The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1865-12-30

. Nasa-t WIN th' - -o- -~ - -
being q Political iutrisuant IN the interest IF the
English Government, / leave - your own good
--us- ard that Of your readers % determine.
T. Y. STALEY. d. D. Bishop q Honolulu.
WHAT THE BISHOP or OXFORD As,EKT-.
r. me EJnOr At the LgnGoH DAILY Times
SR:-The Bishop Of Oxford has recently ad-
dressed several public meetings. soliciting conrri-
buttons fgr building 9 cathedral IN Hawaii and
supporting the Bishop OF Honolulu and liz staff.
10 the course Of thos- speeches his Lgri=llD A2-
made disparaging references u the American
IAissiJnarie-, who a-e not here 70 answer on their
own behalf. At Salisbury be said
The people ar craving for vour teachers :
they are wearieI ont By the ui-manaEemeLt u
the American PuritaEs they are shrinking exceed
iugIy from the Nariolrry of the R0mi=h Church.
and arc saying. VIII Egu give u Tie morals q
Christianity without the terrible alloys.
At Vision the bishop Is reported 70 have said
These children Of nature, children Of the sir.
children Of light. children u the sun. children q
beauty Gi-pOrting themselves. ior tie most part.
in tie open air. living in the most conceivable
freedom. taking their greatest pleasure IN the dance.
dancing many times q day. dancing almost every
evening. and then imagine these people visited by
the descendants of the stern old Pnritans Of New
England. If anything rather more severe. sour and
4 yilegaT-Iiae. carving with them the iron code Of
Connecticut the most severe ever inflicted upon
any people on the earth. taking peculiar examples
from the Leyitical law and applying them 10
Christian times by . strange mistake. which per
vsdcd the old Puritan mind. that Christianity
found IL excellence BY q retTOEre>slCn 70 Judaism.
For instance. thew wrote IL down IN their code that
II any father had a troublesome child re should
bring him before the elders and be should be
stoned. These men. many Of them good men.
very deyCut men. men who really desired the
salvation of the souls Of these poor islanders. and
came for that purpose and no other. who gave up
their homes that they might come, but coming with
an The bias and severity Of Puritan life 10 these
children IF nature. these children Of the sun.
md then conceive the moral and social efteryr~ence
that ensued- They were commanded not - put
away srUsUality merely. but all that was ChilGlike.
spiritual ana unobjtctIonabIe IN ihe!F habits. T-
moving the eternal landmarks between morality
and immortality. teaching them that things limo
cent like things wicked. were To be condemned.
Here was a great mistake arising out IL the injured
form Of Christianity which they We're desiring 10
iHcuicate. lie hoped 10 one would think that be
wished 10 LAY q single word c0ntemptupu>!y Of
these people BE- hOEOred. loved. and Tevered their
HObleHes- Of character. but be believed that they
ought not To recognise false truths. 30 that i he
Jriivced PuritaHi,.n 10 be not the revelation Of the
gospel. De was bound 10 say Il ont. and 10 trace in
what respects these men failed u accomplishing
their high mission.
At Leeds his lordship said:
The American missionaries preached not what
We believe 10 BE- the completeness Of tie Christian
system. and there were many PeeuIariIie~ about
their teaching which were most distinctly hostile
- al The natural tendencies Il that particular
people, people given To gallery. endowed with .
sort Of perpetual youth and lot capable Of en-
during the severity with which from the most CON
-ci-lriCus convictions tLeig new teachers came
among them. The consequence ! that from tits
and other causes they have not got hold of the
hearts Of the people.
Bishop s.aley in Lis letter, above, quotes Mr..
Dana ; but - does the correspondent Of the
London Ners, and 10 better effect, it seems to
u:
WHAT AMERICAN MISSIONARIES HAVE DOM.
Permit me now to state, with the utmost
breyity, a few indisputable facts, and then
must Leave II with rle puilic r "a wla-bar Tho
Bishop Of Oxford's representations can possibly
be true.
Missionaries from America went 10 the Sand
wich Islands in 1919. What thew have accom-
plished there | will allow Mr. r.. II. Dana, an
Episcopalian and a distinguished lawyer, Of Bos-
ton. who visited the islands III 1850, to describe.
His words have been often quoted, but no one
has yentured u cast discredit ON his testimony
e" 1t Is no small thing to say OF the missionaries
Of the American board. that in le~, than forty
years they have taught this whole people 10 read
and 10 write. To cipher and 10 sew. They have
given them an alphabet. grammar and dictionary:
preserved their language from extinction: given
II a literature. and translated into it tie Bible and
works Of devotion. science. and entertainment. &c. .
They have established schools. reared up native
teachers. and 20 pressed their work that now the
proportion OF inhabitants who can read and write
l. greater than IN New England: and whereas they
found these islanders "a nation Of halfnaked savages.
living in the surf and on the sand. eating raw fish.
lighting among themselves. tyrannIZed over by
fcUdal chiefs. and abandoned 70 scnsualitv. they
now seem decently clothed. recognising the Law Of
marriage. knowing something Of accounts. going
t1 school and public worship with more regularity
than the people do 1T home: and the more elevated
Of them taking part in conducting the affairs Of tie
constitutional monarchy under which they live.
holding seats on the judicial bench and in the
legislative chambers, and filling posts in the local
rIIgistIdcy.
Besides having given. as | have said. 10 the ma
tive language AN alphabet. grammar. dictionary.
and literature. they have done nearly all that has
been done 10 preserve tie traditions. legends and
poetry. But for the missionaries. il Is my firm
believe that the Hawaiian would never have been
q written language: there would have been q few
scientific: the traditions would have ~perished: the
native government would have been OvcEborne BY
foreign Influences. and The Interesting. intelligent
gentle native race would have sunk into insignif-
canoe, aud perhaps into seryitude To the dominant
whites"
The present population Of the Sandwich Islands
! about Gs 600. There are forty Protestant
churches, organized by the American mission
aries on the islands. The number Of church
members, - IN good standing, as the mission
aries phrase il. in connection with these churches
i II ,52l, and the number Of persons, old and
young, who make up the congregations, il not
less than 80 .U0u. There are sixteen native pas
tors connected with these churches; they last
year subscribed, for various religious purposes.
Sl5,775; and they actually themselves sent cut
several missionaries, who are now labOring Oh
the MarqUesas Islands. No other modern mis-
sion, promoted by any denomination Of Chris
taHs whatever. has attained the ripeness and
success enjoyed by the American mission in Ha-
waii. The churches they have founded are now
selt-soverned and seltsupp0rted; the only pay
meEt> now made by the American Board being
grants in aid Of the elderly missionaries origin
ually sent from the States. There j. q Perfect .
school Evsram IN rLa islands arT Tho ,Dfl-1.r