The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-06-10
WHERE THE BLAME LIES.

lust or well informed in it's comments
on Hawaii, and in dealing with the
record of the Legislature here 1t tries
to make an exparte case for the Home
Rule element which. as usual with ex.
parte cases, conveys only a half truth.
The Advertiser has already printed the
Republicans views, but it will do no
harm to repeat them:
! The Legislature of Hawaii is roundly
condemned by the whites of the Islands,
and Governor Dole has officially branded
the body as inefficient and "wasteful of
both time and money" Doubtless the
natives have made slow and bungling
work of it, but there is this to be said
on the other side: The session was the
first one under the new Territorial gov
eminent, and it was limited to two
months. Now the Massachusetts and
Connecticut Legislatures began their
present sessions the first week in Janu-
airy, and they have not yet reached an
adjournment, although four and one-half
months have elapsed Queen Elizabeth
once asked the Speaker of the House
what had passed in the Commons, and
he answered. Five week, Your Majes-
ty" 1t Is no new thing for legislative
bodies, new and old, in the most adyanc-
ed countries. to waste time, not to men
ton money. The Hawaiian Legislature
ought certainly to be allowed more than
sixty days for the initial legislative work
of new government, before being un-
qualifiedly condemned. Back of all else,
however, in Hawaii, is the political an
tagonism between whites and natives,
arising from the forcible overthrow Of
the native government in 1893. The Leg
islature and the Executive are at swords
points, which explains somewhat the
failure of the first session.
There is no just comparison between
the Legislature of Hawaii and the law
making bodies of Massachusetts and
Connecticut. The former legislates, or
is supposed to do so, for about 10000
people, including a majority Of Asiatic
coolies, and for a Territory, the organi-
cation of which has, in the main, been
already made by Congress. Our Leg
Iislature, in fact, has the small import
lance of mainland board Of aldermen,
while the Legislatures OF Connecticut
and Massachusetts make laws for mill
lions of people and greatly diversified
industries. Either of the latter bodies
needs more than double the time of the
former.
| The point against the Hawaiian Leg
! islature is not so much it's waste of time
as it's waste of opportunity. Everybody
here knows that sixty days We're enough
for all the purposes for which the law
makers were called together But the
opportunities of thirty days were used
up in senseless and childish gable over
bill to pay the members for theiT
work and to exempt female dogs from
(, taxation; and at the end of sixty days
the needful revenue measures had not
been touched. The Home Rule major
tity were simply working to compel a
/, continued session for the sake of the
salaries and the steals. Such an OPP
portunity was denied them, but as the
law requires more time, If needed fol-
the sole enactment of an appropriation
BILL an extra session had to be granted
This session is under way now, and is
so far as it has gone, failure, the Ha-
waiian members being intent on get
ting third session for the sake of more
salaries and more steals.
| If Massachusetts, or Connecticut had
such gang of mountebanks and conf
dence men for a majority in the Leg
islature it would never re-efect one OF
them to any office. If South Carolina
had it there would be raid made on ii
by white taxpayers. Hawaii has to
endure this indignity, and can do So
for the present-wfth calmness. But II
objects to having the blame for such a
state of things visited, by critics 5000
miles away, upon its responsible classes
/ 1t is quite true that the Legislature
and the Executive are at swords points
but why shouldn't they be? The Elk
ecutive is honest and competent, and
asks to have necessary laws passed; the
Legislature is dishonest and incompe-
/ tent and refuses to pass such laws The
two forces can not unite on any policy
their motives and points of view being
SO wide apart and with an unabridged
gulf between.