-
ton should be given, but he hardly thought
the Appropriation bill should be post
poned. The other day they postponed the
consideration of that bill for short time
because the Minister 81 the Interior was
not present. But td-,tap the Minister was
there; therefore theme. as nothing to pre-
vent the consideration proceeding. They
were considering items in the Interior De
partment, and any Information they
wanted the Minister would furnish. Every
one knew before the election that the Gov
eminent owed certain debts, and there was