The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-06-24

through you TO the Legislative Assembl,
so far as the discussion refers to my ad
ministratien as All officer Of the Govern
= ment.
According TO the published reports a
motion was made by the Minister of thu
Interior to increase the item of incidental,
for the Postal Service from $I4. 900 to SD
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 l, 1886. Relative 70
this, have to say that every bill presented
for payment prior to March 81, 1885 with
a single exception referred to below was
settled, and balance OF cash remained on
hand that day OF 1904 SO in the General
Post Office and 2,239 So 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- l was informed that owing to
! proposed change in the system OF set
/ thing the accounts of the country Post
! Offices, about 5000 will be required 10
! pay salaries, mail carriers on the other
Islands, and for sundry bills for the current
expenses of the Postal Service, which
claims have been presented since April 1st,
and which formerly, ever since the Postal
Service has been in operation, have been
passed over for settlement to the succeed
ing biennial period, as is customary in the
United States Postal Service and that of
Great Britain, after which ours is modelled.
Early in March, l was notified from the
Department of Interior to have the Post
Office accounts closed promptly on the 3lst
OF March, and my report, as well as ac-
counts handed into the Department of the |
Interior by April It'll, otherwise the &C |
counts would not be included in the Treas !
ury report to the Legislature. You, as |
Auditor General, may remember that |
the Post Office financial statement
for the last quarter of the biennial
period of 1884 was excluded from the FL
nance Report to the Legislature of that
year, because it was handed in day or
two later than the time set. To avoid A
recurrence of this, my statement and re-
port were made up promptly on April 1st,
and passed in to the Minister on the 9TH
1t will thus be seen that no
bills or claims received at the Post
Office prior to March 31st were left I'M
settled, and that the work of the biennial
period just closed was completed in ac-
cordance with strict orders from the Min
lister, and also in accordance with custo-
mary usage here and abroad. The state
ment made in the Assembly by Mr.. Kaulu-
kou that a safe had been purchased by me
two years ago and was not paid for, has no
truth in it. Two Postmasters-Mr Tur-
g,F I,I,
had each safe, which they wished to
sell to the Post Office for the money order
business. l replied that when the next
bill was passed provision
would probably be made for purchasing
them If they proved, after inquiry, to be
what was wanted for the service
Reference was also made in the Assem-
bly, to bill of about 81 200 owing by the
Post Office for work done by the American
Bank Note Company of New York. This
Dill, which was received in 1884, was, bv
oversight filed away inside of the letter
which accompanied it, and was entirely
overlooked and forgotten until after nv
eaving the postal service, in April, when a
etter from the firm to me called attention q
o its not having been paid, and on exami- I
act that l had been in frequent CORE t
pondence with the firm during the past g
wo years, in which l had paid them sew
raj bills for work done since, and no alIu- 0
ion had been made by them to this bill, /
nay fully account for the circumstances s
ttendlng its non-pqyment On ascertain
ng that 1t was still unpaid, l Immediately
Trote to the firm, stating the above cir Il
apologizing for it's non-pay- Il
nent, and assuring them that it would
Don be settled by my successor in office. "
My attention has also been called to the h
.em of $1,000 inserted in the Appropria-
on bill for money orders, and l have been k
sked what is the necessity for this item. e.
was not in the estimates for the current fl
iennial period furnished by me to the ty
iinister of the Interior. l omitted it be- e:
ause the money order business is now b.
aging its own way, and ought to yield a
evenue to the Government of between OF
1000 and $4,000 during the present bien- 1t
ial period. If it be asserted that high pi
ites of exchange may render an appro- &c
ration necessary, 1 answer that so long as W
lie business is kept on the good basis on IL
hich l left it no assistance from the lie
reasury will be required, as gold will &C
ways secure exchange for money order
lsiness without cost to the Government. ia
the money order business cannot be at
aintained by the present administration w
ithout biennial appropriation of 81 900, m
e sooner it is closed the better. Had the tn
I'D basis been adopted in 1884 for
e money order business, as was strongly in
'ged by me, there would have been no wi
SIS attending it during the prevalence of at
gh premiums on exchange. But, by per-
nptory orders from the Minister re
the Interior, l was forbidden to
axe any change, and the silver of
sis was adhered to, resulting in en-
IS to the public Treasury of about SO 900
one year, for which His Majesty's Min co
ers alone are responsible. In connection ap
tn these items may be permitted to re- Oh
: to matter in which the last Legislative ha
sembly took special action, and through ne
committee directed me to carry out their
shes to provide more street letter boxes. ins
the purchase of which the sum of $500
IS specially appropriated in 1884 (the on
m of Post Office incidentals having been He
,reased by that amount for this purpose), 7
tn instructions that it should be spent ou
the purchase of letter boxes to tiv
Spt nm on Hawaii Mani oDd Oak,