The herald., 1898-12-13
THEY ARE ON GUARD
NO CHANCES BEING TAKEN ON
SAN PEDRO
HAWAIIAN BILL FEATURES
The Polvnesian Phrase "White Man"
Is Expansive-Multiple Votes or
''Plumring" to Be Allowed

WASHINGTON, Dee. 7.-(Special Cor
respondence to The Herald.l Letters ano
reports from government officials in Cali
fornia to the chief OF engineers here an
nounce that the San Pedro work is progress
ing rapidly and lavorably. The contractors
have shown commendable zeal IN getting
together the material and preparing fol
The heavy work, and good results are eX
pected.
There will be comparatively little diff
Guilty in procuring another appropriation
this year. as the project is now undoubtedly
to be classed as a continuing contract which
mus; be provided for under the sundry civil
Hill. The California members, however, are
taking nothing for granted and are already
making efforts to insure plentiful supply
OF money 1t is probable that part OF the
present Appropriation will not be expended
this year and will have to be reappropriated
for next year The long delay of Secretary
Aeer in letting the contract and his at
temptsfto turn it down resulted in so much
delay that there will hardly he time to eX.
pend the present years supply altogether
RESTRICTING IMMIGRATION
The senate is making fresh efforts to con
sider and pass an act restricting lmmigra-
ton still further. principally on the ground
that we are about to annex outlying terri
tory and that we may in consequence be
flooded with its inhabitants.
There seems little reason TO really fear
this, however. The people of Cuba and
Porto Rico have always enjoyed free move
ments in and out OF the United States.
Those of Hawaii are limited by the scheme
OF government presented by the Hawaiian
commissioners. while the inhs sbitants of the
Philippines will undoubtedly be restricted
By the same right that duties will be levied
against their products.
THE HAWAIIAN BILL
Considerable attention was excited, by
the way by the peculiar phraseology OF
tile Hawaiian act introduced yesterday
which declared that all white persons, in
cludng those of Portuguese and African
descent =" shall be citizens. This
probably arose from the popularity of the
South sea dialect, which classes a negro as
a white" man. Probably the Polynesian
word really means foreigner or something
OF the sort but it is always translated white
man. The reasons for the express inclusion
OF the Portuguese is not so clear.
There are other special features of inter
est in the Hawaiian bill Perhaps the most
radical departure from our own system con-
sistJ in giving multiple votes for members
of the lower branch of the legislature. 1t is
a, ii one of our states elected all its con-
glessmen at large and a. ii the voters had
the right to cast, say, five votes, for any
one man, instead Of one vote each for each
of the five members TO be chosen. Such a
system viii surely drive the political proph-
cts out of their senses with attempts to
figure out the results of the election.
A somewhat similar system was in vogue
in Great Britain years ago, when a man
could plump that is, cast, both his votes
for the same candidate or could divide them
between two.
CRITTENDEN MARRIOTT.