The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-03-26

taken note of his work, and am of tn
firm opinion that he is worth NOR
money than he he is getting
Rep .Richards-The best way TO ge
at the bottom of things is to compar
the positions of the various distric
magistrates, taking both the amount o
work done and the salaries paid int
consideration. Moved that the item b,
left in the hands of a select committee
Carried.
Under suspension of the rules, Min
lister Cooper read the following petition
from the Portuguese of the city:
To his Excellency Sanford B. Dole
President of the Republic of Ha-
wall, and to the Honorable the Leg
islature of the Republic of Hawaii
The undersigned, the Central Com
mittee of the Uniao PortugueZa, an or
ganization representing the entire Por-
tuguese population, not only of Homo
lulu, but of all the islands, from whom
we have received assurances of their
support, respectfully represent to your
honorable body the following facts:
That the majority of the Portuguese
residents and taxpayers of these ISL
ands were invited and encouraged to
come here by the past and present
Governments of the country.
That they immigrated to these shores
not only as laborers, but for the pur-
pose of becoming permanent settlers.
That after years of hard labor, most
ly under the pernicious contract sys-
tenn, many of them have, through their
industrious habits, become settlers in
divers ways.
That they have brought with them or
taken unto themselves here families,
which, during their residence of sixteen
years, have largely increased so that
their total number now exceeds Is, 900
souls.
That the invasion during the last few
years of Chinese and Japanese into
these islands has been such that the
remuneration of labor has been re-
duced to such figure that it has be-
come almost impossible for European
and other workingmen to subsist on the
wages offered.
That at the same time the cost of
living, has not materially been reduced,
while the taxes on the poorer classes
have been steadily increased out of pro-
portion with the taxes paid by large
landowners and corporations, who not
only by law are well protected, but by
their great influence in the general af-
fairs of the country.
That the Portuguese residing here
are finding themselves under peculiar
conditions, far away from home, and,
owing to the isolation of these islands,
prevented from seeking new fields to
better their conditions and to ensure
the euture prosperity of themselves and
families.
That under these circumstances we
finI ourselves in a position not only
affecting the present grown-up genera
ton, but also the large number of our
children born or reared here, and whose
future is cast in Hawaii as tNSir coun
try.
That as a class we do not claim to be |
entitled to any separate privileges from |
any other class, although we feel that |
our peculiar circumstances impose |
moral responsibility for the future of
ourselves and our children, on the
shoulders of those who brought us here.
Therefore, we, residents and taxpay
ers of the Hawaiian Republic, respect
fully pray your honorable body to adopt
measures during this session of the
Legislature which will further restrict
to this country; that laws be passed
resulting in more equitable system of
taxation, and that means may be de-
Vised for the better protection of the
interests of the laboring classes in
these islands.
And your petitioners will ever pray.
John NJ. VivaS, Augustus Vincent Pc
tiers, NJ. A Gonsalves, A. G.. Correa,
Antonio Fernandez, j. T. Rodriguez,
Antonio G. Silva, Jr., M. T. Marshall,
M. G.. Silva, A. G.. Pestana, ]. p. Dias,
Manuel r. Alves Vieira, ]. S. Barnes,
NJ. j. Ribeira Silva, Joaquin da Silva,
F. F. Branco, C. Faria, Manuel Nunes,
NJ. A Peixoto, V. o. Taxeira, ]. G.
Silva.
Central Committee of the Uniao
Portugueza.
Minister Cooper announced that the
petition had been sent to the President
as we'll as to the Legislature.
Motion to leave the matter in the
hands of a select committee of five '
members, one from each island. Car ]
ried. '
At II noon recess was taken until 100
p. m.
AFTERNOON SESSION. ]
Pay of police, Maui, $31 200.
Rep .Hanuna-The item in the bill is
rom the Executive, and 1 presume it is