Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 283, 18 September 1891 — How Things have Changed. [ARTICLE]

How Things have Changed.

It is now a littāe over seventy jears ago einee the first advent of the missionary from holy Boston. Buring this brief period in the liistory of this country and its people, great amd wonderful changes have iaken plaee. A little of it may be £aidto have been beneficialto the naiive race, but in nine-tenths of the innovations made the pnneiple beneficiaries have heen the innovators themeeh/es. To-day we see ihe evidences of tbe Christian teachers wisdom in aeeumulated riches and in lands and other means, and consequent prosperity now possessed by his offsprißgs and rfuccessors, in most'cases, derived Aom tbe labors of those who eame 'here in the cause of Christianity. There is no question, that a reminieeenee of the early life and doīngs of the foreign teachers, to whom is due the present change in the lifej «lecadence and poverty of this peoyle, would be highlv* interesting And quite characteristic of that pu2itanical origin and the pecuiiar jbabits of that class frora whom Dūiost of the early fathers elaim iheir descent. The modus operandi by whieh. with one finger pointing as : they t&ught the «hidf and commoner of a salvation to come'and ofan uadying death (?), this wonderful lransformation was accomplished, wouM make a very readable and entertaining volume at the preseuiufey-"J _it would give light,—and experience to the fortune hunter, in a manner never, pcrhaps, tried at any previous period or among any class of people in the wor!d. since the great eommission wa« first issued to tlie twelve ar>ostles by the Divine Master, to gird them&lves up with the spirit of self-sacrifice and with a etaff in hand, (with not even a carpet bag) and go and preach the Word to all kindred tongues, and nations. s ————— Our attention was called to this

subject, by kn article written in Hawaiia» and publishfid in an ejarIy issue of the "Ka-Oiaio*" beaded u Times have Changed" frOm whieh we quote as follows: %i M»ny queer thingB were done in olden times. It was said in those days, i| any one smoked on the day now called the Sabbath, he was then fined, and in lieu had to build ten fathoms of a stone wall for the missionary father. And when in any other way the law was trespassed the punishment was varied, viz: t« go to the mountain and ehop go after the bark of the wauke for making twine for fish nets 9 to get sandal wood ; and in many other way» all of whieh were to be given to the teacher for the benefit of the! i Heavenly Kingdom." Besides these i as ameana of obtaining material | for barter with the numerous whal- ! ers and traders that touched at ttie i group on their voyages, there were : endless and many ingenious ways, | whereby the teacher began to gather and to accumulate. making a nuclus to the colossal fortunes now enjoyed by his successors in tbe services tif the Banctuary. We have often heard from old Hawaiians, now mostly passed aw»y» vividdescriptions ofthe early life of very nearly all the pioneers in the mission service,—of the good they did and the reverse; of their self-sacrifice and their rapacity and greed. Their fondness for making money was quite incomprehensible to the native Hawaiisn of the ages who, in his unsophisticated and innocent way, blindly obeyed the teachers, giving his lands and ! sertices for the good eauee; but saw. no valid reason why his pockets should- be emptied into an endless sack belonging to his teacher, this teacher being supposed by him to be only a type of the M Good Example," a true disciple of one who knew not where to shelter his head, though heir to ali things. But, keeping his reasoning to himself, and no doubt being directed to the tithing system, the poor Hawaiian was quieted and his apprehension and. suspicions allayed; his faith in the haole's system of worshipping and governing was restored, though never fully.

Soon af%er the firsfc hatch of mission&ries arrived from Boston, and had made a favorable impression upon the alii's, the first duty they attended to in tihe,QajaBe, \vaB to poison the minds of the chiefs against all foreigners who arrived later. Puritan missionary's are no fools, and are sharp even to knaverv, whieh in eommon with his Jesuit brother they deem excusatle in the furtherance of the % cause" in general and more particularly of thf;ir own interest, and thus it was only natura! for them to cndeavor to prevent others from being allowed to stay on land whieh thev deemed as IsraliteB, was the promised Canaan to them and to theirs. , Moro mahoj>e.