Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 152, 18 March 1891 — The Harbor of Honolulu. [ARTICLE]

The Harbor of Honolulu.

The sudden inerease of traflic of the Oeeanie steamers, the arrivals of tramp steamers eaileel in to take away our sugars, the expected arrivals of steamers from China and Japan, have caused an unusual activity in our harbor, and have also shown all thinking men, how indispensable are all the projected harbor improvem*»ts. The excavating of the bar, the deeping ef the harbor uo to the present wharves, and the digging out of berths to accommodate more Jarge steamers at the same time, are matters of necessity for the future commerce of the port, and are essential to the i>rosperity of tbis oity, without waiting for the possibilities of the future, for the probabilities of increased steamihiD lines and of the American canals. The past refor«i administration, it 1 must be said Hs credit, were I not bi;nd to oiut wants in respeot I to harbor faeilities, and in their | budget for thepresent perit»d. whieh | was servileiy copied bv tho BrownCummins administmtion, tln*y

aske& the Legislature to provi4e for a liberai subsidy, whieh Was ungrudgingly granted. It woald, therefore, have seemed, that the harbor works would have been,—as they ought to —the very first expenditure of the emasculated Cabinet upon whom devolved the duty« of cai*ying out the wishes of the Legisl iture. But instead of starting the works, that Cabinet provied its incapacity by inaet!on aiid hoardmg of public funds. For this, in what concems the harbor improvements, the then Minister of Interior naight have had tihe benefit of the doubt, and have pleaded not to have had the disposition of the necessary funds through the Derversencss of the Minister of Finance. But now. ihe Minister of Intenor of the new cabinet, if there is anv business energy 'in him ought to display the same by deeds, not b\* words and ]gom;ses as heretofore, with whieh a great many are famiiiar. It is an vjiitrage, for the prof perit} T of the Country, that near!y a year sliould have been allowed to elapse since the appropriation was made by the Legislature, and nothing should have been done as i yet; if time is money, it may well be applied here in this instance, and such a miserable vacillation m tlie discharge of a plain dntv is more than a waste of rnoney and cannot be compensated. We, therefore, hope that before the expiration of another decade. we may be enabled to chronicle the beginnmg of this very necessary improvement to our harbor. If the work is not done, we wili have to dub our friend, the Minister ,of the Interior, as incompetent, to grasp jind to carry on the vital works of theoountry and to de>r»and for the good of all that he shou!d make room f<->r some one else more eapahle fillTng the office.