Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 276, 9 September 1891 — Page 4

KA LEO O KA LAHUI.

"E Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono."

 

KA LEO.

John E. Bush.

Luna Hooponopono a me Puuku.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 9, 1891.

 

A RETROSPECT.

  When the Queen engaged in a conflict with her deceased brother's cabinet, the LEO aided by some of the highest minds in Honolulu, made a strong fight for her prer-ogatives.  The Bulletin was as usual on the fence while the Advertiser was decidedly hostile.  But the historical and  constitutional argument of the LEO and the determined thunder of its political batteries, were a credit to its writers of that day and have since been recognized and admitted as having had a large influence in determining the successful result.

 

  The appointment of a new cabinet which followed was unfortunately accompanied, by all the intrigue, and deception that had characterized similar events in the previous regime.  The Queen's true course was plain enough; she should have named a cabinet from among the leaders of the popular parties; the party that had stood by her loyally and stood ready to take up arms against the missionary reformers who were, and have been since, indulging in disloyal mutterings.

 

  But the Queen got utterly led astray, and neglecting the advice of her true political friends, rather capitulated to her arch-enemies, who practiced all the wiles of designing sycophants.  With the exception of the Minister of Interior, however, the new cabinet proved fairly acceptable, embracing as it did one man who was a leader of the National Party.

 

  The LEO bowed in respect and applauded their entry into office, and penned its prettiest compliments to the Premier and his colleagues, believing in their patriotism and loyalty, and expecting that they would be true to the political party with whom they came in-prominence and would respect its platform, principles and policy.  In fact the National Party had good reason to believe that the new cabinet were designedly appointed to be their standard bearers and to vindicate the insolent treachery of their predecessors.

 

  But what a disappointment have the people suffered as a result.  We have been utterly deceived in the Premier and his cabinet.  Like their predecessors, they gradually drew away from the men who were their real allies and supporters and allowed themselves to be manipulated by designing cliques, wire pullers, who were seeking their own self-interests:  Gradually they made it apparent that they proposed to repudiate the National Party and its principles, either designedly or through sheer indifference; and finally, by their action and utterances, they dropped the mask and boldly appeared as the tools of the missionary sugar-planter class; they beguiled the Queen into showing and announcing an open preference for the same class; they are the apostles of bake promises and they glory in a conceit that the wealth of the planters will win the election and support them in office, and they affect a contempt for the industrial classes and for the native Hawaiians.

 

  Having kicked aside the national leaders and the national policy, what line of policy have they adopted?  None! what have they done, and what are they doing?  Nothing!  They are simply drifting, without any intelligent purpose, and are trying to do as little as possible to earn the high salaries that are paid to them as the executive officers of the nation.  The duties of office or the necessities of the state worry them not.  The method of handling the delicate tools of government or of guiding the affairs and destinies of a state is a higher branch of education to which they never attained.

  The Premier, in the exuberance of his boyishness, is more inclined to be a sport of the turf, a knight of the green table or a petted lothario:  The Attorney General, to epicurian pleasures:  The Interior man to a study of how to put off to-morrow what should and ought to be done to-day, and how to get rid of the false promises that come home to roost:  The Finance Minister at first was supposed to have been selected on purpose to shoulder the duties and burdens of the other three, but the load has already proved too heavy, and it is every day getting more apparent that he is incapable to face the duties of his own office and that he will soon have to drop it.  Meanwhile it would appear to be an open question whether we have an administrations at all, and if we have, what are its visible function outside of the routine work of its clerks.

 

  The LEO, more especially in its native column,  has perhaps been unnecessarily severe in its strictures on the Queen and her political conduct:  But it was done in no spirit of disloyalty or spiteful venom, but because we realized that she was being misguided and was drifting away from the path of her manifest duty, from the dignified, non-partisan but considerate rule necessary to insure the confidence, respect and love of her people.  That our advice and warnings were not amiss is proved by the fact that she has been led into errors which unfortunately have had a tendency to alienate the feelings of the Hawaiians especially, and it is because the LEO foresaw this, that we sought by vigorous delineations to warn the Queen against these very errors.  But the cabinet are largely responsible for this, and while we are bound to believe that the Queen still has at heart the welfare of all classes of the people, we must repeat that the fruition of such a wish, and the peace and dignity of her reign will depend upon the intelligence, ability and prudence of the advisers she listens to, and upon a due regard for the modern principles of popular government.  The present men have side-tracked the Crown and the Executive, and brought the ship of state to a stand-still without knowing where they are or what they came there for.

 

  This brings us to the present situation in which the various industrial classes, the small capitalists and retail traders, who comprise the National Party, are becoming restless and discontended because the tendency of government appears to ignore them and their party -struggles for political recognition, and to favor a plutocracy as against certain well defined interests of the less favored classes.  The native Hawaiians, and the intelligent and educated class of young Hawaiians of mixed parentage also feel kneely the slights and insults which are persistently heaped upon them by the cabinet, and the manner in which they are ejected and kept out of the civil service in favor of alien foreigners.  It wounds their pride, loyalty and ambition.  All of these things have combined to create a mistrust and want of confidence in the whole status which is agitating the public mind and will probably find materealized expression at the polls in February, if it does not vent itself any sooner.

 

 

 

INDIAN COOLIES VERSUS RICE GROWING.

