Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 272, 3 September 1891 — Race Prejudices. [ARTICLE]

Race Prejudices.

After a long and discreet silence, tbe Silurians of the "Advertiser" woke up last Monday 4o give the Leo a weak poke in the rips. The Leo's editors are compared to Chinese Mandarins and Buddhist prieste and are [accused of trying to stir up race prejudices. Ye false prophets ! Were it not you and your missionary party who iu 1887 displayed your race prejudices by 6tirring «p revolution with the avowed puri)ose of depriving the Hawaiian of all political rights and power ? and did you not- in 1889, when the Hawaiian msde a weak attempt to regain their rights, curse the kaaaka and swear by your h alidom, and by your troth that it was fine sport shooting down -kaaakaa. Race prejadices indeed ! Did time and space permit we could make a long recital to show that what3ver prejudices have existed have been main)y on the eide of the whites against the natives. The kindness and hospitality of the Hawaiian is proverbial: It has generally been met with treachery and disdain by the hypocri tical faction of the whites known ; 5 the miBsionary party, with their usurous mortgages. Ko, the Leo is not attempting to stir up race prejudices, for beside the senselessness of policy. a study of the census would show that such a plan would be dang--erous as well as futile, on account of the decline of the Hawaiian race, /ind the many different nationalities who are gathered here in such large numbers. Whieh race should we try to prejudicēs against . the other ? and for what purpose ? Race prejudice is a fire-brand that must never be conjured up in this kingdom.

But the Leo is r conjuring up a poliiieal party to oppose the so<ialled missionary party. The National Party is distinctively Hawai--dan and by this we mean. not only ihe native Hawaiian, and theiarge,ly increasing class of mixed blood, 2>ut also every foreigner from what«ver elime, who by ties, adoption and settlement, has made his home jn Hawaii and has acquired the īiglit to be one of the people and have a voice in the government. We recognize theni all as Hawaiians with equal interests, and when joined together in political issues. the question of race prejudices will not be considered. The only elaim we have made and will continue 5n, is that the Hawaiian born "whether pnre natives, mixed or entirelyJoreign shall have prefermont in our c-ivil service. Tli term missionarv as applied to a political party is reallv a niianomer. It eame into uee through the fact that the early missionarieg negleeted their teachings and beeame very prominent in our po2itical afFairs, and were in continoal conflict with .those outside of their chque, who u»ed the term missionan r in eeom and reproach

of tfciose who preached the Gospel with the Bible in one hand and reached out for power and pelf wlth the other. For many years the government was« coritrolled by these miBBionar.ies of the gospel, and they gradually built up a powMul clir que, who under cover of a hypocri» tical church organization, retained all power in their hsnds, songht their own sggrandizement } and inaugurated a social inquisition againet all who were outside the pale of their semi-militant church. Such bigot and h3rpocrisy. naturally excited the contempt of the liberal class of fore|gners who had been emigrating to our shores. But the church party were strong in power, and the term *'missionary" was still applied by their opponents with even more reproach and sarcasm than before, for they were getting tired of the "blue-laws 5? of rnlers. īn later years this mission* ary party having acquired wealth have allied with tbe wealthy elass of Bugar planters and sugar factors, and though they have īiow been out of power for some time, they have been struggling hard to regain the reins of government. The missionary party, (For this title has descended to them, and though now a misnomer } cannot be cradicated) are not exactly the same as they were in their halcyon days of power, but are now eomposed principally of a handful of the wealthy classes and their dependents. The church power is not 80 great, for Mammon is now worshipped more than God. Opposed to them are the National Party, comprising the laboring men, meehaniee. anaall farmers, and tbe masees generall}' r who find their l*ights and intereāts threatened bv the would-be wealtby aristocracy. It is but a repetition of unfversal history the struggle of the masses against the classes.