Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 201, 26 May 1891 — Page 4

KA LEO O KA LAHUI.

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

 

KA LEO.

 

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 1891.

 

NOTICE.

 

            Copies of the KA LEO O KA LAHUI can be found every morning at both the News Agencies in town.  Price 5 cents a copy.

 

THAT WASHINGTON MISSION.

 

            The local press has been remarkably poor for the last year or so, and the LEO is the only paper that comes out regularly with genuine original editorials on all matters of public interest; the other local editors seem to have exhausted all their brains—they never had much,—and can think of local subjects to write about only after finding them already alluded to in the LEO.  Thus, our study of our foreign missions stirred up the old fossils in the P. C. Advertiser , and brought out from them some interesting confessions, coupled with unnecessary attacks.  But we are so accustomed to the christian organ’s tactics, that we cannot be surprised that the writer of the Advertiser , born and bred in the odoriferous mire of dirty personalities and sanctimonious misrepresentations, should not have been able to avoid falling into uncalled for personal abuse about the Samoan Mission , which was quite out of the question, unless as an occasion for spatting some innocuous venom against the editor of the LEO, who is not a candidate for any government employ.

            The Advertiser says that to fill the Ministerial position at Washington, it “requires not only first class diplomatic ability, acquired by long experience, but personal influence which may be exerted when occasion calls for it, in behalf of the country represented.”  In view of obtaining this “personal influence,” it appears according to the Advertiser’s statement,” “that the expenses are enormous, the salary hardly covering the houserent,” “the expenses of maintaining the Hawaiian Legation at Washington varying from $12,000 to $20,000 a year,” and “in 1889 amounting to $23,000,” “the minister has to live and entertain like a prince, and few have the ability to do this, unless possessed of outside sources of income.” . . . . “To send a person from here, to depend on his salary of $5000 a year, is perfectly ridiculous and would soon end in disgrace to himself and his sovereign.”. . . .

            Now it appears that, for the Advertiser crowd, the main ideal of a minister at Washington is to live and entertain as a “prince.”  That may have been the ideal of Mr. Carter, who wanted to gratify his unquenchable vanity and perhaps marry out his sons and daughters by such pyrotechnic display of ostentatious foolery, and he might have spent $50,000 a year for such purposes, if he chose; but such is not our ideal of the mission.  The people of Hawaii do not send a representative to Washington to junket around, give dinners and drink champagne with the dissipated crowd of loafers which always agglomerate in capitals, but to stand as a solid political sentinel to watch for and defend our interests in the government circles by day, not in nocturnal banqueting.  Is the influence and power of other foreign representative at Washington measured by the amount spent on entertainments? in that case the “influence” of the French, English, German powers must be quite diminutive, for none spent as much as Mr. Carter saw fit to do.  At any rate, even if $23,000 were spent by Mr. Carter in 1889, for diners and parties, of what good has that been to us, in Hawaii?  Did it prevent the McKinley Bill from ruin our sugar industry?  And would we have bared a bit worse, had that money not been spent?  We say that our Minister has been the laughing-stock of the Americans for his extravagantly ostentatious expenditures, and all the political men there, would confer much more respect and consideration, even more “personal influence,” to a modest man, more strictly attached to his political duties than to pleasure seeking.

            Whatever the past may have been, however, the days of the supposed necessity for “personal influence” (idest junketing influence,) in our representative at Washington are passed.  Entertainments did not save us from the McKinley tariff, they will not be needed any longer in the future, when the necessary change of our commercial relations will make it more important to have representatives in Canada and Australia than at Washington.  The Advertiser may thus feel relieved of its anxiety as to the choice of a man capable of entertaining “like a prince” outside of the liberal salary already granted by the people of Hawaii for their minister at Washington.  And, if it really be proved that it is impossible for any reasonable man to live there on that salary, then it will be as well for the next legislature to suppress that office, considering of what little benefit it has been to the country at large, out side of the sugar ring.

 

[Written for the LEO.]

COMPROMISES.

