Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 390, 16 February 1892 — Page 4

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This text was transcribed by:  E K Soares
This work is dedicated to:  Sonny Soares

KA LEO O KA LAHUI.

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

 

John E. Bush

Luna Hooponopono a me Puuku.

 

TUESDAY FEB. 16, 1892

 

THAT BOOM!

            Before election, the cry of our opponents were:  If the Liberal Party was defeated there would be a general boom in all interests in the country.  Since the results of the election have become known, we have been awaitin with trepidation to see the country flooded with such a wave of prosperity as we feared would lead to a greater prostitution among our moralists, and as a consequence give them the hard task of entering Heaven as through the eye of a needle.

 

A Strong and Honest Government Needed.

            it is a well-known fact, that the Government of Hawaii has been drifting ever since the days when that honest and good old Scotchman, R. C. Willie, held the helm of state, from good to bad and from bad to worse.  Our government is so weak and so utterly unprincipled now, that a respectable man would not consider himself honored by any connection with it, unless it would be for the self sacrificing object of effecting a change for the better.  The administration of the affairs of the country for years back, except in individual cases has been based upon a system of party aggrandizement at the expense of the general welfare.  The public revenues have been made to serve the interests of capitalists and laws made to foster monopolies and to encourage a semi-system of slavery.  Every new administration seem to think that the only object they have in view or duty to perform is to help itself and its supporters, without any qualms of conscience as to how the thing is accomplished.  Every administration seem to feel that they were the last to administer Hawaiian affairs in its present form of government, and like the house to be vacated, every one of the family compact were privileged to take what they could, irrespective of principle or honor, from the soon overturned household.

            With all the visissitudes the Hawaiian State has passed through, while in the hands of unprincipled administrators that have robbed her, the Nation has managed to survive the genearl plunder, retain its autonomy as a sovereign state and maintain its recognition among the powers of the earth through those who have had least to do with the disgraceful management of her affairs, i. e., the aboriginees, without whom the country would have been absorbed long ago by the Powers that dictate the affairs of the earth.

            The time, however, is drawing nigh, when honest men, free from selfishness, and with a determination to do right, are required to regulate the affairs of Hawaii nei, otherwise she will become a curse and a danger to all lliving on her soil, and will pass into the hands of the stronger powers.  The capitalist and the laboring man cannot afford to allow favoritism to sway the destinies of this country, and thus bring ruin upon them.  We need to preserve ourselves from administrative corruption and from a pernicious judicial system, by a thorough renovation of our fundamental law, without which there can be no sure guarantee of future peace and prosperity, or of even our independence under its present form.

 

What is in a Name.

            The Advertiser gives the Liberals 13 members, but a division on any question of liberal policy will find the support of 20 members.  The Bulletin goes one better and claims 35 "Conservatives."  The Bulletin no doubt felt that its successful exertions on behalf of the election of five members entitled it to rechristen the entire alleged 35 members outside of the Liberals.  The Reform Lion, however, who is evidently numerically superior, will only lie down with the Bulletin's lambs by the usual process of absorption.

            Mr. Baldwin's pocket borough member for Baldwinsville, who represents Baldwin's cane carts and mills, will no doubt recognize the coming session as one in which he cannot afford to be so nice about borrowing new alliances as he could in 1887, and possible the Earl of Waimanalo will start a free hash house as usual, to help on the good work of conservative.  That "Conservative" list would bear some very neat qualification.  There are some things that are beyond measurement and among them are some of the Baldwin's "Conservatives."

 

Finality in Politics.

            The chief characteristic of the good old Tory is his everlasting chase afte finality, but as humanity is ever on the hunt after improved conditions, the Tory is troubled and lifts up his voice and points to a piece of paper which he claims is a compact of a constitution, and is in his eyes more sacred and lasting that the ten commandments.  The Tory paper is always calling out for some finality in legislation, and it never realises that there is no finality anywhere under the sun.  It shakes its solemn old head, and remarks in a deep  fat voice that the other party is a party with an ill-regulated mind and is a party of constitutional disturbance, and is never satisfied, and therefore, it must be "kept down."  But strangely enough it never looks forward to anytime in the future when the Legislature will have made all the laws that the nation will ever want, and will adjourn for evermore because the constitutional machine is complete and can be left to run the country without supervision.

