Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 183, 30 April 1891 — Page 4
| This text was transcribed by: | Nahua Patrinos |
| This work is dedicated to: | Awaiaulu |
KA LEO O KA LAHUI.
"E Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono."
Thursday April 30, 1891.
NOTICE.
Copies of the Ka Leo o KA LAHUI can be found every morning at the the News Agencies in town. Price 5 cents a copy.
PEACE.
Peace, they say is ever lovely,
We must cherish it through life,
Only wicked mean and traitors,
Ever seek to stir up strife.
But this peace, so much belauded,
And of outward seeming fair,
Is too often but oppression,
Which the victims silent bear.
If we can have peace with freedom,
In this space of mortal breath,
Peace is good, but peace in serfdom,
Can be only living death.
ETHEL LOTHIAN.
The Queen and her Leper Subjects.
The office of the Board of Health was besieged with applicants for permits to visit the Leper Settlement, mostly by persons who have relations living there. A large number of permits were issued in due form; and when at six o ʻ clock the time announced for sailing, the wharfs was crowded with people, a great many more were written by the officers of the Board on bits of old envelopes and whatever scraps of paper could be found. The officers were importuned on every side and found it almost impossible to refuse. Since many had been allowed the privilege to go, it became difficult to draw the line at any number or class.
The issuing of permits continued till the time of departure, and many went with them. So when Her Majesty came on board the steamer was packed; deck and cabin, with a seething mass of humanity. The Royal party took a position on deck where mattresses had been placed and as soon as the voyage was well begun could not be distinguished from the mass of people lying about completely covering the deck.
In the cabin things were worse. Every nook and corner was occupied by snoring and perspiring natives.
The lack of ventilation rendered the atmosphere and temperature something fearful.
the steamer with human freight plowed its way slowly to Molokai. It was a beautiful night and the sea was calm.
Shortly after daylight the vessel was approaching her destination. The deck was crowded, the people now occupying a little less floor room than when lying down and making motion possible by the use of oneʻs elbows. The crowd was made up almost exclusively of near relations of lepers, and a timid person could see and imagine signs of the dread malady in many of the passengers.
The steamer moved along under the great precipice and cast anchor before what appeared to be a considerable village situated on the low land projecting from the base of the cliff. A very pleasant prospect of green pastures and pretty white cottages gave no suggestion of the misery of its population.
The boats were lowered and the people crowed in a dense mass around the gang way.
Some attempt to examine passports was made but proved practically impossible; the effect was that everybody got ashore as soon as they could. It took more than an hour to land the passengers. The last boat carried the Royal party. A crowd on foot and horseback could be seen on shore, while the wailing music of a funeral march floated out to greet the Queen. As those crossing the infernal river, styx, may be supposed to gaze intently to make out the dread forms seen flitting on the shores of the lower world, so the writer watched the figures on the land as the boat approached.
First some of the persons seemed to be wearing masks, huge caricatures of the human face.
As the boat reached the landing the full horrors of this awful carnival of death was revealed. This might indeed be the very entrance of Hell.
The writer looked up at the arch erected to greet the comers, almost expecting to see the inscription.
"Who enter here leave hope behind." Surely these faces have been scorched, roasted by internal fires, and torn, scratched and deformed by the red hot fingers of fiends.
It was awful, awful with the fascination of death. A rope had been stretched along the landing to keep back the lepers, but little regard was paid to this or other restrictions and lepers crowded under over and everywhere.
As soon as a boat load of passengers landed their leper friends recognizing them ran to embrace them, and, falling into each others arms., they would sob and wail. Here fathers and mothers held to their hearts livid masses of putrecent flesh that had been once beloved children; here husbands and wives, brothers and sisters met, what was the dread wages of death. The passengers fused instantly with the lepers and soon accompanied them to their homes in many cases to look upon still worse sights. Then throughout the town arose the sound of wailing and lamentation.
But what cry could express the despair, the infinite anguish of such meetings, such greetings on the shores of death?
Her Majesty entered a carriage and drove followed by her party on foot to the house of Mr. Tell the superintendent. Seated on the verandah she greeted the leper - aloha oukou. They crowded around the house presenting a hidious spectacle, material for a thousand nightmares.
