The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1890-10-21
THE LEGISLATURE.
10TH DAY.
MONDAY, Oct. 20th.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
Louse resumed at / 40.

Inc House TeSumeu al 'fU.
Rep. Brown moved in amendment
to Noble Phillips motion on the
Bowler claims, to insert $1,000 for
work on Palace walls, and $1612.0S
for work on Palace electric light
station.
Rep. Cummings was in favor of
paying the full amount of the claims,
$49,21S.44. If the Government
promised Mr.. Bowler the job of re-
turning the South Sea Islanders, he
should be paid whatever he lost on
account of that promise. He cited
q Supreme Court decision in his own
experience TO show that the Court
wasInot infallible. If the Government
had carried out its contract with
Mr.. Bowler, that gentleman would
be rich man instead of poor man
to-day.
Noble j. M. Horner considered
the matter an important one, as if
the claims were granted there would
be innumerable claims in the future.
There was some foundation to the
electric light claim, but he was
doubtful about the wall claim. One
Superintendent of Public Works
gave the value of the work at $1,000,
whereas another gave it at $4,000.
Rather than be on the side of injus-
tice he would vote for $1,000 with
out interest, but he believed if the
work was measured it would be
found to be worth only $4,000,
as the last Superintendent report
ed The claim for the South
Sea Island laborers had no good
foundation. The fortune Mr..
Bowler lost on the transaction was
like that of the Western farmer, who
said he would be rich if he only had
enough hogs to eat all the acorns in
the woods, Mr.. Bowler might just
as well have put down 500 laborers
that he might have recruited, when
imagining out this claim against the
Government. Mr.. Lydgate recruit
ed laborers in the South seas at
$3.50 each, and Mr.. Turton at SIPS,
and If laborers cost Mr.. Bowler as
high as these rates he would have
been all broken up. Mr.. Bowler
was always unlucky with the Kala-
kaua, as her previous owner was,
but that did not say that the Legis-
lature should pay his debts. If the
hon. member for Hamakua had
made his motion $40 for the actual
number 113 of laborers to be car.
ried he would vote for it. He could
not vote hard dollars for imagina.
ton.
Rep. Bush thought there were
sufficient facts found by the com
mittee to show that contract wa:
made in each case claimed. Mr.
Bowler had nothing to do will
with whether the President of thu
Board of Immigration acted indie
pendently of the Board or not. If h'
made contract with Mr.. Baldwin
or Mr.. Horner to do a certain ser
vice and he failed to do that servic,
} either of those gentlemen would
jump down his throat to make hin
pay for it. 1t was not Mr.. Ahol'
merely but His Majesty's Ministe
of the Interior who had made thi
contract with Mr.. Bowler, and a
such he bound his successors in of
fee to contracts. If $4,000 wa
excessive compensation for thes
contracts, then the only question
with the House was the amount tina
would be fair. Mr.. Bowler wa
ready to carry out his part of til
!. contract, and if he had been Above
to carry it out and lost on it b
would have no claim. But havin
been prevented by the late Cover
ment from carrying out his part {
the contract, Mr.. Baldwin or Nj
Horner had no right to say that tt
claim was imaginative. He kne'
personally as Minister to Samoa tn,
one part of the contract was bon
.fde, because he had received lette
: from this Government notifying hi
that the Kalakaua was to bring co
for the Embassy.
Rep. Rosa said the House seemed
be agreed on the electric light clai
l, except as to interest. He would
opposed on principle to interest, b
unfortunately signed the report b
4 fore considering that point. Su
porters of the Reform Ministry cou
ii not condemn the payment of clair
"A not authorized by the Appropriate
4 Act, when on several occasions TIL
q Ministry had made payments wit
: out any authority of law. The
were the Makiki claims already l
ferred to, where those gentlem
ed put their hands in the treasury
pay themselves. Hon. members
the Reform Party had better be
- lent than to raise points where til
Y party had been particularly wea
;, The late Minister of the Interior h
TO- left testimony under his own ha
to illegal contracts made by hi
The Madras claim came up a
IS. time when there was great heat
n. politics. He had been inform
that the Madras claim would neN
have been granted in any otl
~ country. The captain of the NJ
dras broke the regulations of d