The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1864-04-02
Labor.

~ IN. ueetlHB Oi the tnteIs society Oh Ia
23d Of Alarch, the subject of labor was brought
up and considered of so much urgency, that q
special e,mmittee of three was appointed to con-
slider an report upon it.
1t wa proposed at the meeting to import i'm
mediatt!y. one thousand agricultural laborers
from CANA, taking care to select only such, and
TO induee them to bring their wives with them.
This is al very well, rs a beginning; but that
number would be very inadequate to supply the
wants OF the many large estates now in progress,
and the many more whose formation will be
stimulated by the now proved certainty that
our soil and climate are fit to produce the best
qualities Of sugar, and with labor. at the present
rates, we can produce it at n cost leaving to the
Planter a large profit. !
The Hon. Judge Robertson, who was in the
chair, very justly observed that although some
planters in isolated localities, were of opinion
that we had labor enough, the demand for more
iaborers for so many estates was becoming SO
great, that it would very soon exceed the sup
ply aud consequently, that it would be impossi-
BILE to resist such a rise in wages as would be
very detrimental to all the Planters.
At the former meeting of the 9TH. MIR. Wyllie
stated that he wanted 500 laborers for his own
estates. The Haiku Plantation and Makee's
estate could probably take as many more, and
so also the Koloa Plantation. 1t is therefore
plain, that for the interest of the Planters, a
much greater supply than that of 1000 laborers
are necessary.
If we could only compel our idlers, loafers or
Migrants (for such they well may be called) to
work, for their own good, and the good OF the
kingdom, we would at once have a supply of
perhaps 5 900 able-bodied men and women. 1t
is said that at this moment there are upwards of
500 Of that degraded and worthless class in
Honolulu alone. Is our vagrant law of 1850
(see chapter 80, page 81, Penal Code) forever to
remain q dead letter?
The Constitution secures to all men the right
of acquiring, possessing and protecting property,
and Of pursuing and obtaining safety and :happi-
ness" Is it to be construed, in the negative
sense, for the pleasure of idlers and s~loafers
who pursue safety and happiness, no ossierroise
than by feeding aud clothing themselves Eat the
expense Of the property acquired and Possessed
by those who earn it by honest indus.sy? A
more common sense view of this was t.Sen by
the Christian Emperors of Rome and the primi-
tive Christian church. Idleness was then con-
sdered as the mother of robbery. Idlers were
then designated " mali consumers fruges," born
to devour that which of right belonged to
others. And they were punished as thieves and
robbers, both by the canons of the church and
imperial DEGREES.
Amongst as, they live without any social or
civil Disqualification, rejoicing in their right to
eat the bread of their neighbors, to harbor them
selves in other mems houses, seduce their wives
and daughters, and to vote for such law makers as
will protect them, their dogs and their horses
Ought such men to be allowed to vote at the
polls? Would it not be n charity in the state to
exercise a patriarcbai power over such moths OF
society. and as n father coerces his vicious child.
rem, so to coerce idlers to eat bread earned by
their own hands7
DIR. Wyllie broadly raised this question in his
notes published in 1874, after consulting some Of
the missionaries, old residents, and also high
chiefs, whose love for the natives and knowledge
Of their character and capabilities could not be
doubted.
The Legislature being about to meet, it would
be well for every religious and moral man in thu
islands, every patriot and philanthropist, tc
well consider this important question, and ,chethe
our existing vagrant law cannot be amended
both in the interest of those who work and even
VI those VINO do not work, but who abuse tnt
ancient Ara5-hke hospitality of a simple ant
generous hearted people whose doors upon TIT
hungry are never closed.
Well said the Hon. Judge Robertson at tn,
meeting of the 23d, that If ace could only com
"ond sufficient labor, sufficient capital ,OouLd soo'
J0H0r. Capitalists freely advance their none.
where they know it will be SECURE, and that tn
borrowers can use it, so certainly, to their Owl
advantage, as TO be able to pay the interest regu
hrly, and annually augment the security 70
'he principal of the estates mortgaged. As +
SECURITY, it is now known to all foreign nations
mat. since the 3lst of July. 1913, our govern
ment has been one of the most stable in tn
~orid-that re have had no revolutions or riot
enoangering life or property-that the obliga
uon OF contracts Is fully acknowledged and en-
ioreed-thato our courts of justice favorabiy com
pare with those of the Oldest nations-that tn
hawaiian Sovereign is fully recognized by tn
greatest powers both of the old and new world:
through solemn treaties, most of them offered b
those powers, from their desire to participate i