The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-12-16

THE REPUTATION ORGAN

1hE hEHUDIAllUN UkGANs
When the Herald" accepted the
contract to create sentiment against
the Oceanic Steamship Company as a
preliminary to reputation of its lawful
claims, it misjudged its own influence
and the moral sense of the community.
When the late Attorney General adj
yised that a similar course might be
taken upon a recent occasion, public
condemnation was so pronounced that
he was promptly removed from the
Cabinet until capable lawyer, in sym
pathy with the general policy Of the
Government, could be induced to accept
Office The void was ultimately filled
by the appointment of Mr.. Antoine Rosa
to the Attorney Generalship, but that
gentleman is far too sound lawyer and
too honorable a man to advise either
the Republication of the floating debt con-
tracted by a former Cabinet or the
steamship subsidy honestly earned
under specific enactment. We must
look, therefore, 10 other quarters for the
explanation of a policy 50 detrimental
to the public interests. That the "IIer-
ald' has been used to 'feel the public
pulse" in this business is past question,
and that it has failed in producing the
impression hoped for is equally clear.
Nothing could well be more pronounced
than the tone of disapprobation of the
''Herald" Reputation article, when the
facts of the case were stated by the AD-
vERTTsER on Tuesday last.
AS we anticipated, however, the organ
of reputation shifts its ground in its
reply of Wednesday, and attempts to
cover its own deliberate misstatement Of
the law by the still more culpable moral
offense of accusing the officers of the
Legislature and the Committee on Re
vision and Enrolment of corruptly al
tering the text of the Oceanic Steamship
Subsidy bill after its third reading. This
is very serious charge indeed, and
shows to what length the regulators
are prepared to go to carry out their
dishonest and reprehensible purpose. 1t
is, however, quite as true as the state
ment that the Act as approved contains
a stipulation that the sailing of the sub
sidized steamships should be at dates
not less than ten days apart. No doubt
the newspaper report of the 9th August
states that an amendment to this effect
by Mr.. Thurston was "apprOved' or
accepted" but we must conclude that
tn was an error on the part of the re-
porters, as on the third reading, which
took place on the 30th of August, the
bill was read and passed without that
amendment, Mr.. Thurston being present
and actively participating in the pro-
ceedings. Indeed there can be little
doubt on that point, inasmuch as Mr..
Dickey proposed an identical addition to
reading, which was defeated, and the
final passage was taken without it. Ref
erence to the approved minutes of Au-
gust 9th, being part of the journal OF
the Legislature, fails to show the adop-
ton of any such amendment.
We have the law and only the law,
therefore, to deal with i'll this case; and
there is nothing in the law itself to pre-
vent the steamships arriving and depart
ing on the same day. Public convent
ence and business interests, however,
are a sufficient reason for making as
even division of each month for steam
ship movements as possible. And no
one who examines into the question
without prejudice can come to any other
conclusion than this, that the Oceanic
Company has served the business and
producing classes of these Islands better
than they were ever served by any
other transportation company, and that
they have more than earned the subsidy
paid and guaranteed by law
No question can be raised now as to
the payment of subsidy for December
last and the first three months of this
year because the action Of the Govern
ment in making these payments was in
dorsed by the Legislature despite per
sistent efforts to the contrary by the OPP
position. But in any case, the excep-
tional conditions created by the Austria
liam mail contract, so important to the
development of Hawaiian commerce,
twere in themselves sufficient to excuse
he temporary employment OF the s..