Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 160, 30 March 1891 — The "Leo's" Views for the P. C. Advertiser. [ARTICLE]

The "Leo's" Views for the P. C. Advertiser.

PART SECONI>. The g«vernmental power is liable to err,» and needs correction as mueh as the individuaL It shouid be the duty of the honest journalist to point out the errors of all who commit wrongs against the goo<l of society. No false deli jacy should deter them in criticising the acts of the soverēign m a respecta- • ble manner, if the action in any 6ense trenehes on the rights of the poople. lf the acts of any person are pernicious, whether it be done in a palaee or in a iiovei, thev are justiy open to criticism withoutany | distinction as to the social stunding | of the person committing thein. | For the Press to be othc*rwise would be venal, to say the ieast. We are ,as journa!i 3ts entitled to s]>eak more I>articularJy of the doings of those »vJiose dnties and position give them a greater powcr and wider influence | th;iri īrhoa.Tt: in pnrate | a]s'- alx>ve are mato■.s'ihj<īcts o.f '*rifiejsm whenev*er their official and pn vate act« has an influcnce upon the welfare of the peopīe Tlie sovercign, the highest r 7>ublic servant in 11 e land, comes j promitv(.ntly b(;fore us, as the very i nrst whose uuhlie and private • life should be closelv scanned, and j w on downward to the lowest puhlie i servant. !

In order to do o«>ir duty awd have our readers underetand our eiTorts for tbeir welfare, and for the protectiōn aiid maintenance of their rights, without bemg miī'under«tood, it is necessary that the ordinary reader should be educated so that he may readily comprehend his rights and his duties, ancf to do 60 c]early he must also understand the rights and relation6hip of ihoae whom by law he has placed over liim. As there appears to be a mipunderstanding in the minds of the Hawaiian ruler and only a confused idea among the people our aim is to critise the actiuu of the ruler, whom we presume does know hi« duty, and to eiilighten the less favored subject by the light of the past and the progressive knowledge of ihe present period. Por the edification of both the ruler and ruled, we re state what we eaidfrom a quotation in a previous article, that all governments derive their just powers from the governed, and that thēir functions are to l>e exercised in accordonce with the wishes of the people and for their good. This fundamental and universaliy acknowledged principle should lie the motive power to lead and guide the executive in t{ie exerciso of its powers. When we see these powers, as we have lately seen them, used for the gratification of personal feelings without a proper regard for the authority from whenee the executive derives it, it is nothing less than a thrust at and a violation of the principles of popular government, a continuation of whieh will undoubtedly lead to uapopuiarity and discontent, and eventual popular demonstrations that will end disastrouB]y to the well-being ©f our society and of eur institutidns. In this Jight it is the part of a wise ruier to act with prudencer around men as advib *re «IkKH the people trust, towards whom they have nublicly ehown tbeir confidence. The age •f £lizabeths ' and Marys with

their Kionzis are past. We are liviug in a tim > when the' ndvanced edueaticn of the masses wiii not sustain retrogressive actions on the ; part of their ruiers. Okl and well- ; estabiished governments, who have not discarded the o!d sophistn- that divinity doth hedge a king, and accept the more naturai and more correct view, that the voice of the people is of divine ingpiration, ha\'e had to Bubnjit or jiccept the inevitable result of persistent refusal to recognize fundamental pi*ipciples. The principle is a natural one, and as such is of God, who created and overruies all, and the sooner the neople of this worM recognize and applv natural rights as a motor to their actions, in all their associations with one another in this sphere, the • sooner they will reach that blessed period—the millennium—whieh we are erroneously being taught from our pulpits we are now entering. We believe with many that the ! 4)owers that be are ordaincdof God, | but )vc al-eo beiieve th;tt the peonle : ! ;ire the instrumcnts through whom i ''he mar.:fests that powcr v in nmtters ! i wliH*h portain \o the temperni weil- 1 being of man. In the constructiyn of societies. eaeh individnai surrender,s certain rights,and in their stead has se£ured to" him the enjoyment"! of others appertninmg to his peieon ; and. property, withoutwhich society I cannot exist. The enjoyment of! his rights does not give the individ- j •ai v ])owever. the power topersonal!y | exerciso the right eoneeāeā him. To do so woukl be jinareh} 7 and destructive to the formation of society. In surrendering certain rights we enjoy the mutual protection of ali, and in that manner we enjoy. an equivalent for that whieh we Burrender. Out of the societv thus formed the people ehooee one or more to be at the head of aff«irs, and in this way gcvernmer)ts are | constructed. It is the only just and nat"rai way a government ean be formed and r«aintained, and the Booner the governing powers recognize thc will of the people the | better for all concerne<l. i