The daily herald. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1886-1887, 1886-09-13

Expenses Of Civil and Criminal
Cases ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 1000 90
New Building, Kapuaiwa. ..... 7,lo2 %
Custom House Incidentals. .... 600 90
Interest on Special Loan ........ o,72s ~
Government Surveying. .......... 1875 90
Return Taxes by order Of Supreme
Court .............. ........ I,4i2 OF |
New Police Court Building. 49,. 2,o26 40 |
Pay Of Tax Assessors. ........ 2,747 "a
Pay Of Tax Collectors. .......... 2,oS7 %
Taking up the items in their order
they explained them as being all neces-
sary and having been vouched for and
audited They therefore recommended
that the bill pass. Mr.. Dickey pre-
sented minority report. sigaed by
himself, in which he claimed that all
the expenditures we're made contrary
to article IS Of the Constitution, which
forbids any subsidy, duty or tax of any
description being established or levied
without the consent Of the Legislature;
and also says: "Nor shall any noney
be drawn from the Public Treasury
without such consent except when be-
tween the sessions of the Legislative
Assembly the emergency of war, invs-
sion, rebellion, pestilence, or other
public disaster shall arise and then not
without the concurrence of all the
Cabinet and of majority Of the whole
Privy Council; and the Minister Of
Finance shall render detailed account
of such expenditure 10 the Legislative
Assembly" The minority held that
none of those conditions being com
piled with, the Cabinet, in passing reso-
lutions ordering those expenditures,
"usurped an authority to which they
were not lawfully entitled and thereby
made themselves Individually and per
sonally responsible for the action of the
Minister Of Finance" The items for
expenses Of the Supreme Court, sup
port of prisoners, and expenses civil
and criminal cases, he considered might
have been allowable under a very
liberal construction of the Constitution
If they had received the necessary sane
ton of the Priyy Council, but they did
not receive such sanction. "The bal
ance Of the items could and should
have awaited the action of this Assem-
bly," AS to the items for pay Of tax
assessors and collectors, the minority
considered they could have been
avoided entirely if the Minister Of
Finance had used ordinary judgment
as he could "have fixed the commits
sion of assessors and collectors in Ho.
nolulu at az per cent, instead Of the
exorbitant commission of per cent as
allowed by him, thereby saving the
country about $500 during the bien-
NAL period, and said items would
never have appeared in an indemnity
bill" The item for interest account
on bonds, and interest on special loan,
Mr. Dickey says, ''rest upon an illegal
basis and should be stricken out The
former was paid on 9 per cent bonds
held by the Robinson Estate ano
which matured and should have been
paid on September 1, 1884. They
were renewed without legal authority
by private agreement between the
representative of the estate and the
Minister of Finance, which was equiva
lent to sbecial loan of the amount OF
the bonds at 9 per cent. The latter
item was for interest on special loan
made without shadow of authority oil
law" The minority is Of opinion that
the late Minister of Finance and other
members Of the late Cabinet as aces
series before the fact we're guilty of
malfeasance in office, that he and they
should be proceeded against to the
full extent Of the law, and that the SAID
Minister Of Finance be compelled "a
refund the amount of $I6,475,22 lie
gally paid by him as above as inter
est on matured bonds and specia
loan. However, as the present Min
lister of Finance should not be held re
sponsible for the illegal act of his pre-
decessor, and as all the items of ex
penditurs except the $I6,475.a2 above
mentioned are such as ought to have
been paid out in due time under
proper authorization, MI. Dickey re
commends that the bill pass with
amendments providing for the elimina
ton of the interest items condemned
above, and the insertion Of an item o
$5,o65.98 for funeral expenses o
Queen Emma, and $4,000 for search
for schooner Ka Moi; also, "lhat tn,
Attorney General of the Kingdom b.
instructed to bring suit against the late
Minister of Finance and all other
legally responsible for the sum of $40,
475.22 interest expenditure above mer
toned" The report, were tabled f.
consideration with the bill. Most G
the remaining business consisted i
passing the various pension bills o.
third reading,