The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1886-08-24


Laws of 1884 fully provides for and authorizes the
Minister of Finance, on the warrant of the Minis
ter of Interior, TO pay all lawful claims OF depo-
sits, including both deposits and interest on the
same. Respectfully submitted Tabled for con-
slderatiOn with the Appropriation Bill.
Rep. haunamano from the Special committee
on Roads and Bridges presented q report on re-
solution introduced by Representative Nahale ask
ing for the following appropriations: l. Carrying
water from Ulu to Hamakua, S297, ,417.60; 2.
Railroad from Waimea to Kona, S371 ,2SI; 3. I'M
migration from India, Sl.3O0.OGO. The committee
recommend the resolution be laid upon the table
to be considered with loan bill OF which notice
had been given. Approved.
Rep. Dickey put the following question to the
Minister of the Interior: Your predecessor IN
office having received a report from the Auditor
General that there had been gross carelessness
and mismanagement of the affairs of the Bureau
of Water Works, and an examination having
borne out the truth of that report, why do you
still retain the Superintendent of said bureau in
his position?'
Representative Richardson moved that the bills
l. relating to agents to take acknowledgements to
contracts; 3 relating to prisons, jails and houses
of correction, be taken from their regular order
and referred to special committee. On motion
of Rep. Kaunamano the bills were read second
time by title and then referred to special COM
mittee to be appointed.
On motion the bill relating to stamp duties was
taken from its order and referred to the special
committee on labor contracts.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs read for the
second Time by Title, q meas
urement of vessels on registry at the Custom
House On motion of Rep. Dole the bill was re-
ferred to the committee on Commerce to report
back on Thursday next.
Representative Dole presented minority report
from the special committee on the matter of items
relating to payments due to the estate of James g.
Hayselden, contractor, on account of work done
on bridges at Walalua and Waimea, as follows:
Your Committee appointed to consider the items
of 81 123.21 and $4,5547S in the Appropriation Bill
on account of the balance due the estate of James
u. Hayselden on the contracts for the Waimea and
Wallua bridges on the island of Kauai, respect
fully offer the following minority report: First,
in regard to the Waimea bridge, your Committee
find that whereas the contract calls for piles aver
aging 20 feet III length, and requires that such
piles be well drlven; as matter of fact, not one
of % piles, which were removed when the bridge
was lately raised and repaired, and pile which
was washed away and afterwards picked up on the
beach when the bridge was partially destroyed by
a freshet reach a length of IL teet, and barely
average l6 feet III length one or two being only IA
feet in length, The requirements of the contract,
that the piles be well 1riven, does not appear to
have been carried out, for they had been driven
only six feet into the soft bed of the river, and
show no indications of having been driven so hard
that 1t difficult to drive them further; none of
the piles examined by the contractor for rebuild
ing the bridge had iron points, and yet none were
bruised or bunted at the point, as would have been
the had they been well driven" into the hard
subsol of the river bottom; neither did the heads
of the piles, which he'd been sawed off, show the
bruised or shattered effects which must have been
the results of being well driven by the pile driver
weighing LOO pounds, called for by thu contract.
The freshet which carried away part of the bridge
washed away five feet of the depth of the mud of
the river bottom, leaving only one foot of the
length of the piles fixed in the mud. The natural
result was that the bridge was partially carried
away, even Though the water did net reach the
bridge chords. From these facts, and the add-
tional facts ascertaned by your committee, relat-
ing to the rebuilding of the same bridge, to the
eff a zeal al mar tO
drive the piles in the new work from II to II feet
into the bed of the river your Committee salts
fled that the contract with James g. Hayselden for
the building of the Walmea bridge has not been
carried out according to the terms thereof, and
that in consequence of such incomplete and care
less performance, the public treasury has suffered
heavy losses, far beyond the balance inserted in
the Appropriation Bill due the said estate on the
said contract.
"Your Committee, therefore, recommend that
the said item of 81 1232 2l be struck ont of the APP
preparation bill. We feel that such action is the
more appropriate from the fact that said con-
tractor sublet assigned the contract to the Paci
tic Bridge Company for $1,000, the contract price
being $14 500 whereby large profits will be realized
by his estate If the full amount called for by the
contract IS paid, IN exchange for which the Gov
ernment has received from him no personal SER
vice, and yet III spite of the said assignment of the
contract, the said contractor could not have there
by shifted his responsibility for the proper perfor
nance of the contract.
Second.-In regard to the Wailua bridge, your
Committee have not been able to obtain as definite
information as they have wished i'll regard to the
cause which led to the destruction of the bridge
shortly after 1t was finished, freshet In the river
being the immediate cause. From what your Com
mittee have beeu able to learn, they are satisfied
that the bridge was not placed high enough there,
however, Is no requirement i'll the contract as to
the height of bridge from the water. Under these
circumstances, the contractors should have ascer-
tanned from residents the highest known rise of
the river and have placed the bridge out of reach
of repetition thereof. On the occasion of the
destruction of the bridge, the water reached the
bridge chords and then the bridge gave way. We
have also been Informed that of the iron cylin-
ders forming part of one of the piers of the bridge
proved too short to reach to the hard bottom OF
the river and the contractors, instead of length
enlng 1t, left 1t standing in the mud and went on
with their work, using 1t AS support if it was
satisfactorily stationed, and that this defectivey
stationed pier contributed to the destruction of
the bridge. We were not able to verify this infor-
nation relating to the defective construction of
the Naiua bridge, but mention it explaining the
otherwise unaccountabe destruction of this work
SO soon after it completed Such destruction
alone, without satisfactory explanation, in our
minds condemns the work as defective, and would
justify the Government in refusing the balance
of the contract sum. The explanation which Is
given above, does not clear the contractor from
blame, and if taken as true, would justify the Gov
ernment in refusing further payment. With these
remarks we refer the matter of the item for the
Wallua bridge back to the Assembly for considera-
ton.
Iu the matter of the Wailua bridge we learn that
the contract which was for SIT 800, was subet or
assigned to the Pacific Bridge Company for a
much smaller sum the same remarks apply to this
circumstance as IN the case of the Waimea bridge.
In case either of the said items should be allowed,
correction should be made for interest, the con-
tracts calling for per cent while calculations by
which the said amounts are reached are based
upon rate of 8 per cent
On motion the report was laid on the table to
be considered with the other report when the APP
preparation Bill again up.
Rep. kaunamanO moved that the Bill relating
to "Reguate the Hawaiian Board of HEALTH be
read which being carried, the bill was read a
second time by title and referred to special COM