Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 187, 6 May 1891 — THE OLD STORY. [ARTICLE]

THE OLD STORY.

A few of the LeoV friends,—-on the grourid of its being too radisorae objection to ®ur article about the dismmiaation and faToritisni in appointments to p«blic offices whieh have been, —in this blessed country of sanctimoni«us miB6ionary sway,~the rule at all times, but more espeeially 80 ainee the "reform" Revolution. But that article kad »cārcely been printed, when one more glaring fact eame to emphasize it; as it were, and this fact i« the appointment of a certain Mr. Plaee as Port Surveyor at Kahului. Now, who and what is Mr. Plaee, for him to have been thus specialij selected in preftrence to dozeriB 0f other applicants, both natives and old residents, men of known character and capacity, who would have been more justlr entitled to this selection ? where does he eome from? how long bas he been on these lßlands? what is his trade ©r occupation? wha,t are his titles to office and what guarantee ean he give that he will honestly fullill guch a delicate situation? what }>arty doos he belong to? etc, It geems to turii out that nobody knows anything of this Mr. Plaee, or what is known is rather shady; a iheager excuse might have been raised for his appointment, had it at least been the compensation f®r eome political service. But no ! there is absolutely nothing to satiefy such a Belection, except th§it it belongs to the rule of th at old rotten state of things alluded to 5 viz: let any aaan, an adventurer from abroad, eome here, nobody knows where from, then immidi.ately, without any ihquiry into his ch«ir;icter or capacity, all t&e best p«siti«ns in the government a#i» rcckleßslv thrown open to him, in preft're;ice to any well known native or kamaaina. That such adventurers inav.—;is manv inaianee have sho\vn,—turn out afterwards t > be defaulters, opium-smugglers or criminals 3ome other kind u wanted >; by thejostice of their countrv, s:h'uis to be of no eoneem at all to these who make the puhlie appointments ! but how does tbe morality and efficiency of our Civil Sftrvice f ire therefrom ? We do not mean that th:s unknown Mr. Pl;ice may eventually be found belonging to any of the above eategori«*s. h'jt, 011 gcner;il principles, we übject t<» blind yppoijitrnents jind want the puhlie serva'its chosen amongst eitr/cnB who ean ehow, by th««ir l fe :.nd acquain tanci'S h<;re, wh<» they are; atid. as io-.e then. us ''.nkiKtWM irsen «re •elect h! to rvS : onsib e po-Jtio!!S

prefembly to respfctabk* ai!cl wellknown citizens, so lang ' will ihe Leo try to arouse the People against such damnable rules of administration, and, —whether it suits our Minister of Finance or not, —we ehall stand by tbe protestati©n we »ade in "Justice and Equality versus Colour and Party."