The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-01-30

| forts on their part m buiId mn am
beaut1fy this city for which Natur,
| mas done so much. There are many
ways III which our united action ear
| be adyantageousiy directed. Let m,
| Indicate but one of them. viz: the 10
cation OF street lines and of property
| boundaries. This lies at the very foun
| datlon OF all public and private i'm
| proVements. No intelligent person viii
oulId ana eXpend large sums upon q
! lot whose title or boundaries are in
| doubt. The Court of Land Registration
| IS aHordlng most valuable assistance in
TINS direction. It's aid, however. can
only De secured to those who have first
OBTAINED proper survey of their lots
such survey N short as definitely To-
Gates and fixes the boundaries in ques-
tlon. Inc experience of experts who
have devoted themselves to this line of
business III Europe and on the main
lana or our country, as well as in these
far Islands of the sea, all shows the
absolute necessity of establishing.
maintaining and protecting suitable
reference points to which all boundary
points can be readily referred so that
If lost they can be easily restored. or if
in dispute can be verified.
For this purpose the Hawaiian Gov
eminent Survey, under the able direc-
ton OF Its first Surveyor General, Prof.
W. u. Alexander, was started and car
RED on with considerable OUTLAY of
money. 1t brought order out of chaos
and settled the land system of these
Islands on the solid basis of scientific
accuracy. But unfortunately the duty
OF looking after and maintaining the
Trig. Stations by permanent marks and
signals on the exact spot originally oc-
cupled has not received sufficient at
tentlon. The monuments of MANY first
class stations have been pulled up ana
destroyed by persons to whom the land
on which they stood was sold. Many
wooden posts have rotted away, Ieav-
ing the station they We're to mark I'M
certain. Many concrete posts have
been ploughed up to make room for
sugar cane. Some have been washed
away by rain storms or the waves of
the sea. Some have been rendered I'M
available for instrumental use by build |
ings or fences. Many have been re-
stored, and In some cases these re- |
stored points are proved to be incor-
rect, so that the records of the Govern |
ment Survey do not tally with the facts |
On the ground. In some eases where !
the old station has been DESTROYED or |
ost, it has been impossible or inexpedi- |
ent to replace a new monument on the /
Did site. In a few such cases a first
class monument has been set at a suit
able point in the same vicinity, but as
yet not located with sufficient ac-
;uracy. Until they are thus located /
hey are of little more use to a sur
veyor than any other Indicated signal
such as church spire or flag staff.
And Just here let me say that by set
ing a signal or monument / mean the
mechanical work involved in putting
t on the ground in readiness for use.
While by locating it | mean the work
involved in determining it's bearings
md distance from the established
points such as Trig. Stations, in a sys-
EN- of triangulation, so that it also be-
zones fixed point of reference on the
arth's surface to which other points
nay be referred.
Many of our primary stations are
located on prominent head
ands commanding an unobstructed !
7iew for miles in MANY directions.
some of them would require several
tours and much hard work to flag. and /
% help to the surveyor. Every time
e wants to sight one of these points
e has to re-fag it. A permanent sig
al, like those on Diamond Head,
'unchbowl or Tantalus. would obviate
he difficulty and greatly facilitate the
FORK of locating points from which
hey could be sighted
All this shows that there is much
7ork demanding the immediate atten-
ion of an expert backed by the Terri
)rial Government The work of de-
ay and destruction goes steadily on,
} that the longer the work of restora
on and protection is delayed the more
)stly and difficult it will be-
Again, the city is in great need of )
aving its street lines definitely estab-
shed by street monuments. The Ter !
toria1 Surveyor has done much valua- 4
e work in this line. but the establish :
ent of County Government has taken ;
lis duty out of. his hands and as yet y
} one has been designated to assume 4
ch work. To have the main Trig. >
5atlons located by one Government,
Id the street monuments by another, :
an unfortunate complication. They 5:
e essentially parts of one system. and :.
.mand unity of action.
Some 125 of these street monuments ::
I've been set by the present Territorial !:
lrveyor and his assistants, but from
ess of other duties, from lack of
nds and on account of repeated in
few of them have been def
tely located. Their bearing and dis
nee from the Trig. Stations and from n
ch other has not been measured.
me of these monuments have been
vered up to a depth of several inches
: the macadam put on the streets
ter they were set. One department 4
the Government has thus ignored
ID interfered with the work of an
her. 4
In closing this brief statement of the
esent condition of our reference
ints, l trust that this intelligent au-
ence will agree with me that the mat
r is of vital interest to everyone pres
I and demands our united and prompt