The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-08-22
lone HONEST
CLAIMANT
Fire Claims Court
Discovers
Him.
THE REST ARE
SHADY INDEED
Wahine Wants High Pay for Thirty
Shirts Belonging to Husband
Long Dead.

On Tuesday the Court of Fire Claims
had the pleasure of considering what it
declares to be the first honest claim pre-
scented. The honest claimant Is a native
by the name of IIaleloa, whose entire
claim, including the claims of his wife
amounts to only s14550. The woman
claims two holokus for herself and two
suits for her husband, allowing for wear
in the price. The claim also asked for
recompense for four kou calabashes at
81 for two and $3.50 for the other two.
The Commission was so pleased with this
claim and the honesty of the claimant
that the members unanimously expressed
their approval
During the hearing of the Hawaiian
claims the patience of the members of
the court have been severely tried The
case of the fisher woman who put in
claim for s31, 900 worth of lingerie (among
the items being forty-eight hats and $1,000
worth of silk holokus) has a number of
close seconds. One youth claims that he
| lost twenty-six pairs of linen trousers
by the fire, and a woman put in bill
| LOT q nOlOhu dIleSeu 10 COHldlH lOilE-
| eight yards of silk at 81 per yard. There
has also claim of $3.50 for number of
monkey-pod trees destroyed, and one wo-
man has filed a claim for thirty white
shirts belonging to her dead husband
| each shirt being valued at $175 and the
husband being admittedly dead for seven
years. Another claim was filed yester-
day morning, bringing the number of
claims up to 6059 and the amount asked
| for up to 81, $4,000.
The court has been hearing Hawaiian
claims for the past week and it will take
up Japanese claims today. During the
past three months the court has been
| able TO hear less than a thousand Of
| these claims, and has only briefly con-
sidered these. At this rate the three
remaining months to which the court is
| limited, will be insufficient by many
months to hear the remaining claims
Mr.. L. c. Macfarlane of the Commits
! sion states that the work is going for
ward as fast as possible. The claims
are for such obviously exorbitant
| amounts that there is necessarily much
delay in getting at anywhere near a cor
rect estimate of the losses of the claim
ants. The Hawaiians, Mr. Macfarlane
states, are especially exorbitant in their
claims.
The japanese claims, owing to the
Consul, are in very good shape, and the
court expresses its appreciation of Con-
sui Saitos valuable assistance in the
matter. Negotiations are now under way
for the compromising of a large num-
Der of Chinese and Japanese claims in
bulk, and this will help the work along
considerably if accomplished. About 1000
claims viii probably be disposed of at
once in this way.
The court has been in session continu-
ously since it was organized. The ap-
preparations for the members and for the
clerks and stenographers is sufficient only
for six months in which time the con-
sideration of the entire list of claims is
a hopeless task. The members of the
court are inclined to think that the court
should continue beyond the limit and
nnish the business, relying upon the next
legislature to make up the deficit
The Commission has not made any
awards. Only memorandum figures have
been made for the guidance of the court
in considering the claims in the future