            There is no finality about the average Tory organ neither, if there was, the Advertiser would stop publication some morning, and there would be a notice on the door stating that the proprietors has made all the money they wanted and has closed up.  The old @@@ b@@@d Troy wants to know who a head of conservation when the other party is going to stop, and the natural answer is, that it is going to stop when the world stops and not before.  For there will be no finality up to the day when everything bursts and shrivels up and dies and probably even that won't be final-- who knows?

 

Speak Thou the Truth

            [We publish the following lines written by Dean Ashford, which we are prompted to by the fearfulness shown by the penuious Daily Bulletin, who seem to dread telling the truth for fear of loosing patronage, and of even allowing others to do so.  Five days of outspoken truth a week in KA LEO's columns, seems to shatter its editor's weak nerves, but we hope the Deans eloquence in verse will tone up the debased and delapidated mental condition of our editorial friend, as caused by the peon life he has had to endure under his present patrons].

            Speak thou the Truth.  Let others fence

And trim their words for pay;

In present sunshine of pretense,

Let others bask their day.

 

Face thou the fact, though safer seem

In shelter to abide;

We were not made to sit and dream-

The sale must first be tried.

 

Where God has set his throne about,

Cry not, "The way is plain;"

His path within, for those without,

Is paved with toil and pain.

 

One fragment of his blessed work (truth)

Into they spirit burned

Is better than the whole half heard,

And by thine interest earned.

 

Show though the light.  If concience gleam,

Set not thy bushel down;

The smallest speck may throw it beam

O'er hamlet, tower and town.

 

Be true to every inmost thought,

And as they thought, thy speech;

What thou has not by suffereing bought,

Presume not thou to teach.

 

While each wild gust the mist will clear,

We now see darkly through;

And justified at last appear

The true, in him that's true.

 

ON DIT

            That the P. C. Advertiser says that the (N. R.) big ONE hundred nobles will not be in it.

            That honest Irishmen say truthfully that old England used to send cutthroats and scaliwags to the Green isle there to foment disturbance.  Hawaii take care.

            That the old illegimates (Reform 1887) say: we did all the mischief, but poor little Dan claims he did it for C. O. B. & Co.

            That the last resort for Fort Street people, is either to become a surveyor or a lawyer.  There is a discount in the breaching business among the elect.

            That it is unkind, quite so, for the P. C. A., to go back of the partnership known as Bow@er-Castle.

            That the view from a summit of the Waianae Mountains near Makaha cannot be surpassed for loveliness.  With the placid waters of Kalolo Bay beneath the observer, and a whale-ing schooner laying off and on, the view is exquisitely @@@@@@.  The Raymond excursionists should certainly take it in.  Larsen's Bay viewed from St. Peter or St. Paul's Rock , a Peak at Kahana comes next in magnificent schoonery as a point of observation.

            That the Bowler faction are busy preparing measures to catch more boodle the coming session of the Legislature.

            That traitors can never have a permanently successful following as instanced by the Bulletin's big ONE hundred voters (N. R.), who went back on their brother workmen.

            That Wm. Edmonds is not a non-progressive conservative by any means, but is an equal rights man, and that means liberalism.

            That there will be no more dividends in Waimanalo, Heeia and Kahuku, and as a Cummin event somebody will be like Josh Billing's mule, because his hind-sight is much better than his foresight.

            That Kaaukai was Baldwin's nomination in Makawao, against Kaluna the People's candidate, and against Kamakele the Kalaiaina candidate.  Don't count the chickens before the're hatched, mine friends?

            That two financial undertakers left to visit Madame Pele last week and make arrangements to cremate the defunct barons and monopolists as they fall on the wayside from the effects of McKinley's non-sugar-coated pills, which is very bitter to those accustomed to sweets.

            That the league organised to deport the Ashfords are well known and will undoubtedly receive a warm reception, whenever they feel courage sufficient to try their little bastard game.  It may end as did the little pic-nic that was tried on young Gaspar in Hilo, by a conglomeration of school teachers, road builders, and pirates in general, a few years back.

 

Platform of Principle

OF THE

HAWAIIAN NATIONAL

LIBERAL PARTY.

 

JUDICIARY REFORMS

            3.  Our Judiciary system and Code of Procedure must be submitted to a thorough revision, so as to secure a cheap and prompt administrative of justice, free of all sectarian or partisan spirit, and to render the Judges more directly responsible to the People; and we are in faor of a more liberal  @at@: protation of Constitutional guarantee of the freedom of speech and the press.