  From an interview published by a San Francisco sheet and reproduced here by the Planter's newspapers, we gather that the Hon. Marsden, who was sent to India by the Planters, as a recruiting agent for cheap labor, is coming back with the idea that he has at last found the solution to the problem of plantation workmen who will practically cost nothing.  His solution is by importing some of the poor Indoos, who are famishing through the fact that their country is overstocked with population, Mr. Marsden says that he is confident that the Indoo laborer will not cost the planters here more than 25 cents per day; in other words, as they are starving in their own county, they may just as well starve here for the benefit of the sanctimonious planter.  The reason given by Mr. Marsden for hoping that the Indian Coolie will thrive here on a quarter a day, is because in India they manage to live on only a few anas, - say 5 to 10 cents, - but the Honolulu recruiting agent, who has never in his life tried to live on 25 cents a day, forget that prices for all necessities of life are proportionately cheaper, rice especially, being three to four times cheaper that it is here.  Now, for the planters to be able to feed their coolies on 25 cents a day, they must have at their disposal cheaper rice than that grown here.  Hence their intention of asking the next Legislature to suppress all duties on foreign rice.  With rice imported free of duty from India, on the same vessels that would bring coolies, it might be possible for them to give their poor slaves just enough to keep them alive, and thereby increase their dividends by  whatever they could save on the famishing laborer.  But this speculating on the stomach and sweat of their cheap labor, would also mean the ruin of the rice industry, now flourishing in this Kingdom.  It is true that rice here is grown mainly by chinese, but the lands they cultivate for that crop belongs mainly to native Hawaiians, who live on the rental they receive from those lands.  Kill the chinese rice growers and you will at once kill the native owner of the land, but people who know the past history of land grabbing in this Paradise of the Pacific - a paradise for the missionary sugar planter grower- may be excused to think that such an extreme result may not be distasteful to some sugar growers, who might thereby anticipate more lands to lay their hands on.

  Fortunately for the country, fortunately for the rice-growers and their native landlords, the proposal immigration of Indian coolies cannot be inaugurated before the government has made a special treaty to that effect with the British Government, and we are decidedly of the opinion that a Hawaiian Legislature will ever be found willing to approve such a treaty, one which would be viewed with great displeasure by our best friend, the American Government, and which would really be only the means of perpetuating the worst kind of slavery on these islands.

 

GENERAL DISAPPOINTMENT.

  Last Monday evening, while the Hawaiian Band was about to discourse music for the benefit of the  public, at Emma Square, peremptory order was received by Professor Berger to postpone the open air concert and adjourn to a marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, where were gathered Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, and the money-changers.  Of course the unusually large gathering of people at the square were furious at this cavalier treatment, and was loud in blessing the Queen, through her constitutional advisers, when it was understood that the order came from the irresponsible head of the Nation.  A large majority was for proclaiming a republic right away, but after the tumult had somewhat abated and none of those well-known violent agitators, of Nationalist and Reformers, appearing on the scene to advance their views of popular government, the opportune moment to crush Caesar was for the time lost; but the little acorn of disaffection had, by this seeming insignificant incident, received quite a momentum in its growth, which even the obtuseness of a premier could not have prevented him from detecting it had he been present.

  The change in the programme was a sore disappointment to the public, and many and loud were the denouncements made against such an abuse of authority.  Sending away the public Band as it was about to carry ou a musical entertainment for the people according to notice, to accommodate those who have not even taken the forethought to make some arrangement before hand with Mr. Berger, was insulting and intolerable.

  We do not make these strictures against those who were complimented in the matter, but against high-handed subversion of all regard for the rights of the public.  We have been well informed that Professor C. O. Berger had taken pains to enquire at head quarters if the Band would be needed in the evening in question, the reply in the negative led him to proceed to do his duty towards the people, which he was unable to fulfill through the stupidity and indifference on the part of the government towards the "masses" when the interest of the "classes" were to be considered.

  As the Hilo Record implies this ministry is neither useful nor ornamental, and KA LEO echoes, the quicker the country is rid of such an incubus, as a body representing both extremes of age in its make up to rule and regulate the welfare of the Nation, the better.

 

ON DIT.

  That Mr. Ben Hogan, pugilist and evangelist, will give another of his soul stirring lectures, which none can give straighter from the shoulder than the converted sport, and whose unmistakable sincerity is evidenced in every utterance of the man.  That he is doing good work in this community, and we believe he will yet convert "Barefooted Bill," and save the police the necessity of having to engage a detective from the United States for that purpose, showing conclusively that a true missionary is an adjunct for good to a community as much as a spurious one is a curse.

 

  That the Hilo Record frankly acknowledges that is has no more use for the ministry, the present incumbents having no policy to make them acceptable to either Party; and that the Cabinet already begin to verify the truth of the proverb of a man "setting between two chairs."

 

  That the Hilo Record is to be congratulated for its independent and impartial political stand, and will be entilled to still further respect, if it keeps up its tone until after the next elections.

 

  That rumors of the changes in the Cabinet are again going around town, like light fleecy clouds chased away by the trade winds, but that no political rainfall must be expected until the next Legislative cloud-burst.

 

  That every member of the Customs' force reads KA LEO carefully and appreciatively, from one copy subscribed by the acting head of the Department.  That KA KEO appreciates the left-handed compliment - a half a loaf is better than none.

 

  That the only startling news in the future in Honolulu, will be "no burglaries last night."

 

  That the Advertiser yesterday gave a gentle hint to the decrepid Bulletin about the blankness of the latter's editorial column.  Nothing in it but an ad. about colic and stomach-cramp.  No wonder! The Bulletin wasted and exhausted all its brains on the LEO and has ever since had an indigestion of our answers.  Take more of Chamberlain's remedies, Dan, and keep clear of the LEO!!

 

  That their Honors Lucas and Bush setting together at lunch at Nolte's yesterday noon, reminded those present of the lion and lamb setting together with Dan as the little child between them.  The down of that happy period of peace is upon us.

 

  That the Queen ought to have heard the expression of the public who had assembled Monday night, at Emma square to hear the announced Band concert.  Sending away the public Band, paid by public money, to a private wedding may have been a nice compliment to the new bride, but it was considered an insult on the public generally, elicited some very republican remarks.