Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 355, 29 December 1891 — Assessors and Assessments. [ARTICLE]

Assessors and Assessments.

j To an v one who hnve studie<i the ! inequality and down right iojus j tice practteed in this department of ! governiiseiit, under the pr "ent sys- ! tem, will feel like ūs, nnd the -*vast | majorit\\ that it iieeds a thorough | overha iling, in the practice i ;n. j the men who ruo the maeh. I Asa lucid wāy of making . »te | 1 matter clear, we-will take for m-1 i stan€e the case of the H : Sugar Co., j as-tHat.e<.l bv ex-Minister Ashfor,l, ; 'ri one of his puhlio gpeeches abont ; two weeks ago. This plantation jcompany. it aopears. was institnted | with a capital of $500,00(1. l)ur;ng joneyear it was assessed for the | sum of #240,000 at the same time 'it declared u divid« nd of $3()Ō,0OO. j Thi&is only one instance, anell !we ean state with conftdence, that; | all the rest of the piant.it ionsare ns-1 I sessed ai?d ihielded alike. .underthe 1 j pre«ent syatem o£ taxation and by Uhe picked corps of reform foois I that were put in under the present ; law to carry out the dirty work of !the masters. that shouted in 1887. I a reform," '•regeneration," llpurinj cation," ae f j Another of the processeß, that was lately carried into efFect, and i in whieh the government fceuame a I willing participant under adv!ce, j was the reduction oftwentV to thirj ty percent of the valuation-of sugar |plantations and other large inter- ! est9 controlled and ow>. d by the iiioney lenders, agents and BU£ rbarons, throughout the GOuntry. while the poor people and small

I property holders were assessed the j same as in the past, and in some j instances, to be consistentas it wfere :with the present system of ad- , ministering our aflaiFs, alittle raore j was added than during the pastfew j years, when property valucs were ;higher. * j While decrying the rotten and ; vicious system now in existence. i and pointing out the way in whieh ' an immense revenue is stol<en froni |the government through c»l!usion ī and fraud throughout every section jof tho machinerv of tfic little lilliI putian kingdonv of Haw.iii nei. axo | submit as a part of the ju>liny of the ! National Hawaiian Liheral % l*artv. jthe principleB whieh their randi- . aro to he nledged to inaintain ; and c.ury forward in the ncxt Le- | gislature. i '■ *• A more-just and porfect Rvst<'m iof Taxntion must he inaugnrated. to ahoh*h t-he pre?i nt incqualitics, bv whieh the propertv orttu; poor j is excessivejy taxed, while mueh of thc rich mavi's are undervalutod for or t»tttir* 4 ly « e?cape iaxatiun; we shall therefbre i denwnd th'e pa»*Fage of iaws that!

wiil more elfect.3ally the property' of eop >rotians and jiqh ; eitjz«ns to th€i'r j;ist proportion of puhlie bnrderis, while £franting aiore I?beral exen/i>tions to the poor; and us of diBcouraging tĒe lrcking «p of large traots <->f uneultivated lands, a <lif&rential, tax sho"n!d be ievied in addit-i"n to tfae-. usual aBsesenient on vahiation. whieh should be in prsortion to th« fortility of the soil.* We shall. also eßtabli<?hir!pnt of a graduated income-tax, and°thus expect to obtain ample funds for eondncting' the governt«ont and attending to all neoesfiary puhlie improvements without nnv further calls on the masees.