Hawaii holomua = Progress. [volume] (Honolulu) 1893-1895, 1894-10-24
THE HOSPITAL TAX.

ist travelling mas peen DKoHb u
forward. there has been an out
CRY and protest against the Hos
pital tax
People DO not Ike to come TO
a country where they have to
paw a fee to a Hospital out OF
which they can derive no bene-
fit The Queen $ Hospital through
the decision Of the Supreme Court
is entitled 90 tax levied on any
person arriving in Honolulu, but
Hawaiians only are entitled to
free treatment at the only SAINT
airy Institution in Hawaii.
1t is unfair 1t is unjust. II
the present system IS to be con-
tinued Honolulu should be gov
orned under municipal admin
istration and the city should
regulate the rules Of the Hos
pital. The present state Of affairs
is simply abnormal. Tourists and
immigrants are taxedS1 90 piece
for the privilege Of landing in
this Paradise Of the Pacific. II
the payer Of that $l00 gets i'll
and is destitute lie cannot enter
the Hospital to which he paid
the $1.00 but he can die in the
street for all the trustees of the
Hospital care. Any foreigner,
be he Anglo Saxon or japanese
pays a subsidy to the Queens
Hospital but none Of them is en-
titled 10 treatment or care there
except the finances are forth
coming or a guarantee for pay
ment in the future.
The decision of the Supreme
Court as rendered by Mr.. Judd
is undoubtedly sound under pre-
sent circumstances but we sin
cerily hope that a different sys-
tenn will be adopted and the Hos
pital either be opened to all tax
PAYERS or the tax abandoned.
The following extract of Mr..
Judd's decision gives the history
of the Hospital tax and is Of great
interest to the country.
A sketch Of the enactments on
the subject Of the passenger
tax in aid of the Queens Hospi.
tai becomes necessary here. An
act was passed to aid in the eS-
adjustment of hospitals for the
benefit Of sick and disabled Ha-
waiian seaman, by which tax
Of two dollars was levied upon
every passenger arriving from a
foreign port at any of the ports
of these islands. This was pay
able to the several collectors OF
customs, for the support of hos.
pirals for the benefit of sick and
disabled Hawaiian seamen. This
tax was TO be reported to the
Minister Of Fincrce who was to
hold the same subject to the dis
position of the Minister Of the
Interior. according to the re-
quirenents of the Civil Code in
regard to the hospital tax on Ha-
waiian seamen. By the Civil
Code, sec. 16l, all seamen on YES
sells under the Hawaiian flag,
whether engaged in foreign on
domestic trade, had to have de.
Quoted from their wages twenty
five cents s month. This was to
be paid into the treasury to ba
held as 4 Marine Hospital
Fund for the relief of sick and
disabled Hawaiian seamen and 10
be disbursed by the Minister foI
the relief and accommodation oil
such seamen until hospitals
should be established for that
purpose. There were other pro
visions establishing a fund from
the unexpended surplus of this
tax for a marine hospital. On the
10th April, 1859, an act was pass.
cd authorizing the Minister Of
Interior 10 grant a perpetual
character to persons applying
therefor for the establishment oi
a hospital in Honolulu for the
relief Of sick and destitute Hawai-.
ians. The Queens Hospital was
then incorporated by charter oi
the Minister Of the Interior. au-
thorized by q resolution Of the
King and Privy Council of the
10th June, 1869. We understand
that the revenue obtained from
both these sources (from sea-
men wages and passenger tax
was paid over TO the Trustees oil
the Queens Hospital. in accord
dance with biennisl appropria-
tons made by the Legislature.
Every appropriation from 1862
down to 1882 contains items ap.
propriatiDg moneys TO Hospital
Fund estimated receipts'1. The