Hawaii Holomua, Volume I, Number 56, 22 November 1893 — TOPICS OF THE DAY. [ARTICLE]

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Our extreraely eeonomieal government whieh accouling to the Advertiser aml the Star. has never l»een e<|ualle«.l in Hawaii is at present wasting the raoney of tbe tax-payers by sending goverument officials on junketing expeditions of a raost useless nature aronnd the country. The Postmaster-General raakes a big s’iowing by writing lengthy and tedious reports about hispleasure trips to tho other Islands. whilo the people in Honolulu are being put to great inconvenience, and annoyaneo by the new rule of the Post Office that the mails for the foreign stearaers close two hours before the sailiug of the vessels. The Postraaster-General is visitiug the Volcano and furnishing the admiring goverument with such novel and astounding facts as his latest sbiteraout that there are not mauy residents in the vicinity of the Volcano House. We have been told that the roason for closing the mails so loug beforo the steamers leave is that the Post Office officials are very busy in making up statistics for the Interuational Postal 1 nion. V e should imngine that these statistics wouhl be o(.sorae eoneem to the hoad of the Postal departmout, and that it woukl be of moro iraportance to Mr. Oat to be arouud, aud attending to the supervision at least of the works of his clerks that spending his time at tho Volcano, wheie we are told, thero are not many residents. Another prominent official who enjoys life at the expense of the tas-payers is the Deputy Collector of Customs. He is travelling ostensibly for the purpose of inspecting Custom Houses —a perfectly absurd transaction as all collectors have to forwanl their stateraents aud money monthly or quarterly. The Deputy Collector is doing a little political jobbing at the same time, aud holds meetings of the ditlerent loeal anuexation clubs. at whieh he enconrages tho bewildered lslanders to stand firm and shoulder to shoulder in their glorious aud praiseworthy efforts of supporting tho P. G. —and contiuue to pay the salary of the siid Doputy Collector. If the annexation club desires to send a man around on the stnmp, by all means let them do it, bnt let them do it at their own expeuse and not saddle the depleted treasaiy with auy more useless oxi>enditures. Tho time of the governmentofficialsbelongsto the taxpayers who furnisb the mouey that pay the officials. If the Costom House e <n get along without a deputy collector, do awav with that office, and let the presuut inenmhenl devoto all his ti<ne in rubbingthe back of such men as John W. Kalua, But if the offico as deputy collector is a necessity— as we believe it to be, t je man filling tbat office and d awing the pay counecte<.l with it should be made to stick to

his business and carry out the duties incumbent on him, and for whieh he is paid instead of being allowed to travel around on a political speech-making tour to the neglect of his office. The sanction of that kiml of business on the part of the government comes with bad grace from an alleged honest, upright, eennomieal and non-corrnpt administration —bnt then it is only the hired organettes that use such terms aboat Mr. Dole and his seventeen satellites. Attorney-General M . O. Smith bas seen fit to enter a nolle pro- j se<jni in the case of the Provisional Governmeut is. Geo. j Carson Kenvon charged with criminal libel against John L. j Stevens. Of course the AttorneyGeneral has a right to refuse to prosecute any case whenever he sees fit, but the infamous outrages to whieh Mr. Kenyon was submitted at the time of his arrest at the special orders of the Attornev-General should have indicated atleast that the government had a good and strong case against the man who was prosecuted and persecuted. Mr. Kenyon was at the tirae of his arrest the respousible editor of the Holomia. An editorial whieh appeared in au Ohio paper and whieh dealt severely with Mr. John L. Stevens—at that time Ameiiean minister to Hawaii was reproduced iu the Holomi'A, and Mr. Kenyon was arrested on a warrant sworn ont by AttorneyGeneral Smith. Mr. Kenyon was arrested by two police-captains, and on a Saturday afternoon. He was brought to the Station Houso where ho was searched like a eommon felon and locked up in a eell in the basement of the building in whieh a bucket with excrements was placed. This was done, as it wasstated at the time to Mr. Kenyon by Deputy Marshal Brown, according to instructions from head-quarters. Although, everybody kuew that Mr. Kenyon would immediately be bailed out this outrage was committed at the special orders of the alleged honest and decent at-torney-general. Mr. Kenyon was released on a bail-bond for i'ōOO, while wo recently have seen the stranger who edits the Star allowed to go on his owu recognizance. The case of Mr. Kenvon should have been tried at the last term of the circuit court, but the attorney general was not ready to go on claiming that he had to get somo very necessaiy and imporb»nt papers from the United States’ Legation whieh at that time was closed. Now the case we should have supposed was ready to go on. The legation is open and a minister is The learned AttorneyGeneral has now undonbtedly aceess toall the documents whieh he needs—but uow he enters a nolk prose'jui without making the slightest explanation for such a step or for anyth:ng eoni nected with this That Kenyon of conrse will bring : a suit for damages against Mr. W. O. Smith goes w;thout say- | ing. It is perhaps the only remedy for redress whieh he has. but we trust that the Britisb Minister who has followed the ditFerent pbases o£ the outrage against Mr. Keuyou will not 1 allow the matter to drop or be

pigeon-holeJ or left to the tender mercies of a “selected” “poliiieal" jar>'. * When the Advertiser bemoans the necessity of keeping the town in a semi state of martial law aml overrun with armed men it shon1d menlion who it is that has bronght on this state of atfairs in onr formerly peaceful communitv'. and who it is tbat has brought the undesirable t element of toughs to the surface. The goveruraent does not fear anv uprising frpra the royalists. lt is perfectl>' well aware that there never has been any intention on the part of the loyal citizens of Hawaii who believe in self-govemraent to take the law : into their own hands and overthrow tho provisional government. Tbe loyal Hawaiians have perfect faith iu the justice aml : honestv of President Clevelaud s administration, aml they will be perfectly satisfied by abiding bv any decision whieh the L uited States’ Government will give iu regard to Hawaii s future. But the governraent has made a great mistake iu arming the undesirable element of whieh it stands in fear themselves and clothing all the beach-combers in town with a certain authority. Tho government finds itself in a quandary through its own foolish and ill-advised action, aml it is now wondering how to get rid of the pretorian guard whieh it unfortunately has created and whieh now is a standing menaee to the peaee of the community. Since Minister Willis has given out that he will maiutain the peaee in this country at all hazards, there is no possible excuse for the retaining of the arraed forces. It is a direct insult and a threat against tlib United States for this government to keep up an army after the representative of President Cleveland has taken upon himself the responsibility of keeping the peaee and the order here. The Provisional Government whieh at present manages afiairs here will shortly be raade to remember that it does not stand as an independeut government, but that it will have to bow humbly to the United States whieh althongh temporarily recognizing it as tho de JiwIo government of Hawaii will make their voice heanl and their will felt in the re-establishing of a constitutional and projier government in the country. The bluster and braggadocia of the revolutionary goveruraent and its organs don’t go for mueh. TVhatever the L nited States demand, in regard to Hawaii will be done and nothing in the power of tbe P. G. or their snpporters ean alter tbe fixed policy of Cleveland in regard to Hawaii-nei —even if a brief delay has been secnred most likely through misrepresentations and deliberate falsehoods. ;