Hon. S. Parker make a short address followed by others.
Only a small number of lepers were present. Most, it was said, were in their houses wailing with their friends, while other staid away to express their dissatisfaction with Her Majestyʻs action in regard to the Board of Health and other officers at Kalawao. There were scarcely any congregated to see the Queen. After the party had seen the home and school they returned and partook of lunch.
The band played. -- A mockery of gayety. Hon. S. Parker looked at those who presented themselves as petitioners for re-examination and took a large number of names. He expressed himself very strongly about certain cases that presented not the slightest trace of the disease, even on being stripped. It sometimes happens as it has in Hawaii that persons are sent here rather as revenge for some offense against tyrannical officials than because of disease. About 3:30 p.m. the Royal party returned to the steamer.
The scene at the landing was harrowing beyond description or imagination. The separation and last sight of friends.
At last all were on board and the steamer slowly moved away. Many person carried their passports without being asked for them and many mae the trip without any.
The whole trip was like a journey into the land of delirium an nightmare.
(To be Continued).
The Policy of Discontent.
In yesterday article under the above heading, we indicated a few of the many causes, operating under our immigration policy, to generate discontent.
We ask in all seriousness, if it is not a matter of the deepest concern to find an association consisting of a few capitalists, who studying nothing but their own greed, are armed with the power under a very limited cabinet restriction and even that appears to be in abeyance --- of dictation the whole immigration policy of the country. A contract exists between certain private parties and the government for the introduction of Japanese, and they are coming in the rate of about 2000 to 3000 a month, and are to work for $15 a month under a three years contract, after which they at liberty to return to Asia, or remain and swarm over the islands, starting retail stores and entering into competition with Americans and Europeans, who will have to retire before the cheap asiatic who is not burdened with the obligation of living in decency or maintaining a waif and family.
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How complete a fraud the plantation industry has proved in its dealings with Hawaiian and white skilled and unskilled labor, only those who have travelled over the islands can have any conception.
----Large plantations like that at Lahaina, employ Japanese carpenters and blacksmiths to the total exclusion of white skilled labor, except in the case of the engineer. A fair illustration is that of Spreckelsville plantation Maui, where a few years ago under the management of the late Mr. Williams nearly every teamster was an Anglo Saxon or Hawaiians, whereas in the government returns from which we quote, published a year ago, out of a total number of 1,422 laborers on Spreckelsville, not one was either an American or Britisher, while the entire number of Hawaiians returned is twelve as against over a thousand asiatics!!
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These figures are startling when we understand their true significance. We are constantly reminded that sugar is king; that as an industry it is the black-bone of the country, in the face of figures; which like Salem Scudderʻs Camera "canʻt lie," the "back-bone" is a poor affair for white or native labor to lean up on.
The public are utterly ignorant of the present or future movements of these labor introducers. Whether they intend to flood the country with 10,000 or 100,000 Japanese this year, and by that means bring down the wages of Portuguese to the level of asiatics is a matters which the Planters Labor Co. keep to themselves, and is apparently no concern of the public!
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Of one thing however the public must be must be satisfied beyond a peradventure; that the wages of unskilled labor has gone steadily down to a point at which the laborer of the western civilization, be he American or Portuguese, must cease to compete. It is equally certain that the increased acreage under cane, and the increased export of sugar has been accompanied by a corresponding reduction amounting to a compulsory export , of Hawaiian and white labor out o sugar production; and if the people should prove that they are too ignorant or apathetic -- which we do not for a moment suppose -- to realize the fact, that there is a Tammany ring at work to bring down plantation wages to starvation point for all Non-Asiatics, and realizing the fact, fail to deal effectively with Tammany; then we say it would not much matter what happened to such a people.
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Self preservation is the first law of nature, and like all law will gravitate towards a means to secure its end.
If we cannot get to any higher notch in constitutional monarchial government than the dictation of a saccharine aristocracy, whose octopus grip take the form of controlling the entire immigration policy of the country; it is clearly time to reflect upon whether our present parliamentary system of law making is not a toy-sham, thrown to the people to delude, and blind them to the fact, that the real governing business of this country is in charge of a ring of sugar-stock owners, who assume the right to dictate in everything pertaining to the peoples government, from our treaty provisions to the holder of an office.
