The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1866-10-20
Other Local Matters.
The School Qncs,ion Again.

Mr.. EDITOR One would suppose. from his com
municatiOn in your issue of the 9th inst. that Mr
Moitt, the writer thereof, felt himself personally
aggrieved by the remarks of y. So in regard to
certain school houses the Island of Oahu. 1t Is
due to all concerned to state that the writer never
imagined for an instant that Mr.. Mofitt was res
ponsble for the educational policy which has been
pursued in that particular district since 1851. as
well as in other districts of these islands. On the
contrary. he did not know that that gentle
man was the school agent for that district until he
learned the fact from Mr. Molitt's communication
to your paper. Let it be distinctly understood
that neither the Evangelical Association. nor Z" y.
; have any personal motives in stating the exist
ing facts in regard to the common schools 1t is
not personal controversy that is desired. nor will
We suffer ourselves to- be thus drawn aside from
the great issues involved in conflict which is not
of seeking.
The district above alluded to selected
specimen-not the only one and perhaps not the
most decisive one. but still. pretty fair specimen
of the policy which controls the education
of this kingdom We care not whether the school
agent of that district be Mr.. Mufitt, other
man. a rose by any other name would smell
"a sweet" so long the tuctS exist which We
have stated we are not particularly concerned
with individual names.
Mr. MolTtt has entirely missed the point of our
statement; which not merely To the effect that
school houses had been sold. their location
changed. but that such changes had been made IN
n wav that left many of the children without pro-
per opportunities of common school education
This fact Is notorious Numbers of children who
should be attending the schools in that district
running Wild. and IL i not from any lack of chill
drcu that the seeming necessity existed for rcduc-
ing the number of schools. Education has gone
backward in that district. in many others. and
this retrograde movement has taken place under
the educational policy which now rules.
We stated in our former communication. that we
open to correction If there was any material
defect in our information. And as We seek only the
truth we hope always TO be ready To be set right
on matters of fact. We therefore the more
surprised. on carefully reading Mr.. Mofiitts COM
municatOu. to find that. instead of correcting our
facts he actually cOrroborates every one Of them
He has merely added some uneSsentIal particulars,
giving his private reasons for making the
changes and naturally coOring the picture accord
ing TO the standpoint from which he viewed the
matter. Others may be excused il they claim the
right to see things in different light.
When the Gazette said that there was ' not one
,rOrf OF truth in the charge brought by the report
of the Association. and when Mr.. Motiitt says that
the assertions contained in the report. and in the
letter of the person calling himself y. =. are not
true" We expect them To make their denial good
When the Gazette said that only one school
house (had) been Sold and we showed that there
had been SsUe5. We expect any one who takes up
the cudgels in behalf of the Gd-eteS statement to
show that there bad not been seven school houses
sold in that district. We have showed that there
is Truth. and considerable of II too. IN the state
meut of the report. That Is all wish. We
stated that the houses sold were those at kaaawa.
Kahana KapanO. Laie. Waialee, Kamooloa. and
Mokuleia. OF these stated that those sold at
Laie and KapanO had been replaced by new ones
OF course then. these were counted out of the
number Of those that had not been replaced. That
left five that had not been replaced viz. at haaa-
wa Kahana. Waialee. KamOOloa. aud MOkuleia-
Mr. Mofitt does not deny single one of these
facts He merely endeavors to take the edge of
of them by putting in plea that the school houses
tbus sold were. Wretched - - without roof, floor.
sides. doors or windows.'' :" dirty and rotten"