The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-12-05

! intention in regard TO the Loan Bill
/ There is now a movement on foot to pc
tition the Governor from every taxation
| district in the Territory 10 reconsider
| his determination. and to act on the
| Loan Bill as il was enacted by the
| Legislature. How extensively this Pc
tition viii be signed, of course. we can
not say. But We believe it Will be
| signed by a majority of the voters of
| the Territory.
NO PUBLIC OUTBURST.
| While there has been no outburst of
| opposition to the Governors attitude,
we believe this is due, not to any lack
| of appointment at, and disapproval
of, his action, but to a feeling of the
| uselessness of opposition. there being
no direct way by which the Executive
can be compelled to do what in oppo-
stion to his judgment may be thought
his duty to do. And yet there has been
no lack of expression of disapproval and
| opposition. While these expressions
cover a wide divergence of reasons, in
| large measure they group themselves
around the reasons, set forth in letter
| to the Governor by Senator L. L. Nc
| Candless in response to letter from
the Governor on the subject. This let
| ter has not been made public here, in
| Difference to Governor Carriers disin-
| clination to have the correspondence
made public, but a copy Of it is at
tached hereto as Appendix F.
| Though Governor Carter IN his letter
| to the Treasurer laid down the rule
| of selection from among the public
| improvements authorized and directed
by the Legislature, to be that the
T
| improvement to be Territorial one as
distinguished from local one, he has
since, in a letter to the Hilo Board of
Trade, made public by his authority,
radically changed this principle of Sc
| lection. He now proposes to ignore
the distinction between Territorial and
| local improvements and to weigh the
different appropriations purely from the
| point of whether it is businesslike and
sound to borrow money for such an
| expenditure, and in a general way
, undertake only those works which pro-
| duce a direct revenue or affect the
health and commerce of the community,
in addition to buildings for educational
purposes" This is no doubt a sound
principle to be applied by the Legisla-
ture, and by the Executive when legis-
latiVe enactmentS are before him for
approval. But it can have no place
when legislation is completed-after
law is enacted. A copy of this letter
of the Governor to the Hilo Board of
Trade is attached hereto as Appendix
&c"
PUBLIC IN THE DARK.
But the Governor has not as yet made
known to the people of the Territory of
Hawaii, or to the members of the
Legislature, how the application of his
newly adopted principles of selection
work out. At the time this is written
neither the people of Hawaii or the
members of the Legislature know what
matters of public improvement the Gov
ernor intends to carry out, if the pro-
posed bond issue of $3.50, 900 is approved.
We have given a somewhat long and
in the main a chronological account of
the subject matter in order to put be-
fore you in as concise a manner as
possible the issue which it presents, the
conclusions which we draw, and the
grounds upon which we ask you to
disapprove of the bond issue.
We think that we have made it clear
that the Legislature with the Gov
ernor's recommendation before it for
loan fund appropriations of $1.100,000,
considered to a considerable extent dur
ing the regular session, and very care
fully and very exhaustively during the
extra session, and arriving at an al
most unanimous agreement for loan
fund appropriations to the amount of
81, 377 900 divided among specified and
thoroughly considered public improve
ments. makes clear our first contention
that the bond issue you are asked to
approve ''in the amount and for the
purposes for which it is proposed, has
never received legislative considera-
ton or approval" A bond issue of that
amount was never considered. The
exact items of the amount are I'M
known, and could not have been con-
sidered as the INIT or extent of loan
fund appropriations, nor is there any
reason to suppose that if the Legisla-
ture has determined to limit the total
amount to $750,O00 that these particular
items would have been the ones chosen.
CARTER MEANS WELL.
We believe we have made clear our
second contention. Confident that Gov
vernon Carter has only the best inter-
ests of the Territory at heart, there
can not be any doubt that in the pres
enactment" that he is seeking to
determine, without legislative concur
renee, and against legislative enact
ment, the purposes and amount of ap-
preparations, and the fiscal policy of
the Territory
Our third proposition is that there
is no authority in law for a bond issue
of the amount and for the purposes
PROPOSED The authority for any bond
issue is Section 80 of the Act to pro-
vide a government for the Territory of +,
Hawaii, and the Act of the Legisla- |
ture of 1903 to Provide for Public !
Loans. The authority for any bond is |
sue at this time is Act of the Extra
Session of 1905, which provides for the
definite and fixed sum of $1,377 900 and
no other and for certain specified and !,
definite purposes, as an entirety. The !
selection has already been made. !
Though in point of fact each item may /
not be of equal usefulness, by enact ,
mon r,fal, =.