 

            There is a rumer that two members of the present cabinet are going to resign.  Members of Hawaiian cabinets in the past have done almost everything in the criminal code enumerated; but they have never resigned.  If these gentlemen should conclude to immolate themselves on their country’s altar, and so relieve us from the burden of an incompetent and unpopular government, the act would be as unprecedented as it is commendable.

            The object since the downfall of the Reform Cabinet has ostensibly been to secure independent men for the head of the departments.  This is a mistake of the worst kind.  There are very few honest, independent men in the country, who have at the same time the ability and the experience of affairs to fill acceptably a cabinet position.  Every man of superior qualifications identifies himself with some principles and party to which he adheres.

            All men of any fitness for public position have taken a part in politics of the country and belong to one side or the other.  The so-called independent men who have been engaged in business or other pursuits are ne@tral as to politics because they have never taken any interest in the affairs of the government, or because they are utterly insignificant.  There in another class who pose as independent; those who are in the political arena for spoils only, for the profit that there is in it.  An untried man may meet less opposition and appear more satisfactory at the outset, but when he begins to show up he becomes equally offensive to all parties.  There are several classes of independents in the political arena, mostly for spoils only.  Since it is difficult to foretell which party may come uppermost, they maintain a discreet silence concerning their standing; they are pledged to neither party, or faction; but privately and confidentially they assure each side alternately that they have their fully sympathy and eternal devotion.  Some of our politicians, especially legislators and ministers, are on some occasion temporarily independent, until a good consideration converts them.

            The capitalists, and the commercial interests have long ruled in this country and their influence is likely always to be dominant.  When they have been defeated in elections or otherwise they have always helped into position, weak men whom they have thereafter influenced.  This way of governing the country is unworthy of business men or of an enlightened community.  The result is that the unworthy occupy the highest offices.

            But concessions have to be made to the native Hawaiians.  It has always been necessary, and yearly the native supported by the laboring men of all nationalities are coming out stronger and stronger.  We believe that the respectable and substantial element of the reform party are willing to give them some recognition, for the sake of peace at home and our good fame abroad.  But it is no benefit to the natives or workers to put into office weak specimens of the race who are a disgrace to their people.  On the other hand the really able and sincere leaders of the native party, Wilcox, Nawahi and Bush, are the hereditary enemies of the commercial interests.

            Because they are the steadfast leaders of the people they are so hated by the “missionaries” that no effort is spared to crush them, while men and papers are bolstered up to try to lead the natives---astray.  It is time to recognize the fact, people cannot be led by demagogues or agitators unless they are going that way anyway.  A man to be a leader must be a man of some ability and must look after the people’s interests as well as his own.

            In the same way the name of Thurston was odious to all the common and respectable elements of the national party.  Still Thurston was a leader of the reform, a gentleman of ability and principle.  We have made the most of his mistakes and blunders, though none of them were of a criminal nature; but we sincerely must admit that the country would have been better off with him as Minister of Interior, than it since has been.  Damon was and is one of the very best men for the finance department.

            But they, with their two colleagues were determined that the natives should have no show all in the affairs of the government, consequently they had to step down.

            Now if there were a real desire to let the native people be represented in the cabinet of their country, and reach something like a compromise or modus vivendi , it would be a better plan to put one or two representative men in the cabinet whom the people know and have confidence in, and let the reform take the rest.  Each minister would be supreme in his own department and if they could not agree the result would be, what it is now, inaction, till the next legislature meet to decide between them.  With representative men of both parties in the cabinet any serious corruption would be impossible; they would watch each other.  With the departments of interior and finance the reform could rest assured that the country would not go to the eternal bow-wows.  In the attorney-generals departments only a few sheriffs deputies could be changed; the police are already all natives.  In the foreign department no serious damage could be done without the consent of the whole cabinet.

            The next time Liliuokalani makes a cabinet let her seriously consider the proposition to give both sides a show.

