Hawaii Holomua, Volume I, Number 83, 26 December 1893 — A DASTARDLY DEED. [ARTICLE]

A DASTARDLY DEED.

Property |of Peaceful Players Destroyed. One of {the rnost dastanlly crirues whieh has as yet been recorded in tbis citv, and whieh, without doubt, had but one intent, was the wilful burning, shortly after raiduight on last Satnrday, of the grand stand and pnhlie buildings situated on the old Recreation gronnds, and whieh has for sometime past been used for the storageplace of crickiting pamphemalia be!onging to the Honolula Cricket Clnb and the cricket players, oflBcers and men, of H. M. B. Champion. A careful inquiiy by an Holomua rejx)rter into the circumstances surrounding the adair has resulted in developing the following facts. whieh the puhlie by either intended ovetsight or laek of knowledge of the moming newspaper. have been kept in ignorance. It has been well knowu, in this community that the Eecreation gronnds has been used, almos4 entirely, since the advent of the Ohampion in port, for cricket playing, and the rooms underaeath the grand stand have haen utilized for tbe stowage of bats, balls, leggings believing th it no theīvery wou!d be eommitted and none has been dnne except by the fire demon who has made a clear Hweep. When the watohful attachees of the poliee departmeni, yclept spies, were supposed to be patrolling ihe highways and byways ia the near vicinity at midnight at

that ver\- moment the toreh of the incendiary was applied to the building whieh contained the paraphernalia of the pe*cefal players, and, altboagh within fa!l and anobstracteil view of a whole sqaare, no aiano was given until 12:15. and then. strange to say. only a private one to Engine Co. No. 2, the furthest engine from the looation. Engine 2’sboys got out in good tirae bat when they reached the loeaiion nuthing was left but the smouldering remains of what had been a bailding whieh had been built by the sabscriptions of Honolulu citizens, aside from natioaality, religioa or polities. for the purpose of assisting in developingathletic. The informent could not located, bat that the fire was iaceudiary, an undoabtedlty with maliee afore thoagbt. is a fact, whieh the surrondiag cir cumstances warrant.