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MEANER THAN A DOG
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A member of the church came to his pastor, complaining that the latter used very strong language in the pulpit. "Such at least is my aim," was the reply, "and if I fail, it is due to my inability; not to my want of inclination." "Well, you said yesterday that man was meaner than a dog; what am I to understand by that statement?" "The words are so simple I supposed a child could understand them." The pastor went on to say, "It will do no good to get angry; let us reason together. Have you ever owned a dog? That dog was kicked and cuffed and driven out of the house into the rain; but he never harmed you. If you threw him a crust or a bone, how thankful he was! If you noticed him kindly, how he wagged his tail with delight! How gladly he would lie before your door and defend you with his life! Have you ever been as grateful to God for his innumerable and unspeakable mercies, and as loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ as your dog was to you? -- "No." "I have proved my proposition; man is meaner than a dog." -- Ex.
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That Evanʻs bail bonds were withdrawn yesterday, and new bonds were furnished by an ex-minister and a just returned merchant.
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That the commanding artillery-officer of the Hawaiian Flying Squadron made a special trip to McGinty, who reported to him that -- there was plenty of opium in the bottom of the sea, in the bottom of the sea, donʻt you see, see, see!
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That by the statement in the passenger list per steamer for Maui, that Mr. W.H. Daniels had gone home, the P.C. Advertiser must be anxious to see that gentleman leave Honolulu. Mr. D. is still here, and proposes to stay a little while longer.
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That the Bulletin "cat" reads the Leo behind whiskey barrels.
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That tomorrow we will have a new P.M.G. Be ready with your torches boys!
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That Tommy still claims that the tins found in his house contain condensed milk. We will not be surprised if such be the case by and by, as the "staff" will turn into almost anything in this climate.
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That the appointment of Mr. Place, who used to attune the ears of the syrens of Maunakea street, is considered a scandal by people in Honolulu, and will also be considered on Maui, as a deliberate insult on the part of the Cabinet.
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That the policy of the Cabinet reminds us of the deviltry of the devil, it is incomprehensible.
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That the Marshal expected some one or something from windward ports, but neither came as some on heard the booming of guns and was under the impression that there must be a terrible sen. fight going on, or else Wilcoxʻs revolution had broke out anew.
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That ex-Hon.G.P. Palohau and Sam Kamohakau were appointed a Committee by some one aboard the steamer Likelike to start the cheering when the Queen landed at the Leper Settlement. That the two above name gentlemen did what they could, and no one responding was no fault of theirs, but was due to anesthesia on the larynx.
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That is was a blunder of the War Minister to countermand the Band Concert at the Hotel last Tuesday night.
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That although it is very hard to find the Ministers out, it is still more difficult to find them in. That one Minister may be found on the sidewalk in Merchant Street and another oftener concocting war dispatches in an old hack.
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That the last official sleep of some of our bureaucrats will be to-night. Remember that "Noch is Polen niche veloren."
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That the lads from Bonnie Scotland have concluded to club together and be prepared like freemen to withstand the influx, like locusts of Asiatic civilization, and to encourage that spirit that Burnʻs said would still burn thoʻit wa bottled up, and for auld anʻsyne wi gie it--
No, not yet! the ancient spirit
Of our fathers hath not gone;
Take it to thee as a buckler,
Better far than steel or stone;
Oh, remember those who perished
For thy birthright at the time
When to be a Scot was treason,
And to side with Wallace crime!
AYTON
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That the report in the P.C. Advertiser about the Queenʻs visit and reception was taken down second hand, the reporter o that paper taking extreme caution to be at a safe distance, for fear of contagion, and consequently saw very little himself.
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That Dr. Oliverʻs libel suit is still a Hatching. It takes longer to Hatch than any case that has happened on Dr. Trousseauʻs ostrich farm at Waikiki.
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That every Chinaman who applies for a hack driverʻs license to present Minister of Interior gets it; in which respect he stands in marked contrast to his predecessor, we regret to say.
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That the public are curious to know when the Interior Department intends to move in the matter of inviting @for those filter-beds connected with the @ water-supply.