The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1888-07-16


that they are going to appoint per-
manent tax assessors in each dis
trict. He thought that there was
more IN the name of Governor than
the Ministry were willing to admit
The very mention of the word Gov
ernor to them seemed to excite them
as much as a red rag does mad
bull.
Rep. Kauhane spoke in favor of
abolishlng the Office. 1t had been
in existence for great many years,
and was now considered useless
adjunct to the machinery of the
government. 1T would do no harm
to try and get along without the Of
flee for two years, and if at the end
of that time it was found advisable
to restore the office, the law abolish
ing it could be repealed. $4,000
were being spent for Governors
and their clerks each biennial
period, and it was time that the
hole from which this drain comes
should be stopped.
Noble Widemann had few more
words to say. 1t had been said
that the Road Board had great
powers, and they will have such
powers if we have no Governors.
"a years ago, he was Road Super
visor, and they had Governors too,
and he had as much power as the
present Road Board and perhaps
little more. The Governor paid
the road tax into his hands to be
disbursed by him.
Noble Baldwin said that 40 years
ago they had noble men as Gov
ernors, chiefs born to COM
mand, but from them we had
come down to class of men
that were q harm and clog to the
working of the Government. Look
at the salary voted for Governors.
1t was not as large as that of a
clerk in some of the departments be-
cause it was considered a sinecure,
and there were no duties to be per-
formed. There must be change,
and the majority of the committee
admitted that. SO far they all stood
on common ground. The majority
bill only made the officer servant
to the Ministry. He was called
Governor, but the name was a misno-
mer, so far as it is understood by
the Hawaiians, and what it implied
years ago. The only way that any
department of government could be
carried on successfully was to have
one head, one superintendent, and
not as that bill called for, q respon-
sible Ministry and a servant to carry
out their orders. If this bill should
pass and the officer perform the du-
ties as prescribed by the bill, the
salary would have to be raised, as
no competent man could be found
who would take the place for $500
a year. That salary was large
enough before, because there was
nothing to do. They had taken
duties from others and put them
upon the Governors, IN order that
they might have something to do F.;
but with all the dignity with which
the bill is clothed, by making it OBJ
ligatory for the Governors to make
semi-annual tours of their guberna-
torial districts on a salary of Sc
cond class clerk, they will only be
looked upon as clerks, land not as Gov
ernors. There was no doubt that a
good Governor would be of benefit
to the Government, but he could
not be got for $500 year. The
argument brought forward by the
majority of the committee, that the
Governors should have supervision
of the assessment and collection of
taxes was good one, but the bill
that the Ministry had given notice
of would cover this point, and
would serve the purpose better than
a Governor could. They came into
that House pledged to rctrench eX-
penses, and they should take advan-
tage of every opportunity of doing
so.
Rep. Kamauoha spoke in favor OF
abolishing the office, as it was a re,
quest through a petition from his
district to so abolish it.
Noble Luhlau said that during