The Hawaiian gazette., 1913-11-18
4 7 7 ACk H|[O
TRACTION
LICENSE
Suit in Which Ancient History of
Missionary Efforts and First
Sowing of Education on Island
of Hawaii Is Related and in
Which Many Prominent Ones
Are Named as Defendants Is
Filed.
Mail Special to The Advertiscr.)

mail Special TO The Advertsor.)
HlLO, November Ibid the Terri.
tory deed away water rights belonging
10 the Hilo Boarding school, when it
sold to Leland 5. Couness the Waiuku
river water license. which he later con.
vevod to the lIlo Traction Company. in
order that it might get thereby the
power needed to operate Ililo's rapid
Transit systeml
The iiilo boarding School claims that
the Territory decided to CONFESS water
rights which belonged TO the boarding
school, and in order that this question
may he settled finally. it has filed an
action to determine water right.
The trustees of the school are the
petitioners, while the defendants are
both numerous and various, taking in
some of the most high and mighty in
the land and running the whole scale
OF mankind until it takes in the John
Doe and Mary Roe family. The full
list of the defendants follows: Terri
tory of Hawaii, County of Hawaii, John
T. Baker, llilo Traction Company, Ila.
waii Mill Co., Ililo Electric Light Co.,
Hnlai Hill Land Co., the Board of the
. Hawaiian Evangelical Association, Hilo
Sugar Co., VIM. G.. Irwin, 7. Matsunaga,
Fujiyama, Kawahara. Okamoto, KOnO,
Miyasaki Tanaka, Takouchi, Koyama,
Bungo, NJ. de j.. Spinola, j. X. Akina,
Grorge w. Smith aud August Ahrens
(these two as trustees under the will
, aud of the estate of Akana Amelia
Richardson). Mrs. Sarah Coan Waters,
Mrs Irene ii Holloway. Bishop Libert
II. Boeynams, j. II. Maby, j. Dias, b.
Maa, J. X. Akau, Mrs. j. T. Brown,
John Doe, Richard Roe, Jane Doe and
Mary Roe.
Only Two Real Defendants
Numerous as the defendants are. the
war which the Ililo Boarding School
trustees have undertaken is not quite
as formidable as it would appear from
e the great and noble array of defend.
ants. Most of these are, as n matter
of fact, only advcrsarics in the most
pertunctory sort of way, as might
he imagined from the fact that the
boarding school would hardly seriously
venture into scrapping with the Ha-
waiian Evangelical Board, which is
both its father and mother
, AS matter of fact, most of the
respondents are people to whom the
/ boarding school has leased water privi-
lcges or people through whose property
: the boarding school ditch flows. The
, prrtica against whom the petition is
directed in fact MS well rs in appear
j. anee. are the Territory and the Hlo
. Traction Company az the seller and
9 buyer, respectively, of water rights
. which the boarding school claims be.
long to it exclusively.
An Historical Brief
After perfuhctory preamble, the
4 petition shows that it owns in fee
' simple Il certain tract of thirty.three
acres of land, to which is appurtenant
J.. the right to use all of the water of
. the Waiuku river which is diverted
/, or is capable of being diverted from
the river by dams across it at point
+ which is about 1860 feet above sea
level. 1t is estimated that the water
so owned has a flow of approximately
ten million gallons in twentv-four
hours. With this goes the right to
I ronVey the water by means of bitches
from the river at the point mentioned
to the ocean through the lands of
I various people, all of whom are named
. IN the list of respondents, though some
A of the respondents get into the game
. in another manner.
r At this point the petition assumes
p n historical aspect pointing ont that
4 the dams and bitches mentioned were
built in 1913 by one Aki who was then
the konohiki of the land of Punahoa
Second, when King Kamchameha was
y the sovereign and owner of all lands in
T. the Hawaiian Islands. In 1928 the
A American Boa> of Foreign Missions,
, which was then the owner Of the lands
mentioned under the King. through its
, Hilo branch, enlarged the dams and
the bitches aud used the water for
, various purposes in connection with the
branch mission. Since that time.
through the changes in the mission and
the school which succeeded it, the water
'as been so used, aud since 1855 the
I petitioner has continually used all of
i, The water diverted from the Waikiki
L river, without hindrance or claim by
% any one.
r IL is shown that no person, firm or
; "orporatiou, other than the petitioner
and its licensees, have right TO the
water 20 diverted, aud list of the
licensees getting water rights bv agree,
- ments with the lilo boarding School is
Il 'iyen. The hst includes the lIilo Elec,
20 trio Light Co. the Hawaii Min Co., the
p llllo Sugar Co., and ten japanese.
I Blamss tho Governor.
> The meat ~ the petition Is contained
Ia The following two paragraphs,
THAT the Territory 81 Hawaii
D through Hon, Walter 4, Frear, GOV
BE ernor denies that the petitioner h en
tiiled 10 ull of the water diverted and
conveyed as aforesaid. and denics that
Poi the petitioner has tho right 20 any Of
h 'h" watrr li0rrsaii. Hni claims thnt III,
o Territory uf Hawaii g. the owner Of and
FL entitled a. all eft said Nator
{ 'fhnt thr Truit0p of Hawaii ol
'rlrruF IH lAlH foii of mrportsa
p 90 rril, uuiu orc Leland 3 rouurrs GA,
"a fiGhi nr lIffntr tn rfrt r. dam nfTls,
the MHlMlu Tlkpf uui take and us,