Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-05-14

| BIT OF HAWAIIAN HISTORY.
1t is necessary to full understanding O
these cases that we revert to bit of Ha
waiian history, more or less ancient. The
Gibson regime began in 1882, and con
tinued thence till the expulsion of Gibson
and his satellites from Office by the revo
lutionary reformers, ON June so, 1887
The whole tendency of the Gibson admin
| istration was in the direction of extrava
gance, vulgar military and naval display
the sending of numerous legations to al
imaginable, and some almost unimagina
BILE, foreign princes and potentates-sucl
as the Prince of Montenegro, the AkoonC
of Swat, the Baron of Bobcaygeon, anC
other rulers of like name and fame. a
whose courts the Hawaiian ENJOYS woulC
secure cheap decorations by the half
bushel, and express them to Honolulu
where his Kanaka Majesty would gravely
bestow them upon his grooms, soup-servers
| bottle holders and members of his Priv
Council, and announce in print, at Gov
eminent expense, that i. had pleased hi.
Siamese Majesty for instance) to confer
upon Prince Pilikia (his Hawaiian Ma
jesty's butler) the Grand Cross and Order
of the Big Horn Spoon, etc, ad nauseam.
GIN-BoTTLED ELECTIONS.
-Four years of such policy had thor.
oughly disguised the entire white COM
munity except those whose approval was
purchased by fat contracts and opportuni
ties for securing boodle), as also the
comparatively few Hawaiians who were
out of Office, or who had been ignored in
the distribution of the decorations referred
to. A general election to the Legislature
coming on in February, 1886, the Gibson
patriots cast about for the most effective
means of securing a majority in the House.
| The twenty mobiles appointed BIZ the King
sat with the elective members, but some Of
them were unreliable" from a Gibsonian
standpoint, having been appointed prior
to the development of the then prevailing
issues. A big push" was necessary to at
tain their object, and they concluded to
invite the electorate to view the situation
| through innumerable bottles of ELECTION
gin" Be it known that the ordinary
kanaka is equipped with such an optical
dignity that, when viewing a question
through bottle of gin, he is almost GER
tain to see it in the light desired by the
donor of the gin aforesaid. So the patri-
OTIS determined to supply the electors with
gin glasses and their " sand paper" contents.
| But where to secure the beverage was
PRACTICAL AND EMBARRASSING CUES
TIoN,
| As most of them were impecunious and
the balance were too thrifty to shoulder
the expense. A plan was hit upon, which
was IS follows;
The firm of Ct. W. Macfarlane & Co.
were composed of two brothers, born in
the Sandwich Islands, who had for some
years been doing an immense business as
importers and sugar factors, chiefly on
Claus Spreckels capital, and had been en-
joying, in the full business sense of the
term, the favor of the Court 1t was ar
ranged that this firm should provide the
gin for the occasion, relying upon payment
| DY means 10 De stated later.
The gin was in bond at the Custom
house. 1t could not be got out without
payment of duties, which were very high.
unless royal favor and signatures were in
voked, and to pay for the gin and the duties
| too would be too much of a contract for
| the patriots. So
THEY ARRANGED IT rHUsWIsE:
The King would indorse blank form
of order on the Custom-house for the de-
livery of bonded goods. 1t had been the
usage to deliver any goods upon the Kings
order free of duty, though this course was
based upon a misconstruction of the law.
But as the King was, prior to June 80,
1887, practically the entire Government.
and as " the King can do no wrong" such
construction as he desired was always &C
corded to any statute by the officials of the
Bench.
Such orders Endorsed in blank bv the
King were then filled in by the Macfar-
lanes with lists of such liquors as. in the
opinion of the patriots would most GER
talnly conduce to the correct political
views of the imbibers, and they were then
presented at the Custom house and the
liquors withdrawn, duty RENTED. This
liquor was then distributed throughout
the group, and was charged up at the
price in bond on Nacfarlane's books.
THE GIN EVENT TO THE SPOT"
In the anatomies of the electors, and the
result of the expedient indicated the
wisdom of its concocters, for the Gibson
Cabinet secured a vast majority at the
polls.
But pay day for the gin arrived, and
the patriots evinced less enthusiasm in the
matter of payment than they had pre-
viously displayed. The transaction was
suggested to the Macfarlanes by
+. II. Hayselden, the son-in-law and gem
eral political boss" to Premier Gibson
the Macfarlanes had made the sale to him.
charged up the liquor to his private ac-
count, and threatened him with suit if it
were not paid. The amount of their
claim, upon the basis of the cost in bond.
was S4,749 35-the addition of duties
would have almost trebled it.
Upon being so threatened with suit,
Hayselden proposed, and Macfarlane as
scented, to the proposition that he. Hay
selden, should secure from the King an
order or series of orders upon the Custom
House, which the Macfarlanes could uti-
lie in securing a remission of duties upon
liquors to be used in their regular trade
they conduct two big liquor stores and
about half dozen saloons), and thus pay
themselves indirectly. This mode was
adopted, the orders with the Kings in
dorsement were secured, presented to the
Mactarlanes, filled in with lists of LIQUOR
needed in their trade, presented at the
Custom House, the liquors Withdrawn
without payment of duties and the amount
of duties so remitted-S4, 749 81 credited
up to balance HayseIden's account.
LEGISLATIVE INQUIRY FOR BooDLERs.
At the special session of the Legislature
in November and December, 1887. that
body asked for a statement of LIQUORS with
drawn from bond without payment of
duties during the two years then last
passed. Such statement, on being pre-
scented, showed enormous amounts of
duties RENTED upon the King and Ger
tain representatives of foreign powers, the
British Commissioner, Major James K.
Wodehouse, having an especially liberal
amount opposite his name. This state
ment was referred IN a saIacf ,,r,r,;,4oo