The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-11-06

oil laborers On Plantations or elsewhere.
The Gazette in It's report of the citizens meet
ing of Tuesday, of last week, seems to have
will sometimes pass for truth ; and upon this basis
manufactures u report which for misreprcsenta-
ton has never been equaled here. The report
of the meeting of Friday evening, is n misrepre-
s~entation because il gives the impression that n
large majority of those present left when the
tariff resolution came up, when the fact is that
it had been discussed for nearly IN hour before
they left. Again tbe vote in favor of the Mana
hiki resolutiouis put down as some twenty"
when the Chairman stated it to have been thirty
eight and others say it wac larger still.
In answer to the opening address Of the
Chairman, of Tuesday, W. Claude Jones, Esq,
and joining with him the members of the bar
who oppose the section, l420, of the Civil Code.
as being unconstitutional, it says: alt would
appear, if these men are right, that they would
have a sure thing of it to bring q case before the
Supreme Court, and get the case declared uncon-
stitutional, and thereby secure to themselves
immortal fame and honor for their discovery,
and save themselves an immensely of trouble. -
We do not believe that the party who penned
this sentence believes that If right, the members
Of the bar would '. have a sure thing" of proving
the unconstitutionality of the section alluded to.
That by his, the writer's management, Mr..
Widemann was placed upon the Supreme Court
Bench for The sole purpose Of heading of any
such certainty, not only upon this question but
upon Others not yet developed. With n Chief
Justice and Second Associate entirely committed
to the present labor system, largely interested in
sugar plantations and coolies, what chance would
n member of the bar, or the whole combined
have before such n Court? The very undigniiied
course Of the Second Associate Justice at the
recent public meetings leaves no room for doubt
as to what decision he would arrive mt. In fact
he has given his opinion that the 1420th section is
constitutional Two members of the Bench, the
Chief Justice and Second Associate Justice, have
purchased coolies, one in an open auction sale /;
the other a plantation with the understanding
that the coolies should 90 with it, and are to-day
holding them and working them ,oiihout hga!
authority. Would men who openly purchase
coolies, and hold them, when under the law they
have a right to their freedom; who say labor we
must have or we sink into irretrievable bank
ruptcy, be likely to render n decision which
would release their laborers? 1t is too much to
expect Of them, or i'm fact of human nature. To
ask the members of the bar or the community to
leave the question to the arbitrament of the
Supreme Court is heaping insult upon injury.
The writer attempts to deny for himself, or for
Mr.. G.. G. Harris, that Mr.. IL. did not repeatedly
challenge ANY man to show, or stand up and
say that he could produce n coolie who did not
understand his contract, - or that {" he had yet to
see the first one who could not read it, and who
would ray he had not signed it," We re-assert
that Mr.. Harris did use this language and can
safely leave the question of veracity to those who
were at the meeting, and have no fears for the
result of their verdict. We call to mind n coup
let, doubtless familiar to the party:
"Andh he that does one fault at first,
Ard lies TO hide IL, makes IL two"-
leaving it to him to make the application.
Much stress is laid upon the call for the SO pre-
vious question:" We leave the question as to
its propriety and justice to those who were pres
ent, or to any one who will take the trouble to
read the speech of Mr.. Rhodes and the written
address Of Mr.. Davies, as given in the Gazette.