The Hawaiian gazette., 1896-05-01
Registration Act viii Soon be in
Operation.
PROBABLE INCREASED REVENUE.
VIII Enable Officers - Locate Contract
Iaborers-one bad Feature in the
Law" Puddin' Head Wilson - and


necessary for work on the new law. and
he will probably begin registering citi-
zens on Monday Just where the reg
istration will be done has not been de-
cided upon.
''The Act" said Mr.. Taylor yesterday,
amount of taxes received, because we
will have a record of the exact location
of every man on the islands and there
will be no chance for him to dodge the
collector.
Another thing, by the law the oc-
cupatiOn of every man and the name of
his employer viii be recorded under
oath With these facts at hand il will
be very easy for the police to keep
track of the vags and bummers who
hang around Chinatown"
''Will it not have the same effect up
on the white men who earnestly seek
work and pray they will not find it,
Certainly" replied Mr.. Taylor. the
bum who borrows quarter and invests
in bottle OF sake and gorges himself
with hard bread and herring from the
dish at the end of the bar will, if the
police are on the alert have to show
cause why they should not go to work
and earn money TO live decently rath-
er than be snubbed by the bartenders.
But there are other reasons, and
more important, perhaps, for consider
ing the Act a good one. 1t has been al
most impossible to keep some of the
shipped men on the plantations. The
| last lot for Eva went down all right
and the next day six disappeared and
/ have not since been heard from. I'm
/ der the new law, having their photo
graphs on record there is not so much
difficulty, and with the registration law
/ in action there will be no trouble, as
a man may be called upon TO show his
/ certificate at any time.
What arrangements have you for
/ registering tourists?"
1T has not yet been decided. In or
/ der that there may be the least posi-
| BILE inconvenience to persons visiting
| here for a short time, and for pleasure
the Minister may appoint registrars
among the pursers of the foreign
steamers and supply them with the
i necessary blanks, to be filled out before
arrival here. II would take only mo-
ment afterward to administer the oath
and deliver the certificate. 1t could be
done on the same principle that per-
son going into the United States makes
his declaration regarding his baggage,
and would be no more trouble"
But about the thumb mark, will
there be an objection TO that feature of
the law? Suppose Chauncy Depew and
Cornelius Vanderbilt should come down
here and decide to take up home
stead and go into coffee, or climb Maui
ma Loa with view TO buying Mokua-
weoweo for exhibition purposes. would
there not be an objection from them to
/ being treated as a criminal is in Chi
na?"
Not at all; at least there should be
no objections. They might think we
were going to give reading in PALMS.
try. Or we might refer them to Mark
Twain's 'Puddin' Head Wilson, and
! have them think we were getting up
collection of thumb marks for the
archives. Besides, there is really moth
ing Objectionable about the thumb
mark except the stain the ink leaves
on the finger. | have no doubt the reg
istrars could be provided with Coal
Oil Johnny's' soap and with it the stain
| could be removed in moment. No, the
thumb mark is here to stay, and we an
ticipate no kick on that score. The law
! regarding persons arriving in the ISL
ands will not go into effect until Aug
ust l."
Then you think, Mr.. Taylor, that
the registration law will assist materi-
ally in increasing the revenue by aiding
the tax collectors to corral the unwilling
and fieeting contributor toward the Gov
eminent surplus, that it will keep ship
ped men on the plantations and rid
the country of the innumerable bum
mers and Migrants who live on free
lunch and sake and the earnings of
prostitution? ?"
Most assuredly! The Chinese immi-
grafton law is an Improvement on any
thing the Government has yet had, as
it has been shown that out of 800 ar
rivals there have been but eleven de-
sertions and six deaths. The law does
not provide for deaths, so that they can
hardly be attributed to any oversight
of the trainers. If there are any weak
points in the law they will surely be
made strong by the registration act
AS TO the idlers and Migrants, the Gov
eminent has no way of telling how
many there are; there may be two hum
dred or two thousand When found.
they may prefer to work on plantations
rather than go to Jail and in that way
the coolie immigration may be reduced
TO an extent
We will probably begin work on
Monday. This has not been settled. as
il will be arranged to suit the conyen-
fence of the people to a great extent.
The city, for instance, may be divided
into districts. For the Portuguese, the
Royal School might be selected; the
Nursery for residents of the Plains, and
for the Palama people the Reform
School would be a convenient place.
The public viii be notified in ample
time"
The Manufacturers Shoe Com