Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 259, 11 July 1893 — Untitled [ARTICLE]

We have for eome time lefl the 'hnaneiai statemenls of the government alone, and not reviewed the hnanoiai status of the country. While the etatsments of minieter Damon have improved wonderfully—as etatementa —the country is daily getting deeper and deeper into ihe mire. The eecaped lunatic who edits the Advertieer, tells us wiih great glee ihat now at l*8t the government makea both ends meet—something never known under the monarchy—and that Mr. Damon even has 8tarted a reserve fund whioh if it ever get« sufficiently big may be uaed to pay ofl aome of tbe o!d monarchical debts. Now our impression is that Mr. Damon is creating a reeerre fund simply to be ahle to meet the demand for the crown-land revenuea whieh now are being illegally ponred promiscuously into tbe treasury, and if we are right in our surmise, we ean only expreae

our adtniratioa for the mioiater's long head and fjres'ght. But what we want to eall the Advertiser’9 sj>ecial ; tteution to :« the fict that the government 9pends ail il« money j r sei;t in salaries and that not a cent i? being expeuded on roads. bridgee, or wharl*9 water exteusion and compietion, or for any >f ihe ilema for wh;ch appropriations were made under Srction II >r even under l; ’ii I |of tiie appropnat:on bil’. hi!e tbe tarpayers are invit*d to « n:le ; plearintly and adiuirin_ r !y b e uiae the provisional g >vernmenl snond? about #17.0» U i xuonth I >r s ddiers and tooifx>lery and a inontu 1 r poiiee spies ami “det**Ctives” uot a dol. .r ;? is*'i f»r keeping the g verument pr>»perty iu necessary reuair? or n ceut spent ou Maui or Hawaii or in any country distncts f>r mueh needed fHCĪlitxes of communication and lravel. And in ali Mr. D.imon’s oalculations nothiug is figured oa except sa!aries and salaries and perhaps amuiunitions and arms for the troe»ps. if Mr. l)amon still entertaiued s<>me hopea ihat ihe government bonds under the last loau act will be taken up snch hopes onght to have been dispel ed since the auction-sale a fe\v days ago where $4,000 worth of bonds of the last series were sold for 94. The mini9ter claitus that he has 3old some fifty odil thousand dollars worth of bo«ds. Xow 5s it not a fact that a considerable amounl of these bouda have been taken by claimants against the government by credilors who otherwise would not bave been paid and who preferred to take the bonds and sell them at a discount rather than waitiug ad infinitum ? Tne Advertiser prates about that reservefuud in eueh glowing terms. We 8hould like to have Mr. Damon at the next eouneil meeting explain more fu 11 y w.iat the ubject and idea of that fund is. we are answered when we present our bills for subscripti*m to the Holomua against the government that there is no money, we feel surprised and injurei in our feelings and poekele to be put off while the reserve fund is being swelled. Some correspondents in the Bulletin want a list * f the debts owed by the government. \V e think that it would be perfectly proper for the minister of finance to give a eomplele itemized 8tatement of what the total liabilities of tne government are. He needu't bother about the asset9— we know them as well as he does and our imagination is less fertile than hia m regard to their value.