The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-01-12

| or whether 1t has enough saloons, and
whether they should be merely places
for the sale of liquor not to be drunk
on the premises or whether they should
| be ordinary saloons, and so on.
The Chairman. So you have "a IL
cense system. l do not care about the
! details.
Governor Frear. Yes; a high-li-
cense system.
The Chairman. How much?
Governor Frear. According to the
class of business it is from $3.50 to
| $1,000.
The Chairman. [ infer from your
remarks that the prohibition wave has
not reached you yet.
| Governor Frear. No; but there has
been some agitation of the question
Of local option.
| The Chairman. Is there anything
| further you want to say about the pro-
vision as to your land laws? Section
5 contains the important provision
you spoke of.
| Governor Frear. Yes.
The Chairman. 1t is in the form
you you'd like to have it passed?
Governor Frear. Yes. This matter
has been given a great deal Of study,
! not only by myself, but by others in
| Hawaii, including commission APP
pointed by me to look into the whole,
| question, and it has been gone over
also by persons familiar with the land
laws in the United States.
The Chairman. Has it been scruti-
nized by our Interior Department?
| Governor Frear. Yes: by the Secre-
tary of the Interior and also by the
Director of the Reclamation Service.
The Chairman. Mr.. Garfield was in
| Hawaii during the last summer2
| Governor Frear. Yes last June. Mr..
| Newell, the Director of the Reclama
ton Service, was there for two months
| Also
The Chairman. And both of them
looked into this matter2
Governor Frear Yes; both have
gone through the entire bill and APP
proved it.
The Chairman. I have not had
chance to read the bill. Is there any
thing you want to tell US about in adj
dition to the provision affecting your
land lawse Is there anything that you
think we will need to have explained
to uss
Governor Frear. There is one section
here in regard to bonds, section 3,
amending the portion of the Organic
, Act limiting the bonded Indebtedness
, of the Territory, and its political sub
, divisions. This does not alter the
!. amount Of the Indebtedness that may
! be incurred either in any one year or
= in the aggregate, but it is amended
! chiefly in two respects. First, it makes
1 the bonds payable in not more than
, thirty years. instead of making them
;. as at present redeemable in not more
g than FIVE and payable in not more thar
4 fifteen years. This is in order to give
Il the Legislature greater latitude, and i:
made on the advice of counsel in New
V York with view to enabling US TO dis
l. pose of our bonds to better advantage
the idea being that we may find it hes
% to make the bonds payable in install
! ments so many in one year, so many il
= two years, and so on, thus insuring tn
payment, instead of leaving them unit
= they all become due and then perhap
.. refunding.
The other amendment is to enable
The Chairman. IF you can tell us
what is the bonded Indebtedness of tn
Territory now2
u Governor Frear. A little undo
:; 81 100000; and the rate per cent va
= ries from 315 to AZ.
- The Chairman. Have you had an,
difficulty in selling the bonds so far2
- Governor Frear. The last bond:
- bearing 3 y per cent, were sold at 9S l.
= We have sold each issue to better ad
= vantage than the previous issue.
Another amendment is to permit tn
- counties to issue bonds without neces
: sarily having the power of taxation. A
- present all the taxes are collected b,
= the Territory, and then, under legisla
; tive action, certain portions of then
- are turned over to the counties, thu
- having simply one set of machinery 70
!, the assessment and collection of taxes
= County government is comparativel,
= new, and it is thought by many tina
- the time has not quite come to turl
the matter of taxation over to tn
counties.
y Some of the counties are very anxiou
to issue small amounts of bonds TO
much-needed public improvements, paI
: ticularly for making belt lines of roa'
= around the island. Unless this amend
; ment is passed, either they can not is
sue the bonds, as held by the Territol
: ial Supreme Court recently, or else tn
. Legislature will feel it necessary t.
give them the power of taxation whicl
:, is regarded by many as inadvisable a
, present. The idea is to enlarge tn
:, powers of local government gradual,
, and only as rapidly as seems best.
&c Senator Warner. What are the linn
tations on the amount of bonds to b
issued by countiesa
Governor Frear The amount to b
- issued in any one year must not excee
:, l per cent of the assessed value of tn
l. property, and the aggregate for til
= Territory can not exceed per cent c
:, the assessed value of the property.
: Senator Warner. Of the assesse
o value of the property in the counties
Governor Frear. In the Territor,
a The aggregate for any county can ne
- exceed 3 per cent of the assessed Walt
l., in the county.
~ The Chairman. Which would be
bo addition to the Z per cent for the TIE
=. -. ritory?
- Governor Frear. Yes.
The Chairman. So that the tot
:. bonded Indebtedness would not excet
10 per cent of the valuation of Il