The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-10-27

THE NEW DESCRIPTION OF REAL PROP
ERTY BY TRUE AZlMUTHS.



1t is of interest to the owners of real
property to know that the surveyor of
the Court of Land Registration has in
Guided in his rules of survey for the
court an important and simple change
which will alter descriptions of real
property hereafter to conform to the
more modern methods of the United
States Geodetic Survey. Almost all of
the surveyors of Oahu have been in
terviewed and have approved the
change on account of its great simplic-
ity. 1t is proposed by these surveyors
hereafter, to follow the rule of the
Court of Land Registration in their
surveys by describing all land by true
azimuths. The surveyor of the Terri
tory has issued orders that all de-
scriptions of government land be made
with true azimuths.
j. B. Johnson on the Theory and
Practice of Engineering has the follow
ing definition, page IL:
1.-THE azimuth of line is the angle
it forms with the meridian, and is
measured from the south point, south,
west, east. south, to $50 degrees It
becomes a definite direction when the
angle alone is given"
To illustrate what this method is, let
US take a compass with the circum-
ference of the dial divided into $50 de-
grees, beginning to number at the
south, which is marked 0. West is
marked 80 degrees; north, 100 degrees;
east, 270 degrees and south, $50 degrees.
or zero. Let Us suppose that the min
ute hand of clock be attached to the
compass with the hand pointing due
south, or at VI. o'clock. The direction
taken by the hand is described as zero,
or 800 degrees. This pointer may be
supposed to move from left to right,
as the hands of a clock, on the dial.
The direction taken by this pointer is
the direction of the line described.
by the number of degrees it has travel
ed from the south, as read on the
dial; as for example, due west is de-
scribed as ''90 degrees" or due east as
"270 degrees" To take another exam
pie, let us look over an old description
Of the northerly line of Thomas
Square on King street, Honolulu. We
find that it reads: North 20 degrees
AZ minutes east; this becomes by All
muth 200 degrees AZ minutes.
By moving the pointer from south
around by west and north, we have
passed 1870 degrees, and we move the
pointer 20 degrees AZ minutes eastward
in addition thereto, or a total of 200
degrees AZ minutes from the starting
point.
The measurement of the direction of
the line on the ground is always taken
to begin at the center of the dial and
to run toward the circumference, as
in this case from the center toward
the mark 200 degrees and AZ minutes.
The method is simple in itself, and
avoids the many chances of mistake
which arise by interchanging the let
tiers E and w in the old method of
descriptions. Many errors are made
also by describing the line running on
the ground, as going north when the in
tent is to go south. Let us illustrate
by reference to an old fashioned de-
scription of Thomas Square in Homo
lulu:
Beginning at the south corner of this
land and running: 1, north 20 degrees
AZ minutes east 650.5 feet along Vic
| toria street; 2, north IS degrees IL min
utes west 447.6 feet along Beretanis
street; 8, south 20 degrees AZ minutes
west 644.5 feet along Kapiolani street
4, south 50 degrees 10 minutes cas-
AIS feet along King street to the poin
| of beginning.
The new description would read:
Beginning at the north angle of Kin,
and Victoria streets, said point beini
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