The Hawaiian gazette., 1895-12-27

"otc' Au tbC utN tlluc dbN biNASlOL
one took IL al night, and 50 on il
endless rotation. We find this gen
ersl resume of the water system 81
| ksuaula u be welt established by the
positive evidence adduced by the
plaintiffs, the admissions of many 81
drfend-nts' witnesses, AMI the tesri-
mony OF some of the defends them
selves given ia suits between them
selves respec ing water rights in thi,
locality. The contention of defendants
counsel is that while this method OF
division did apply to the main body
of the shupuaa or iii makai, Il did not
apply to the kalo lands mauka which
they claim had the right to continu-
Gus flow N water. 1t seems that At
! present all these ahupuaas and Ills OF
land makai and large portion Of the
kulesDas within them a well as about
one-fourIh in area If the kuleanas
containing kalo patches in the msuks
part, are owned by or under the control
of the plaintiffs. About all OF the
area makai is in cultivation Ia sugar
cane, requiring water about once
a week. In this discussion we
use the term ''day" as mean
ing day or night as the ca-e
may be The ancient method of
using the water was this: When the
''day" of certain ahupuaa, named
"Kooksn for example, came around,
the kalo patches belonging TO it aud
bearing the same name, being mauka,
had the water first run into them by
the lateral auwsi until they were
filled, then the water would be turned
ha.l- 81 h. 80 apI
taken out on 10 the land below named
'kooka." But this gave the water
to the land below, planted in sugar
cane, only once in eleven days, which
was not often enough for successful
cultivation of cane, and therefore the
owners of the plantation began devil
ating from the eleven day" system,
and would Use as needed the water of
the days TO which other ahupuaas
were entitled on the ahupuaa whose
cane needed it. The plantation own
ing the ahupuaas and taking care that
the kuleanss within them, not
owned by them, were filled before
tue diversion was made were not
disturbed by the kuleans holders,
and the plaintiffs now claim that
they have acquired the right to do
this by twenty years continuous aud
adverse use, that is ny prescription.
Possibly the plantation was not dis
turbei by suits, since no one was in
juriously affected by the change But
having thus used the water upon the
lands they have acquired, iudiscrim
inately, without reference 10 the old
right in rotation of days and nights as
fixed nv the ancieBt system, the
plaintiffs claim aud urge that the |
system must be strictly applied and |
enforced as to the kuleanas or kaIn |
patches mauka. In considering this |
we remark that though the water of |
this water course was undoubtedly |
divided by some method or other in |
ancient times, the method of division |
Of the water now sought 10 BE- enfor-
ced by the plaintiffs is hardly fifty |
years old, aud being the result of the
planning OF several leading 'knnohi-
kis" or head men under the chiefs or
other persons the land Owners) as
sisted by the governor of the island, il
was more or less elastic according 10
The konohiki En-
ieavored to SECURE equality of dIvisi On
4 to avoid Troublesome quarrels be
tween tenants; aud when the guam
,um of water in the stream was dImin.
shed through drought he saw to it
hat the quantity used by each wss
divided equally. The water from the
luwaI was subdivided among the
various cultivalors according 10 the
amount of land cultivated and the
leeds of each. But when one kule-
ina seemed 10 need more water than
others at any particular time the
lonohiki would on request allow a
constant small stream of water TO
continue TO run in the particular au-
val, after the patches were filled and
While the the main body of the land
below was receiving its assigned sup ,
,ly. This is called "koiI wal, aud
witnesses say that when their patches
we're dry they would ask and obtain a
title water from the kooohiki and
heir own neighbors. If the plaintiffs I
re "konohikisn of the various ahu- r
'uaas and Ills owned by them and :
re successors of the rights of the 2
.onohikis and insist upon them, they :
ught also to bear the burdens and &
OF the konohikis. But >
upplies of water by permission do /
OF create right TO them and the .
curt cannot compel favors to be !
TaUted. n
The testimony shows that during
God portion of the twenty years a
ist past the plantation bad e
ct insisted that the .'eleveu v
ay" system of supplying the e
-ater should be strictly executed, (
Ut, about three years ago effor,s Were
lade to cOnfiae the natives cuitivat- e
lg the kalo land msuka to the OLD d
Tstem. Mr.. Campbell says that he, q
hen planting cane in Labaiua, relax Il
] the system in times Of plenty. Mr. il
Ienry Smith, the present head water q
ina of the plaintiffs, says that 1.-THE p
lies that KabaulelIO spoke about v
he eleven day SYSTEM We're not
arried out when my predecessor vas b
ischarged and | was appointed" K
his was about 1892 The testimony Il
those familiar with the 'eleyen n
ay' system say (audit was 80 found Il
y the commissioner that when the t.
alter day of a certain land came
round all the water of the Kauaula s.
Team was entitled to be turned iuto "
he particular auwai leading the Il
alter to the said land. This does not u
.em To be the case in actual Dractice g.