The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-01-24
CASES STILL
TO BE HEARD
Qrom Thursdays daily)

The fire commission still has plenty
Of work ahead of it, when the sixty
day recess comes to close. At present
the claims already adjudlcated are be-
ing classified and docketed. and for
that purpose an Office has been opened
in the Capitol building. il is located
just mauka of the old throne room, and
there Clerk Riggs can be found buslly
ut work any day.
There are still twenty-siX claims to
be presented to the court. and upon
which testimony is to be received.
Twenty-one Of these cases are the
claims Of Insurance companies and the
total amounts up to the nelghborhood
of $4,000. The hearing Of these cases
will form an interesting feature of the
courts session when it sits again in
February. The claims are for the mon
les paid by these companies to the pol
icy holders for their losses in the
plague fire. Some of the Insurance
agencies doing business in Honolulu, in
fact the greater number of them, had a
provision in their policies eXempting
the company from payment for loss in
Cured by reason of any act of the civil
authorities. Consequently as the fire
these companies claimed that the poll
cies were voided by the provision above
quoted. Those companies, however,
whose policies were not safeguarded in
that respect were compelled to adjust
their losses, and did so finally on the
usual basis. The claims filed with the
Fire Commission are for the amounts
paid upon these policies.
&c, 10 Il IA ~
the trial of these cases should not oc-
cupy very great 'ng- II or ,ime as the
only proof to be offered win consist of
the receipts of the policy holders,
showing that the amount claimed had
actually been paid. Altogether, the to-
| tai claimed by the insurance compan-
! les will aggregate $4,000, and the prin-
cipal examination of the commission
will be to determine whether or not
there have already been claims made
by the property owners whose build
ings We're destroyed by the big fire.
Altogether 5000 claims have already
been adjudicated and Clerk Riggs is
busy classifying these so that they can
be readily paid when the funds for the
| purpose become available The COM
missioners have not been working on
| the claims during the recess, as they
| are anxious to have the work of filing
! completed before they begin anew on
the large bunch of claims still remain
| ing for their consideration. There are
over $500 claims upon which evidence
has already been taken, and which
have not been adjudicated by the COM
missioners. A transcript OF this evil
dence Is now being made for the COM
missioners, and as soon as Chairman
Macfarlane returns they will begin
work anew on the remaining cases.
Besides the twcnty-one insurance
I company claims there are five or six
others still to be considered. All of
these are of Hawaiians, which, because
of Illness or some other reason, could
not be presented at the regular sessions
of the court. There are several cases
also which are to be investigated for
evidences Of fraud, and the closing days
OF the court promise the most interest
ing developments of the entire session.
No more claims are being received, nor
has there been since Septembr 10th. and
none of the claims already adjudicated
will be paid until the entire work Of
the court has been completed. and the
basis of settlement for every Individual
claim determined.