The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-09-01
WEDNESDAY
AY September LIST.
THE LEGISLATURE.

In the Legislative Assembly yester-
day the struggle was renewed on the
third reading of the Oceanic Steamship
Subsidy bill. The first issue was raised
by Mr.. Kaunamano, who moved that
the clause regulating freight on bananas
be stricken out. This amendment had
been inserted, after sharp debate and
division, at previous sitting The ar
guments used in yesterdays debate were
repetition of what had been advanced
before and need not be repeated. The
motion was carried on a division by
nineteen against seventeen votes.
No sooner had this decision been an
nounced than the Hon. Mr. Cleghorn
moved to amend the first section by
substituting 1880 for $500, as the
amount of subsidy to be paid per round
trip. This amendment was debated at
considerable length without eliciting
anything new, and was finally lost by
an adverse vote of twenty-five against
fifteen.
But this second defeat did not at all
weaken the Opposition, and Mr.. Castle
came up smiling with proposal to fix
the freight on bananas at 81 cents per
bunch. This was a concession of one
cent per bunch in favor of the steamship
company, but it involved the principle
which the Legislature had just repudi-
ated upon second thoughts. This
amendment was lost by one vote, the
numbers being eighteen for and nine
teen against it. No doubt encouraged
by this growing strength, and inspired
by the animation imported into the de-
bate, Hon. Mr.. Cleghorn moved that
the rate be fixed at 50 cents per bunch,
and this amendment resulted in a tie
vote. The President, Hon. Mrs Walker,
gave his casting vote in favor of the
amendment, which accordingly passed.
This episode may be said to have
ended all interest in the bill, although
it did not pass for some time afterwards
But it's character was fixed from that
point. The Legislature did not seem to
be particularly clear upon the economic
questions involved, but being invoked to
protect the one industry which Ha-
waiians are specially engaged in, it re
sponded in the way already stated No
doubt Mr.. Kaulukou was quite right in
saying that the professions of pure love
and affection for Hawaiians put forward
by Messrs. Castle, Brown, Dole and
Thurston only proceeded from the lips,
but that did not weaken their force in
the least degree. If the truth had been
told that the fight made by these gentle
men was largely in the interest OF rack
rents and middle men, and not on be-
half of native cultivators of bananas, the
result would hardly have been different.
The idea had got firmly seated that
banana freights were too high, and that
it was the duty of the Legislature to re-
duce them.
1t is to be regretted that Mr.. Thurs
ton should have attributed corrupt mo-
tives to the Hawaiian Representatives
who voted for striking out the clause fix
ing a 80 cent freight They had quite as
much right to change their vote upon
this point, and withquite as little ground
for suspicion of outside influence, as Mr..
Thurston himself had to change his vote
on the Austin Franchise bill at subse-
quent stage of the days proceedings.
Doubtless he voted intelligently and from
principle, but it cannot be denied that
valuable considerations were involved in
the point raised by the Hon. Mr.. Bishop.
We do not accuse Mr.. Thurston, how
ever, of changing his vote from corrupt
motives, although he is in the habit OF
charging others, who are at least as hon
orable as himself, OF doing so upon less
probable cause. Our point, however, IS
not to accuse him of unworthiness, but
to show how easy it might be to do
90 in the case of a man as spotless as !
himself, for which reason he should be /
more tolerant in his opinion of others, /
md less prone to put sinister construc-
ion upon their actions.
The Two Million Loan bill was dis
.ussed, amended and passed to engToss-
n ent. The only point OF novelty was
ne amended schedule submitted by His
) xcellency Mr.. Gibson. This will COM