Nuhou, Volume I, Number 16, 17 February 1874 — The Riot at the Curt House. [ARTICLE]

The Riot at the Curt House.

Yvlfiigt the representatives of tiie people wero caeting thelr totes in the rvegi«?!ative Assemb!y, laeH Thurfidaj, to eleet a S<>verei£n of tlieFC ! islar»d6, they could hear thc thrents ofa mob outI eicte whieh opposed the ehoiee whieh thcj had i been in6tructcd to uiake. But ncvertheleee thc | vofcee were dro,pped into the 14 Electpral urn " for i Kalakaua with a silent determination. When , the ABseiubly |idjourned,and we reached the main etitrance we skw a funous, gebticulatīng crūwdj ! who with load cries threatened memberßj e?pe- ! cially the Coriiroittee appointed to wait on the j King elect. i -:-r.h |. : -:■-.... - : - , = . ~-—4,4,. j As several of the repreßentativcs, who attempt!ed to leave building were driven back in dis|may, they exclaimed, " Are there no armfi? | Whcre ie thc force to protect us? The governi meut hm beeu neg|igent in not providing fov tlie jcvent, when they knew we would have trouble. M j And we must here remark, that it seems unae- ! countable thai such men as Pahukula, Kamnkau j ! . ■■■ ■ !.,-■ . . ■ , . ■ V . ■ ! and others should have been pcrmitted to harangue i the mob almobt at the very Court House doo/ ; with the most|violent and incendiary kind of language. We ciuld hear such words as : " pepehi, ka hale i ke alii, 1 ' kill, slaughter, burn down th£ house, before a blow was struck. !And theee words were mostly uttcred by | women, -who frantically I»ooted at every word of j coneiliation. Wq, believc it was a woman who j threw the firststonc at the Court Īlouse window?; |and we fclt aJ\d said at the time, it wou!d have | been an excellent precaution to have ordered all hhe women ou't of the Court llouse Square*early in the day. !The lookers on being removed, it I would have be£n seen that there were not more thaTi jfifty actuai noisy, mischievous rioters. Aboufc j fcwenty-live, np more, fjreed an entrance into the j Court Ilou&e, and smashed furniture, destroyed |papers, and attacked the membcrs that remained lin the build[ng# Ilon. S. Kipi was cut and jbeaten the mc|st savagely, as his scalp wa§ literjally cut and tjorn into strips. Ilon. W. L, Moej honua reeciv<j?d a severe eut on the head, about j two iuehea wide, from whieh Jīc T>led so frccly, j that lie fainted two or throc timcs, 'when undcr the hands of ihe doetor. Ilon. Nahinu was very severely lacerated ahout the fore!iead. Ilon. ī>. Kaukaha had an arm spraincd ( and was severoly bruised iu various parts of the body. Ilon. Messrs. Ilaupu, Knpule,vHiroh, Konoaoa, Kaiue, j Kupihea, Koa'kanu and Kakaui were all variously i cut and bruised. | We do not |think that the rioters were proviued i with any dangerous weapons. They iiupvovlsod !bludgeons ont of tablc 3cgSj nnd did their cutting J,with pocket l|nives. There was not a fireurm m ) the hands of tho iuob, and a dozen pistols, ov per- \ haps less in the hnnds of a few reolute men eouM havc cffcctcd, uny am\<t at the time, and have dispersed the excited people. As a proof of this, one member, the Hon. Komōikehuehu. who had |I V ' iapiētol in his hand, made his way through tho I hosti!ē crowd unmolested. Thue it wil! bc soen ' that thc riot l was not of n very form!daMo ehar'aelcr, and ought not t;> have requrred very «foroo to que!tit. And n hmont«Weth!ng to 'oontomplato t'ho wnr.t of foreoaet, orgßnhatton and I norvo among ofßctafa, n5 shown īn thig 'aßkir. Tho tjtx\iofthif day wrp an* * - time in thi«k!ngdom, haa beon ~ olute, otgan!s:?ng hcvad, o-

' <Iivm it"hKrie Important t > to cur«" ! public evlle. I Ia of t]ie pUj&h T e of oui I governiiierit. an appeal was ma-ie to the Fhip? o r j war in port to as6ist in keeplng t!ie peaee : aol a j force uf iuarioes and bai!or« from n. B. M. S I Tttudos and the United States fehips Pnrfrnoufl I aud Tu$tarora di6persed vaob : | and took of the Court Iloueo, O.>vcrniuent j Building6, Palaee, Armorv and Pf ison. [ <■ i : -r-/ ,i , ; V T , .