The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-06-15

THE LEGISLATURE.

The Legislative Assembly resumed
business yesterday, and made a com
paratively long sitting The Minister OF
the Interior presented his biennial re-
port in English and Hawaiian This is
very voluminous document, and de-
serves more than passing mention. We
shall take an early occasion to consider
its special points in a separate article.
The main feature OF yesterdays pro-
ceedings had reference to the considera-
ton of the Appropriation bill in Com
mittee of the Whole, Mr.. KaunamanO
in the chair. There was no excuse for
further delay, seeing that the report of
the Interior Department had been dis
tributed, and accordingly the estimates
connected Herewith were taken up.
Everything went along smoothly until
the item, So, $40 for pay of clerks in the
Post Office, was reached. Messrs.
Thurston and Dole wanted to know how
the proposed increase of $4,000, in
round figures, over the appropriation
for the past biennial period, was ac
counted for His Excellency Mr.. Gu
lick replied that it was to ensure greater
ferred the committee to his report to
show what had been accomplished dur
ing the past two years in the
face of an insufficient appropria-
ton, with make-shift devices to
increase the efficiency of the Post
Office bureau. The Post Office re-
ceipts had increased from $l4,325
in the year ended March 81, 1881, to
$50, $50 for the year ended March 81,
1886. The stages of this revenue in
crease are instructive. We have seen
that the Post Office, during the fiscal
year 1881, returned $14,325 to the
Treasury; in 1882 it returned 27,411 /;
in 1888, $21 ,O94; in 1884, SIS, 588; in
1885, 49,, 416; and in 1886, $56, $50.
This remarkable exhibit, and the as
.surance of the Minister that the full APP
preparation would not be spent if it were
not absolutely needed, did not satisfy
these gentlemen, however. They wanted
to know everything in detail, and Mr..
Dole moved that the item be referred to
a select committee. In the course of his
remarks Mr. Dole attacked the Govern
ment and declared that its credit was
bad, repeating in substance the campaign
lies on which the Opposition party re-
lied to impose upon the presumed ignor
ance of a credulous people.
His Excellency Mr.. Gibson replied in
a vigorous speech, in which he admins
tered a severe and well-merited castiga-
ton to Mr.. Dole. This speech was one
of the very best delivered this session so
far, and carried the House with it. Mr..
Dole is chronic grumbler, and by his
own confession takes his facts at second
hand, which frequently places him in
the unpleasant predicament OF misrep-
resenting and misstating facts, as was the
case Yesterday. Mr.. Dole knows, in
common with everybody in the King
dom, that the public credit of the Gov
eminent has been higher during the
present Administration than ever it was
during any previous one. The ADvER-
User demonstrated this during the cam
paign. We are prepared to do so again
if necessary, but having killed the OPP
position as party, it is scarcely worth
while to waste time upon the disingen-
uous trump OF what was once an OppO-
sition, now seated in the Leg legislature.
The motion TO refer the item men
toned, together with several others, to
a select committee prevailed. And right
here let us say that we see no possible
advantage, but very great disadvantage,
in the reference of important questions
TO select committees. The Legislature
has fallen into this bad habit at the in
stigation OF the sO-called Opposition, the
leaders of which think they may fish for
points against the Government in a
select committee in a way they could
not do in the House There is some de-
gree of cunning in this, but if the Gov
eminent had anything to conceal they
might easily manage to have their own
committees nominated and thus frus-
rate the Opposition game. That this
las not been done heretofore is certainly