The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-01-08
MEETS
WITH BOARD
Continued from Page One,

mittee are at work and thereby obllga
tions are aceruing to large amount
against the City and County, involving
the expenditure of large amounts of
money; and all, this action has been
taken outside of the power of veto or
approval by the Mayor. If Mr.. Quinn
and his associates can create legal
liability to pay one dollar in that way
Independent of the Mayor / do not see
why they cannot create the liability
to pay one hundred thousand dollars
in the same way. 1t is true that an
Appropriation Bill for quarter of
million dollars has been introduced into
the Board of Supervisors, and from the
fact that notice of this Appropriation
Bill has been published in the news
papers, should infer that finally this
Appropriation Bill will be submitted
to me for my approval or veto, but
that approval or veto cannot, if the
position of the Board of Supervisors is
correct, reach the question whether un-
der the law / have right to pass up.
on the creating of obligations and liza
bilites in the first instance, and wheth-
err | have the veto check upon such
action by the Board of Supervisors or
not. That is the main point in ques-
tion,
''when this Appropriation Bill
comes before me, if it does, it will be
largely question simply whether /
shall agree to the paying of bills here
tofore incurred by the committee OF
the Board of Supervisors where have
had neither voice nor say as to wheth-
er these liabilities in the first instance
should be incurred or not. Anyone
xybn rand tha r,1aS ,,nta5 thronuh Inv,
the Board of Supervisors at their first
meeting could see at once what those
rules meant. They went far wide of
the question of who should be officers
or who should not, or who should ap.
point them or who should remove them,
and, believing as I do that l have,
under the law, the right to pass upon
and approve or veto any proposed ex'
penditure of public money before the
obligation has been incurred, upon the
direct issue of whether the same shall
be incurred or not, and believing also
that this right is vital one to the
public interests | have been compelled
to enter consistent protest against
all action involving expenditures in
this way, from the beginning. Now,
how is that issue to be settledl If
compromised, compromised in what
way9 / do not consider that l have
any authority to waive such a right,
ANYHOW. If the court holds practically
that my veto does not reach the queS,
tion of mourning obligations, but only
comes in after the obligations have
been incurred on the question of pay
ing existing obligations, well and good;
but it is clearly a matter that can not
be compromised on the side by anyone;
the courts have got TO decide that
issue.
VI stated in Wy inaugural address
and have repeated since, that / wish
the matter 1atttled before the courts
and that is still my desire and / am
more thaa willing, and have always
been SO, to have the matter settled
promptly in court. Not a single per
son has approached me from the Other
side suggesting suit or any com
promise, other than the one to divide
Np offices, as already stated. The
Board of Supervisors is absolutely II
the hands of the Republicans, thu
courts have been open to them iron
the very first, and i can not under
stand Mr.. Smith s almost threatening
letter addressed to me this morning, j.
he desires the matter settled befor'
the courts, and i now suggest to hin
that he take hand and have the mat
ter settled promptly before the court
assuring him that | will meet hin
more than half way in that matter
and telling him also that | have neve
been advised to do otherwise by any
one, counsel or anyone else. More
over, l suggest that whatever my in
tentions, | have had little opportunit
to obstruct anything; l have entere
my protest in the only way open-to m
ut the time, which has been prompt
overridden by the Board of supervisors
Perhaps even protests under the Gil
cumstances are an offense to MI
Smith or perhaps he is not fairly il
formed as to all the facts and issue
involved.
cit has been suggested that the res
time for intervention by the court
will be when an attempt is actual
made to pay out and deliver none
from the City and County Treasure
to the employees created and controlle
by the committees of the Board of 81
pervisors; hsTever, Mr.. Smith may b
able to suggest some prompter an
more complete settlement of these il
sues-if SO, well and good. Meanwhile
only right to call upon the City an
County Attorney for his opinion, no
withstanding the fact that the Boar
of Supervisors seemed unquestionabl
to be acting under his guidance an
informal advice from the start. W
now have my letter raising the issue
that ] want settled before the coul
and his reply made thereto, so that til
issues are defined, in writing, this
should be submitted to the cour
While admit that / have not as niue
confidence in the opinion of the Cit
and County Attorney as 1 might hay
had if he had occupied wholly mel
trail and non-committal position unit
he was appealed to, I nevertheless di
claim that / still desire to go to I'll
courts on that account. / am az
vised that the matter is too importan
the Municipal Act too uncertain in il
provisions and the expenditures, I'll
legality of which is involved, too larl