The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-08-28
'PHE LEGISLATURE.
lIGnTY-srxrH pAY.-coNrlNuEp.
Thur sDAY, Aug. 26th.
AFTERNOON SESSION.


10y His Excellency the Attorney
General, who held that as there was
no clause in the Constitution or law
prohibiting the Cabinet from bor-
rowing money, therefore they had a
right to do it. This doctrine was
preposterous it was dangerous it
was worse-it was revolutionary.
If this doctrine was sanctioned by
the Legislature, it would put into
the power of any Cabinet to pledge
the credit of the Government to any
extent, and to mortgage the coun-
try to foreign Power. Why,
then, was there no clause in the
Constitution prohibiting His Majesty
from ceding this country to Ger
many? Was it supposed for mo-
ment that if he should do SO without
the consent of the people it would
not precipitate a revolution? No;
there was unwritten law as strong
as the written Constitution itself.
Now, for the matter of precedent.
Why was article Al of the Civil Code
Gifted by His Excellency) made the
law? Why was it necessary to give
him the power under restrictions to
borrow $4,000? Because he did
not have that right already. Why
were the Loan bills of 1872, 1874,
1876, $500, 000), and 1882 (S2,-
000,000) passed? Because the
Government did not already have
such power. 1t would be childish
to pass such if the Government al
ready had the power. He would
say again that the doctrine promul-
gated by the Attorney-G General was
dangerous and revolutionary. The
Minister of Interior did not go so
far; he only claimed that the great
emergency excused the act, which
was not in itself strictly lawful.
This, however, was not borne out by
the facts. There was no great
emergency which could not have
been prevented by any ordinary
economy. The Government in the
past two years had wasted unneces-
sarily much more than the amount
of this special loan. They had
spent SCI, 842.93, not allowed by
the Appropriation bill, and without
action of the Privy Council. They
had wasted large amounts in the De-
partment of Foreign Affairs in I'M
necessary expeditions to foreign
countries, and in the Interior De-
partment by going to unnecessary
expenditures for expensive build
ings, far in excess of the amounts.
If the Government had used ordi-
nary economy no necessity for a
special loan would have arisen. If
the Ministry are authorized to Dor
row without law Gas the present
Minister of the Interior and the At
torney-General say they are), why
did they introduce Loan Act this
session?
Rep. Kaulukou renewed his mo-
ton to indefinitely postpone the
resolution. He believed in having
the laws properly executed and car
ri9d out. Sometimes circumstances
arise where law, if carried out,
causes oppression. A former Gov
ernment loaned a bank an amount
at seven percent, and the bank
loaned it out to other parties at nine
percent, and thus disaster was
averted. Hon. Mr.. Bishop says it
was against the law, hut the cir
cumstances justified them doing so.
In that case it was some individuals
who were in the Strengthened cir
cumstances, and so it might be with
the Government. Would it be
wise thing, if the Government was
temporarily short of money, to 20 to
the expense of summoning the
Legislature? He thought the Gov
eminent would be justified in reliev-
ing the pressure without doing that.
He was satisfied the loan was nego-
tiated for carrying on the Govern
ment, and not for the private wants
of the Ministers. Mr.. Dole could
not say the money had been appro-
priated or embezzled by the Minis
tiers. He did not make that charge.
No one in the house thought that
the Ministers had borrowed the mo-
ney and put it in their own pockets.
Therefore they could not find fault
with the Ministers. Many resolu-
tions had been brought in against
the Minister of the Interior, but his
skin was thick and it would take
more than this resolution to have any
effect upon him. He would keep
his promise with DR.. Wight and not
move the previous question.
Rep. Kauhane supposed the trou-
bic was that the rate of interest in
the loan act was too low for the Gov
ernment to obtain money there
under. Nobody would allow his
business agent to go beyond his in
structions, and the Government was
the agent of this Legislature. Now
was the time for the Assembly to
interdict further traversing of Its
authority by the Legislature.
KEEP. Dole claimed that the argu-
ment of the Acknowledgement was
boomerang, which recoiled on those
making use of it. The law quoted
by him only authorized borrowing
within a limit that had been far ex.
ceeded by the Ministry in this case.