The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-01-21
CHANGES IN
COUNTY BILL
Many Proposed in
the Earlier
Talks.
Classes of Counties to
Control Their
Expenses.
Methods of Cutting Down the
Heavy Administration Cost for
Smaller Subdivisions.

the first of the coming month ther,
will be gathered in Honolulu for TIT
purpose of considering the many meas
ures which are to come before the leg
islature, majority of the Republican
members of that body There will bt
arrivals on the steamers at the end OF
the present week, but the major por-
ton of the membership will come into
the city on the following weeks ships
Some few will be delayed, bnt it is ex-
pected that they will keep in touch
with the central committee by mail
and will thus know what is going
on, and be ready for the consideration
of weighty matters as soon as they ar
rive.
The report of the committee which
drafted the county bill has been read
with eagerness recently, and during the
past few days, and the bill complete viii
find ready reading when it is issued
next week by the committee. There
have been several suggestions of
already. and it is safe to
say that there will be sufficient changes
to make the bill considerably different
when the final draft is made by the
of the Senate which was
appointed for the purpose of making a
ready for quick action in the
upper house. The committee has al
ready gone over much of the bill as
lrawn by the commission, and it's prog
'ess has been so complete that it is
safe to say that the measure will go
nto the Senate within the very first
week of its assembling.
The criticism made of the bill, that
t provides for too many officials, is one
which would have been impossible, if
he commission had developed several
'oints which it decided should be left
o the legislature itself. One of these
'oints is the division of the counties
nto classes, and the actual drawing of
he lines as to salaries. 1t was not
that there would be paid
4 the small outlying counties as great
n amount for specific services as
'ould be paid in the larger counties.
o get around this point, the intention
the commission was that there
hould be division of the counties
Ito classes. Thus the county of Oahu,
n the basis of its taxation, would rank
/ one class. There would be another
ass for the counties of Maui and East
laval, which includes Hilo and Ha-
akua, and third class for West Ha-
ali and Kauai, which are the smallest
lbdivisions of the Territory. It was
lso provided in the earlier drafts of
lie measure that in the case of small I
'unties. the duties of the various Off
ais could be combined to reduce the
lmber of elective officers and the con-
.quent drain upon the revenues of the
'unty. 1t was estimated that in some
the smaller counties the cost for sal b
les. on the basis of the eighteen elect |
e officers provided in the measure as
ported, would amount to % per cent I
the revenues, which is believed to be
o high a figure to contemplate with t
uanimity. /
There are many other proposed /
anges. among them one for the max L
g of the entire Island of Hawaii into Y
e county, instead of two as proposed {
the Republican bill. There are said to
members of the legislature who win {
vOr the making of only one county
it'll the county seat at waimea, on t
(COntinued on Peca 2l