The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1893-10-03
OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUDD, CD

OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUDI Cd.
The Minister of Finance assessed
q stamp duty upon the car licenses
of the Hawaiian Tamwsys Company.
The Company being dissatisfied
Herewith, the question is referred to
this Court upon a case duly made
and furnished by the Minister of
Finance.
The Hawaiian Tramwsys Company
is a corporation operating a street
railway in Honolulu under the provi-
sions of Acts of the Legislature,
Chapter XXXIV. of the Laws of
1884 and Chapter XVIII. of the
Laws of 1885, The Company has
eighteen cars, the licenses for
which the Minister of Finance
claims are subject to stamp duty
in accordance with the provisions of
Chapter CHI of the Laws of 1892
and has assessed the stamp duty
upon them. The company claims
that the assessment is unlawful on
the ground that said cars are ex-
empt from all charges for licenses or
stamp duties except such as are ex-
pressly provided in Section IL of the
Act of 1884, Chapter XXXIV. This
section reads as follows: "Said Viii
liam r. Austin his associates and
assigns or successors shall pay in
annual payments to the Department
of the Interior the sum of ten dol
lars per annum as a license tax upon
each passenger car used by him or
them, and no greater sum shall be
exacted as car license"
1t is claimed in behalf OF the Com
pany, appellant, which holds the fran
chise from VIM. r. Austin, that the
rating by the Legislature of the
annual fee for the license of each
passenger car at ten dollars and no
more excludes these licenses from
the operation of the general law
which imposes q stamp duty for the
purpose of revenue upon all licenses
issued from the Interior Depart
ment or from any other department
of the Government.
We do not think that the Act
which conferred the franchise OF
operating street railway upon the
Company and which estab-
lished the annual license tax upon
each of its passenger cars at ten dol
lars is of any greater obligation or
in respect to the license in
question than any other Act Of the
imposing license fee
upon any business or occupation.
The Legislature imposes the tax in
both instances. When the franchise
was granted to this Company in
1884, and renewed in 1886, there was
in existence the Stamp Act of 1876,
which prescribed that there should |
be due and payable the sum of one
dollar for stamp duty upon Licenses
issued from the office of the Minister |
Of the Interior, or other Government |
The car license in question issues
from the Office of the Minister of the |
Interior because Section IL of the
Act of 1884 requires the fee for it to
be paid to the Department of the
Interior; and from the nature of the
,ase a license must issue not only to
show that the fee has been paid but
hat the car is in fact licensed.
We place no Importance upon the
of Section IL, that ''no
greater sum shall be exacted as car
icense." If these words were not in
he law and it merely prescribed ten
dollars as the license tax no greater
Jun could be exacted, SO long as this
arifT remained unchanged by the
Legislature. The statute does not
ay that the payment OF ten dollars
hall be in full discharge of the IL
.ense tax and any stamp duty now or
to be levied upon licenses
or vehicles for transportation of pas
engers. The statute contains no
eference to the stamp duty upon the
license.
The Legislature OF 1892, in Chap
er CHI, amended the Stamp Act by
a sliding scale of stamp du-
les upon licenses, graduated &C
ording to the amount of the fee for
UGH licenses. The car licenses in
question are not exempted from
lamp duty by this Act or by any law
f this country, and we therefore de-
ide and adiudge that the annual
censes Of the passenger cars of the
Hawaiian Trsmways Company are
ssessible with the stamp duty in &C
ordnance with the provisions of Chap
sr CHI, Laws of 1892.
p. Neumann for the Company, ap-
Attorney General W. o.
NTH for the Government, respon-
ent.
Honolulu, September 18th, 1898.