The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-12-19
RESISTANCE
BY AUDITOR
Continued from Page II

contract under the Loan Act, the Au-
ditor must endorse on it a certificate
that there remains unexpended and I'M
applied a balance in the appropriation,
under that Act, sufficient To meet the
particular contract. AS to certifying
contracts under this years approprid-
tons while there was enough loan fund
cash to meet them in the treasury from
the last loan f1oated, Auditor Fisher
has made no bones" since he received
the following opinion in that regard
from the Attorney Generals depart
ment:
Honolulu, T. H, Nov. 8, 1905.
Hon. A. j. Campbell, Treasurer of the
Territory of Hawaii.
Dear Sir: In response to your re-
quest for the opinion of this depart
ment of date October q, 1905, as to
whether or not a contract can be en-
tered into with one of the officers of
the Territory of Hawaii, involving an
expenditure of Territorial funds. with
out a certificate from the Auditor of
the Territory that there remains I'M
expended and unapplied a balance in
the fund or appropriation already made
for such purpose, sufficient to cover the
agreement, we give you the following
advice:
Act of the Special Session of the
Legislature for the year 1895, making
special appropriations for the use of
the Government of the Territory of
Hawaii during the two years which
will end with the Goth day of June, A
D. 1907, appropriates various sums Of
h
in the Territory of Hawaii, amounting
in the sum total to $1,377 100000. Such
sum was expressly appropriated by
Section 1 of Act above referred to,
out of any moneys which may be re-
ceived by the Treasurer for or on ac-
count of the Loan Fund during the
biennial period ending June 80. 1907,
inclusive of any balance which may
be brought forward from the previous
biennial period. 1t is clear that the
intention of the Legislature was that
the money to pay for the improve
ments contemplated by Act of the
Special Session of 1906, should be rails
ed by the sale of Territorial Bonds
from time to time during that bien-
NAL period, and so long as there re-
mains uneXpended and unapplied a
balance in the appropriation under
that Act, sufficient to meet any con-
tract awarded hereunder, the Auditor
must give the required certificate.
L have the honor to be, sir,
Very respectfully yours,
NJ. F. PROSSER.
Deputy Attorney General.
Now, however, there is not enough
cash from the old loan to meet the pay
ments due on Whitehouses contract.
Auditor Fisher will not accept the
above opinion as authority for certf-
flying the contract in the absence of
actual cash to meet the entire amount.
AS already stated. the Governor, the
superintendent of Public Works and
the Attorney General disagree on this
point with the Auditor.
Attorney General Peters has furnish
ed an opinion on the question to Su-
perintendent Holloway. It is too
lengthy to reproduce here, but the At
torney General has given an Adver-
tiser reporter the following gist of it:
The proposition or principle 1 con-
tend for is that it is not a question
of the work to be done that controls.
1t is the time at which the payment is
TO be made.
THE appropriation bill says that a
contract shall be void if not endorsed
by the Auditor, that there is a balance
of the appropriation uneXpended and
unapplied. The Auditor interprets this
to mean not the appropriation, but
money actually in the treasury.
My opinion is that it means the ap-
preparation on the face of the bill and
that the Auditor should certify the con-
tract, so that payment in part may
if feasible be made now and the con-
tract be rendered valid against cash
from the new loan when it comes"
Besides the reservoir contract there
has been one of about $4,000 for water
pipe awarded to TheO. H. Davies d
Co, Ltd. which is now in the hands of
the contractor for signing. Auditor
Fisher has announced that he will also
refuse to endorse this contract.
In these cases the Auditor declines
to accept the opinion of the Attorney
General as his guide. Therefore the
dispute WILL in all proba bility, be car
ried to the Supreme Court within a few
days.