The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-04-15
THE SENATE.

liz SG4N<1 Ss
The Senate began the day yesterday
by overriding the Governor s veto OF
the County Act, IL to 3, Wilcox being
absent, but that was not done without
a warm fight which brought out more
strongly than at any previous time
that the passage of the act as it has
passed is a matter of expediency and
not of principle. For the Senators do
not believe in county government in
the abstract, and men who voted to
override the veto do not believe in the
bill that has been passed.
When consideration came up at the
morning session in regular order,
Bishop moved to defer until after
noon, as he said he had not had suffi-
eient time to consider the veto. 1t had
been planned to postpone considera-
tion, too, but the Senate got beyond
control and the postponement could
not be carried.
PARIS IN OPPOSITION.
The Bishop motion having failed,
Achi was on his feet in a moment to
move that the County Act be passed
in despite of the veto of the Governor,
and the motion carried. Almost before
the result was announced, Paris was on
the floor and secured the recognition
of the President.
''The Senate he said, "ls con-
fronted with a peculiar condition. The
Senators were urged to give the peo-
l. I.,,4 4tI
bill WHICH we are asked to pass over
the Governor IS veto, carry out that
pledge7 / think not. The bill, as it
stands, is a mere hollow pretense, for
it provided no money for carrying out
its provisions if it were passed. Coun-
ty government, without money,
amounts to nothing. This bill, as the
conditions exist, is not worth the pa
per that it is written upon.
"And,' went on the Senator, lin
voting to support the veto of the Gov
ernor, l think that I am truer to my
pledge to the people than gentlemen
who would seek to fool the people with
a thing that was the mere shell of
county government. [ know what |
am doing, and 1 am willing to take
the consequences of my act. But / will
not deceive the people,
DICkEY ADMITS 1T.
Senator DIckey admitted that the
County Act, as it stood, was Just so
much waste paper. But he argued that
it was the duty of gentlemen who were
pledged to county government to try
and pass laws that would make the
county act operative. He believed that
this could be done, and the Governor s
objections to the bill met. He had be-
lieved, at the time it was done, that
it was a mistake to take the assess
ment and collection of taxes out of
the hands of the Territorial and give
it to the county officials. The Governor
would still veto any law that follow
ed that course, ana therefore his own
enabling act which had passed second
reading was dead. The matter was alb
solutely in. the hands of the Governor,
for under the ten-day limit he could
pocket veto any bill, and he would
veto any bill that gave the county as
SCISSORS power to collect taxes. The
only course left TO the Legislature
was TO attempt to meet the Governor
half way, enacting measures that could
receive the approval of the executive.
LAS to amending the law said
Paris, sit did not pay to tinker up
an old house 1t would be much bet
ter to sustain this Veto and start in
all over again in the hope and faith
that a workable and reasonable sys-
tenn can be devised. The Governor, to
he consistent. must veto any act in
line with this.
BETWEEN RESPONSIBILITIES.
Bishop arose TO say that he was
faced by two responsibilities. On the
one hand he was pledged to his con-
stituents to give them county govern
ment. On the other hand, there was
pronOsition 10 turn over the control
of public affairs and the public reve-
nues to an utterly unknown and IN
tried force. There was an assault up
on the credit OF the Territory. and
there was no money provided to run
the proposed counties between the first
of November and the first of January
If anybody cou.L show him where
the necessary money for that was to