The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1888-10-20
TAX ASSESSORS AND COLLEC-
TnRS.

EDITOR BULLETIN The list OF
TaX-Collectors, published this week,
has set people here speculating, as
to what the principles are, in accord
with which these appointments are
made. We understood, that when
this government went into power, the
errors and vices of the old regime
should all be corrected. Under Glib
sons administration there was
constant complaint against the Civ
ing of TaX-Assessor and Collector
ships to Government officials. The
Gazette" used then TO write col
umns against this practice and print
lists, showing how many offices the
ministry heaped on their political
friends. Now the Gazette" says
nothing, but still the same thing is
happening. Here in Wailuku the
three appointments-Collector 'S7,
Assessor 'SS and Collector '8S-
made by this Ministry, have been
given respectively to the Deputy
Sheriff, the Collector of Customs and
the Postmaster. These officers are
paid respectively S175, $3.50, and
500 per month-very handsome
salaries, and the Assessor and Col
lectorships are worth more than
$1,000 each for o months work.
AS man cannot serve two masters,
asShe cannot be in the Post Office
and at the same time out collecting
taxes; he will either have to get a
substitute in the Post Office to the
inconvenience of the public-and
then the Postmaster-General ought
to interfere or hire man to do the
collecting, but if that is the case,
why not give the pay to the man,
who actually performs the work. In
former days these positions were
given for political services rendered
or expected to be rendered, but
that can certainly not be the reason
now, as the three appointments
above mentioned were all given to
| political nonentities, men, who never
could bring any party more than
their own individual vote, even be-
| fore the new election law, "muz-
| zled" the Government officials. What
astonished US more in the last ap-
pointment was, that it was well
known here, that the nebles of this
island, present at the close of the
session, recommended another man,
native Hawaiian, to hold the office
as Collector. They considered him
the best man available and they
were given to understand, that their
recommendation would be deciding.
All the other men, whom these mobiles
recommended for the different dis
tricts here, have been appointed ex-
cept the Wailuku man, and the only
reason we can see is, that he was the
only Hawaiian on the list. Well
may the natives doubt the sincerity
of the present Ministry with its pro-
posed principles of preferring the
Hawaiian to fill the Government
offices. There is native Hawaiian,
a property holder with an upgrowing
family, man, whose ability cannot
be doubted, as four elected mobiles
endorse him, thrown aside to give
room for comparative stranger, g
man without property or family OF
anything to show, that he is here
except as mere bird of passage.
1t seems to be the policy of the
Cabinet to ask the different mobiles
and representatives for their opin.
ions in regard to appointments Of
Government officials in their respec.
tive districts. That is very souno
policy, and if followed out woul6
reduce the complaint over the "Ho-
nolulu rule" good deal, but if theil
opinions are only asked to "scratcf
their Backs" and no attention paio
to their recommendations, then sucl
policy becomes farce and an in
suit to the gentlemen, who take thu
trouble to think over, who will b'
the best men to serve in certain
positions, and often make enemies
, of the men, they do not recommend
The Ministry will find out, that the,
do not make friends by acting a
they are doing, and they canno
afford to lose any and least of al
t the men, who befriended them il
) this Legislature and of whom
q number when they left with goo'
reason could have said.
AU REvoIR.
t WaiIuku, Get. 10, 1888.