The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1861-12-05

necessity of borrowing largely from abroad or
OF overtaxing at home.
Yes, wen thank them for such nercies past
And humbly hope for more /!
Ii is TO be hoped that the wars and rumors
of wars, which have, of late, overloaded the
heavens with battle smoke, and loaded every
breeze with the scent of blood, have not SO rrans-
formed Us into a martial people that we have no
disposition TO be thankful for the blessings OF
peace Nor is such thankfulness inconsistent
with the theory, TO which every thoughtful stu
dent of history must give his assent, that wars
are sometimes a necessary evil like the terrific
thunderstorm clearing the atmosphere of nOx-
ious yapors like the earthquake CONFUSING and
upheaying the accumulated crusts of political
corruption, and opening new channels of social
progress. We may admit that the practical sci
ence of surgery with all its seeming severity, is one
of the most benevolent and useful of the sciences,
and yet be truly thankful that we have no occa-
sion TO have it practiced upOn us.
When We think of the not very magnanimous
course of ONE of the great powers towards this
government in times past; when we think how
often the independence of the islands and the
stability of the government have been menaced
by restless and reckless fllibusters on the one
hand, and by arrogant foreign officials on the
other, We are truly thankful that however
many during the past year may have been
frightened by terrible threats and portentous
rumors, no body has been hurt.
We ought also TO be thankful to-day, that
" liz c1sI u lOl tLnOnS u people VINO,
though once heartless and INSCRIPTIONS savages,
are now among the most amiable and peaceable
of all the peoples upon the face of the earth
so that no where perhaps are property and life
safer than here. And, in this connection, what
candid man will fail to thank. God for the
marked success of Christian Missions in eleva-
ting and enlightening a people who were, but a
single generation ago, sunken in abject barba-
rism Nelevating and enlightening them, so that
they are capable of holding their place among
the civilized and christianized nations of the
earth, in spite of the influence of sundry for
eigners of the baser sort, who have done what
they could to drag the natives down to O deeper
degradation and a more abject barbarism.
And hardly less are We thankful for the in
fux of u better class of virtuous foreigners, who,
in the legitimate pursuits of commerce., have
made this their home: and who, in connection
with the various sects and denominations, or
aside from them all, are setting an example of
virtue, honor and industry to those among whom
they dwell. Thankful are we for a manifest
progress in the social and religious condition of
the foreign population that charitable institu-
tions are so well sustained: that so many have been
induced to dash GtUdy the Intoxicating cup and
lead a sober life and that the clannish spirit
which in time past has characterized this people,
is gradually yielding to broader views and more
genial influences.
These and many kindred blessings will sug-
gest themselves as reasons for special Thanksgiving.
LCl uS hCNCt IOTStl u ptESOUdl OUllHtllD1S 10
God for those manifold bounties of providence
which we share in common with the whole hu-
man race bounties so common that we fail to
them yet SO uniformly diffused as to de-
mand IL universal song of praise. And this
tribute of gratitude will we give, if We recog-
the hand of God. Alas for us if a practical
as irrational as that atheism Of the fool
who hath said in his heart there is no God. has
led us in thought to exclude God from his works,
and to shut him out from interest in and sympa-
thy with his creatures.
Alas for any who have learned that heather
philosophy which 50 m~agnifies second causes as to
shut God out of view, % Sacrificing unto their
net and burning incense unto their own drag,
because by them their portion is fat and their
meat plenteous." Alas for those who are so self
as not to feel their dependence upon
God who are 50 proud and ungrateful that
they will not confess their obligation to him
md who are SO cold and heartless as not to be
touched by the oft repeated tokens of his love:
they know not half the pleasure which the true
every good gift and as Il near and personal
friend. HIS gifts, how OppOyfune, how rdried,
how constant, how super-a abundant. All the ele-
,ments are, in our behalf, his faithful servants,
waiting to do his will. Forests and fields, soils
md climates, mountains and seas are all taxed for
our advantage. Within the compass of his
power, earth, air and water yield
heir tribute to human industry, and submit
to our sway. Mind and muscle thus
magnify their forces many fold. Impatient of the
low progress of the body, travelling by the
team car only a mile a minute, thought strides
he lightning and outstrips the flight of time.
Awaiting themselves of the harmonies and the
the attractions and repulsions of an
natural order, science and art work
equal efficiency and with mutual advantage.
n the great workshop where the ponderous
wheels of social progress are wrought, they blow
md strike together.
That copartnership of intelligence, enterprise
nd skill which is ever opening new fields of in
Iustry and working them with profit are depend
mt upon the exhaustless resources which God has
oarded for their raw material upon which to
FORK, and dependent not less upon this divinely
established order as the basis of all knowledge
nd all confidence in working. Nay, every mem
er of the firm is an off spring of divine eff
iency.
Not only does the All Bountiful Giver supply
ur physical necessities, he provides for all our
rants as rational moral beings. Natures bloom
nd verdure the beauty and grandeur of Gods
forks the endless variety in objects of interests
nd themes of thought which relieve us of men
al weariness and makes the music of life not a
ull monotony but an ever-changing harmony
he Intervening of precious heart sympathies,
'hich make living a luxury and the society of
lrth a faint emblem of the blessedness of heaven;
are all sources of happiness of Gods or
aiming. And what more shall l say? The theme
exhaustless. Time shall drop it, only that
ternity may take it up.
Streams Of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for ceaseless songs Of praise"
The blessing which Moses pronounced upon
ne descendants Of Joseph when he blessed the
ibes as he was about to go up from the plains
T Moab to the top of Pisgah to die there, was
OF complete with any enumeration of merely
,mporal things. What a comprehensive thanks
ring catalogue has he supple. to us in that
death song of blessings. Adopting
$ language, so surprisingly eloquent, we ex-
aim, Blessed be the Lord for the precious
lings of heaven, for the dew and for the
sep that coucheth beneath, and for the pre-
Gus fruit brought forth by the sun, and for
he precious things put forth by the moons, and
+ the chief things Of the ancient mountains,