H. EX. THE MINISTER OF FINANCE.

 

            Mr. Widemann, in his present incumbency, has been very far from doing all that could have been expected from the late leader of the National Party.  Therefore the LEO has not been able to endorse all the acts of the Minister of Finance, although we are ready to support him whenever he proves that he wishes to do what is right, and if he shows a faithful respect for the policy of the party, to which he and ourselves belong.  We are willing to overlook the failings of his personal character, his irascibility and cranky notions, which make him at timer unfit for a ministerial position.  At any rate, whether friend or foe, we would like to hear from the Minister of Finance, about the slander recently published by the reform political organ the “P. C. Advertiser,” who accused him of selling Hawaiian government bonds for less than their market value.  The stain of trifling with the government treasury is still on the bright ministerial honor.  It should be wiped out, the reputation and honor of our Minister of Finance ought not to be allowed to be sullied by the base imputations of a scurrilous political organ.  Surely the gentleman is not going to sit inactive while the “Advertiser” says thus of him, and which gains credit by the very silence kept in the matter.  If Mr. Widemann will send in to us his denial of the charge and the official explanation of the whole affair, we will publish it.  We will even furnish a literary artist to compound his statements into a way that will just act like physic on that torpid, old organ of the circumlocution office.

 

A MAN OF MERIT.

 

            We wish to call public attention to a deserving young man who sits on the judicial bench in a remote village in Hawaii, whose talents as an expounder of the law and the guardian of the liberties of men may ultimately secure him a position in the supreme court.  Mr. Barnard of Laupahoehoe, Hawaii, formulated the proposition that a contract laborer must work whether he got paid or not.  There had long been a feeling among the planters that this ought to be the law, but remained for Mr. Barnard to put the proposition into form and effect.  It was an invention of the greatest possibilities; and if judiciously followed up may be the means of rescuing our moribund sugar industry from annihi@ation.  If we do not have to pay @he labors and they can subsist on weeds, we will surely be able to compete with Cuba or any other country.

 

ON DIT.

 

            That the cook of the bark S. G. Wilder stayed home this time, having had a vision that his liberty would be circumscribed if he came to Honolulu.

 

            That Port Surveyor Holt—in hunting for opium on board the Wilder found a nice little nest for it, but the bird had flown.  Hard luck for the catcher, but good luck for the smuggler.

            That the “League” is quietly nestling and brooding, and if it does not get lousey setting to long, it will try hard to hatch this summer, before the winter months sets in and stop all operations.

           

            That the Marshal will leave, if he goes at all, the public peace in charge of the LEO.  We will guarantee to stop Wilcox until he comes back, and not urge annexation until the Queen has another trial on the Throne.

 

            That Charles has awoke from his Rip Van Winkle nap, and is going to do something sure.  Never too late to repent, provided you mean it.  Baptism by immersion is what the Minister requires to be regenerated and revitalized.

 

            That Hon. Noble Poor is with the Premier, and with the Captain forms the Minister’s suite.

 

 

            That His Excellency S. Parker will make an out door maiden speech at Wailuku if the weather is not too blustering.

 

            That ex-Attorney General Rosa is a strong candidate for the Law Department vice the resignation of the cabinet.

 

            That ex-Attorney General Peterson appear dissatisfied at ex-Attorney Rosa’s attention.  When Greek meets Greek then comes the Lager Beer.

 

            That the “P. C. Advertiser” has discovered another Crank, this time in the base ball league.  He may be a chip of the old block.

 

            That the lepers are suffering very much at Kalaupapa and Kalawao.

 

            That the Queen will be at Wailuku on Friday next when there will be tendered her a big feast, a ball, etc.

 

            That the books of account of the Bureau of Education are just about one year behind.  If the autocrat who has so long condescended to act as Secretary to the above Honorable Body feels himself injured by the statement now made, and if it be false we will be only too happy to be corrected.

 

            That prisoners do all the bookkeeping and clerical work for Oahu Jail mills being in for nine years there is no danger of the Prison needing there a book keeper, but there is a position waiting for Mr. Evans who is expected in July.

 

            That Mr. H. A. P. Carter has gone to Europe, and is probably in Germany by this time.  Some have hinted that he has gone to see the young Emperor of Germany and show him how to be able to maintain peace in Europe and keep the Russian bear quiet and possibly put him in Bismarck’s former place.