The Hawaiian gazette., 1903-01-23
CHANGES IN
COUNTY BILL
Many Proposed in
the Earlier
Talks.

Each mail brings assurances that by
the first OF the coming month there
will be gathered in Honolulu for the
purpose OF considering the many meas
ures which are to core before the leg
islature, a majority OF the Republican
members OF that body. There will be
arrivals on the steamers at the end OF
the present week, but the major por-
tion OF the membership will come into
the city on the following weeks ships.
Some few will be delayed, but 1t 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 fer 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, an1 the bill complete will
find ready reading when It is issued
next week by the committee. There
amendment already, and 1t is safe to
say that there will be sufficient changes
to make the bill considerably different
when the final draft is made by the
committee Of the Senate which was
appointed for the purpose Of making q
measure ready for quick action in the
upper house. The committee has al
ready gone over much Of the biH as
drawn by the commission, and its prog
ress has been so complete that IT is
safe to say that the measure will go
into the Senate within the very first
week of it's assembling.
| The criticism made Of the bill, that
IL provides for too many officials, is one
which would have been impossible, If
the commission hsd developed several
points which 1t decided should be left
to the legislature itself. One Of these
points is the division Of the counties
into classes, and the actual drawing Of
the lines as to salaries. 1t was not
contemplated that there would be paid
in the small outlying counties as great
an amount for specific services as
would be paid in the larger counties.
To get around this point, the intention
of the commission was that there
should be division of the counties
on the basis Of its taxation, would rank
in one class. There would be another
class for the counties of Maui and East
Hawaii, which includes Hilo and Ha-
makua, and a third class for West Ha-
wall and Kauai, which are the smallest
subdivisions of the Territory. 1t was
also provided in the earlier drafts of
the measure that in the case of small
counties, the duties of the various off,
cials could be combined to reduce the
number of elective officers and the con-
sequent drain UPON the revenues of the
county 1t was estimated that in some
of the smaller counties the cost for sal
aries, on the basis OF the eighteen elect
i've officers provided in the measure as
reported, would amount to 25 per cent
Of the revenues, which Is believed to be
too high n figure to contemplate with
Iequanimity.
| There are many other proposed
changes, among them one for the maxi
ing of the entire Island of Hawaii into
one county, irstead Of two as proposed
in the Republican bill. There are said to
be members of the legislature who will
favor the making of only one county
with the county seat at Waimea, on
the ground that this would give a CEN
tral point for the business of the entire
island, and one which will be readily
accessible when the railroad is COM
pleted.
There is also a probable amendment
to the measure taking the educational
system out of the hands of the Terri
tory and creating county boards for
the control Of the schools. This will be
vigorously fought, however. as there Is
a feeling that only by a territorial sys-
TEN may there be that uniformity
which will make possible the manten-
, ance of the high standard OF the
schools.
Members of the legislature are daily
advised of proposed legislation, and
: various bodies of the city and Territory
are now at work framing measures to
, be presented. The legislation COM
mittee of the Builders and Traders
Exchange has completed the bills which
( II has been framing. and these will be
brought before the members OF the
exchange at special meeting to be
held this evening at its rooms In the
$ Elite building.