Ahailono o ka Lahui, Volume I, Number 16, 28 Ianuali 1890 — THE DAY. [ARTICLE]

THE DAY.

Leial Batordiy wi mentioiied' s tibat he gorernment party waa making the mlk M ifa figlit agauiBt native Hawaians. This figbt is being made from nose than one ppini It is being nade against nathrt Hawaiiane/ as a •aoe. It is alao biing made against ihe individuai nativp votera by taking »dvantage o! the interpretation and bechnicalitieB of th«i preaent one-sided 3lection law. One of the politioal absurditieft of the conrse being pnrsaed by the government party of&cials is the contradiction between their political claims and their official action». Even whUe the minister of the interior was violating the letter and spirit of the election law, in the appointment of inspectors of»elections, he publicly made tho elaim in print that his actions were honest, horiorable and helpfol to the country at large. This elaim was publicly made in the face of the unenviabje political character established by this same minister of . the interior during the past two yearst ~, . We before anticipated and published the fact that a clishonest or weakheaded official wonld likely bu eonstrained by his partjy to do just as the ministerof tho interior is now doing in carrying the election law into efffect. First, the appointments were made, as far as said minister dared,in favor of the government party. Second• ly % all appointees favorable to the government * side are interpreting ind stretching the law wherever it ean 6 done to make it work favorably for party and urifavorably f<ir native Hawaiian electors. It is made to work especially unfavorable for those native Hawaiians who offer to qualify as electors for nobles. Haoīe prestige is marnly used in taking advantage of native Hawaiiana who offer to register as electors for nobles. How Js this advantage taken? An instance will sufficeto showthe modus operandi. Please remember thst wherever there is any question as to elector's quaiifications his oath is sufficient under the law to settle the question as far as the inspectors of election are concerned. The fr ]1 > instbuce is an absolute facl whieh happened in one of the dis ; icts of Honolulu last week. The two :lectors mentioned below applied f< r regis tration in the order named. First, a well-known haole «lector on the National Ileforai party side applied for registratiori, as an elector for both representative s. and nobles. He was registered witaout a word b ing said or a queation asked, aUhong'< the ap* plicant works for a salary! inspectors knew be was not a man to fool with' Secondly, a native Hawaiian applied for similar registration. ThiB native is well known and is in basiness for himself, having an in* eome of at least one tLonsand dollars a year. Before he was allowed to re« gister f he waa most thoronghly and persistently crosB~exapnned by one of Mr. Thurston's appointees. These cross examinationB of native Hawaiian |a)>piicantB have doubtless been or> dered by the minister of the interior, to be carried put wherever no de-

fcermined objeotion is m»de. They &re geaerftlly so c&rridd out trith native HawaiianB, althougb not aane tioned by law. In the instanee referred to aboT6 the native Hawaiian elector was chised as to the sm&lleßt details ol hw daily feales and receipts. He was eross<examu&ed as a donbt£ol witneea sometimes is by a tricky*lawyer. Mr. IhuKiiaHi'a inspector nsed every tridk known to poliee court lawyers to en» trap this Hawaiian elector and disqualify him as a voter for nobles. Iu this case Ml Thnrston*fl~ insp6cto3 failed. Bnt in how many cases do Mr. Thurston's inspectors succeed? Thc eross-examination of native Hawaiiam is carried out whenever the ehanee of fers and an inspector favorable to th€ party dares do so. It U adūaitted that eyery native elector foi nobles will vote against the govern* ment party candidates; therefore everj native elector whom Mr. Thurston'£ inspectorscan cross«examine intoprob able or possible disqualification, by tak.ing unlawfnl adv>intage nf t,he eleetion law, is equivalent to a vote gainoc by the government party and a vot€ lost to the National Reform party. There are no hopes of getting the letter or spirit of the election law carried out by the "existing adminis tration." These men are now nsing every endeavor to escape ,f the curs€ of a granted prayer;" that is, they are trying to escape giving the peopk an honest election under a law whicb they elaim was drawn to exclude the puliticttl fruud pr»ot»oo4 by the old r«gime! It devolves upon the candi dates of the National Beform party to be stirring at this point