 

TAXATION

            4.  A more just and perfect system of Taxation must be inaugurted, to abolish the present inequalities, b which the property of the poor is excessively taxed, while much of the rich man's goods are under valued for assessment or entirely escape taxation; we shall therefore demand the passage of laws that will more effectually subject the property of corporations and rich citizens to their just proportion of public burdens while granting more liberal exemptions to the poor; and as a means of discouraging the locking up of large tracts of uncultivated lands, a differential tax should be levied in addition to the usual assessment on valuation which should be in proportion to the fertility of the soil.  We shall also favor the establlishment of a gra@@uated income tax and thus expect to obtain ample funds for conducting the governmental and attending to all necessary publc improvements without any further calls on the masses.

 

MONOPOLIES

            5.  We shall use our @@@@@@ @@ @@@

laws by which all favor@@@@ @@@@

ernment and all monopolies, t@@@@@

privileges to special cl@@@@@@ @@@@@

rendered impossible, by f@@@, @@@@@@

and mandatory statutes.

 

PROTECTION TO HOME INDUSTRIES

            7.  We are in favor of encouraging @@@@@

home agriculture and industries, @@@@@

our native products, like rice, @@@, tobacco, etc. shoulld be protected and fostered by proper tariff regulations and also it must be the duty of the government, in its contracts and other @@@@tions, to give preference to national products over imported ones.

 

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

            8.  We desire a more liberal policy towards the different Islands of the Kingdom, outside of Oahu; they should receive a fairer proportion of the public moneys for the development of their resources and the satisfaction of their wants.  In fact, the principle of local, Self-government should be extended whereby giving localities may choose the most important of their local executive officers, and levy taxes for the purpose local improvements of a public nature.

 

PUBLIC SERVANTS

            6.  Better laws should regulate the Civil Service.  The principle of the selection of officers of the government by the people should be established, and no man should be allowed to hold more than one office of profit, whilst salaries should be adaquate compensation for the services rendered.  All excessive salaries should be reduced and all @@@ cures or superfluous offices abolished.

 

PROTECTION TO THE LABOURING

CLASSES

            9.  We shall endorse all measures tending to improve the condition of the working classes, and subsequently, without injuring any vested rights, we will advocate laws to protect all futher importation or employment of contract labor of any kind, upon condtions which will bring it into a ruinous and degrading competition with free Hawaiian or white labor.  We shall also in the interest of the better protection of the poor, ask for more liberal exemption of their property from forced @@@@  @@ execution and from seizure in bankruptcy proceeding.

 

SMALL FARMING AND HOME STEADS

            10.  The wealthy fraction of our population have hitherto prevented the development of an independent class of citizens; the public lands have been acquired and have tied up in a few hands @@ parcelled to suit favorites, and small farmers and planters have been driven out by corporations or combinations of capitalists; but as small farming is conducive to the stability of the State, it shoould be encouraged by a new and more liberal Homestead act, in which the ownership of small tracts of land and the settlement thereon of families of our present population, - and especially of the native Hawaiians who have been left almost homeless in there country,- should be rendered pobbile.  To that end, the Government and Crown lands, (in so far as can be done without invading vested rights) should be devoted as soon as possible to homesteads, and conferred upon bona-fide settlers free of taxes for a limited period.

            It should be the further aim of government to, at once, so far improve the means of transportation, - local, national and international,- as to provide, in all the districts cheap means of conveyng the product of the soil to market.

 

ELECTORAL RIGHT

            11.  We hold that upright and honest manhood, and not the possession of wealth, arbitrarily fixed, should consti- the right to vote for nobles as well as representatives, and no ore power should be accorded to the ballot of the rich man than to the ballot of the poor man.  The discrimination in favor of wealth now made in our Constitution is contrary to all the eternal principles of right and justice, and must be abolished.  To this end, we will favor a leveling of the present distinction of wealth and classes which blemish our laws with respect of the right to vote for nobles, thereby restoring to the native Hawaiians privileges which pertain to them in their own country, and of which they have been unjustly deprived.

 

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS

            12.  We favor the expenditure of sufficient sums to secure a number of needed public improvements on Oahu and other Island; school, railroad and harbors and wharves, public light, and also a thorough system of reservoirs and water-works, not only for Honolulu, but through-out the other Islands.