The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-07-15

provided for In a separate act.
And / fully concur with our Chair
man in the opinion that such matters
as taxation, license, etc. should be
dealt with in separate acts
The board Of supervisors should be
limited as to the rate of taxation; and
should be required to spend annually a
certain percentage of the revenues on
roads, bridges and other public i'm
provements; and they should be reduir-
ed to keep their expenses within their
income, making 1t penal offence to in
tentionally and wilfully appropriate
more money than is known to be in
the treasury or estimated by the Tax
Assessor and Collector to come into IL
during the year.
This Is not the time and place to
enumerate the limitations and safe
guards which we should put In our act.
| 1t is sufficient now to say that we
should attempt to construct a system
that can be run economically. and we
must insure 1t against extravaganza,
waste and dishonesty.
Excepting the supervisors, each
county can get along with the same
officials now on each island, their duties
being as now required by law, subject
to such notifications as may suggest
themselves as necessary to fully carry
out our county plan of government and
to insure Accountability. For example
the officials having public moneys in
their custody should be compelled to
make daily deposits in bank, or banks
designated by the supervisors, and to
| fIrnich q oiIparyisors publira inn
weekly statements of receipts and ex-
penditures.
Salaries in some cases may be fur
ther reduced: and We should require
all salaried county officials to give their
time exclusively to the work of the
county.
THE supervisors should have power
to reduce the number of officials. or
their salaries. but not to increase them
without legislative sanction. OF course.
no reduction should be allowed within
a term of office.
THE introduction of county govern
ment will unfortunately bear hard up
on the salaries of territorial officials.
| The legislature will be compelled to
make material reductions in them, and
in that way prevent the machinery of
government from being oppressive up
on the tax payers.
II do not think that there should be
any excessive bonds provided for, or
allowed. They should be reasonable,
so as to allow the poor, but honest
| and intelligent man to take hand in
the government. There should, how
ever, be penal provisions against wilful
mistake, against bribery and embez-
element. Our act should stand for in
tellgent, efficient and honest adminis-
tration of public affairs.
Many citizens seem to have the idea,
that this commission can frame a bill
for towns and cities. l said to a lead
er of one of our political parties, who
urged this matter upon me, that the
join resolution under which we are ap-
pointed, limits us to county govern
ment; that, if he wanted more than
this, he should have exerted himself
at the meeting of the legislature to
have passed a resolution carrying a
wider scope
IF we succeed in framing a county
act, which shall take its place perma-
nently among the statutes of our Ter
ritory we shall have done all that has
peen IeuuHeu Ol US, anu IL Will De IL
long step towards learning the lesson
which Governor Carter said at Hilo
We need to learn so much, when he
used these memorable words: 1.-The
lesson we need to learn in Hawaii is
that the government is the people, and
the people are the government There
has been a different conception, which
considered the government as an in
stitution separate and apart from the
people. If We can get all the people to
realize that the governments interest
and the peoples interests are identical,
and that it is the purpose of my ad-
ministration to make the will of the
people the will of the government. we
shall be satisfied"
Following his address Mr.. Stewart |
moved the following resolutions:
Resolved, That this commission re-
quest the citizens, hereinafter named |
and any others willing so to do, to
favor 1t with their views, orally or in |
writing, upon the questions below
stated; and that the hearings thereof
be commenced at the regular meeting
of this body on Tuesday evening, July |
18th, 1904, at 1880 o'clock; namely:
!. Under the organic act, can
county board of supervisors be elected
by the voters?
2 If the organic act prohibit cleo
ton, shall a county act be drawn pro-
viding for the election of supervisors
by the voters, and be submitted to
Congress for ratification?
g. Shall county act be drawn car
rying the governors right to appoint,
and Congress be requested to amend
the organic act so that the voters may
elect county boards?
l. Shall we base our county system
permanently on the right of the Gov
ernor to appoint all county boards?
g. Shall the county act provide for
county control of education, health,
and roads. bridges and wharves?
w. II. Castle, j. G. Pratt, j. j. Dunno,
]. Nj. Poepoe w. II. Smith, ID. II. Case,
j. d. Willard. +. j. Lowrey A. V. Gear,
Lorrin Thurston, and Harry Armitage;
and ba fnllnNNinor gsantIap,nn Nrhn NNara