The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-10-16
THE PACIFIC \.
Commercial Advertiser,
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10.
The Planters Meeting.

We style it the Planters Meeting, in order
that our readers may know Of what We write. To
style the meeting of Saturday and Monday last
the a. Citizens" meeting seems n misnomer. 1t
was a Planters Meeting in every sense, and We
claim distinguished authority for so terning it.
The party or parties who were most prominent in
bringing it about, and in bringing the resolutions
before it, had slips printed which were headed
" Resolutions offered at the Planters Meeting
again, Judge Widemann, in a most abrupt man-
ner, declared, during the second days proceedings,
80 This is a Planters Meeting, " and if he had
not been interrupted would have gone on to ask
those who opposed the resolutions why they were
there again, when q motion was made to trans
pose two Of the resolutions, it was met by n query
as to how such transportation would meet the views
of 1.-THE Secretary, a Planter.
I'VE claim that it was not n public meeting in
the sense in which that term is generally under
stood. We grant that the posters called for n
meeting OF Planters and Citizens generally, but
we assert that n citizen whose views did not ac-
cord with the resolutions was soon made to feel
that he was sadly out of place As was said bya
speaker, those who opposed the contract system
before the mecsing, felt very much as the Harvard
CItW muSs lILNG AClt Az bC AhtC 'Ohe~os IN sNN
Thames. The fact is, Planters and thosa in their
interest, were wanted in force, and then n few cit
izens, particularly n few who would speak against
the resolutions, so that the affair might not be too
tame. and the result Of the meeting is to be claimed
rs an endorsement OF the coolie system, but more
pointedly an endorsement Of the Board of 1mmi-
grafton. the Ministry and the Ga=ene. The plan
WINS too transparent. We are aware that several
persons who attended the first days meeting, and
expected to hear the subject thoroughly ventilated,
would not attend the second day as it was evil
dent, to use their language, that a strict adher-
ence to the resolutions was not only expected but
would be maintained.
The idea Of calling a meeting to discuss q ques-
ton Of such Importance, and upon which the
ointment OF the community is divided, and plac-
ing before it a set Of resolutions cut and dried for
the occasion, entirely in the interest Of the Planter,
never originated with IN impartial. candid man.
It was. we grant, a smart Transaction, but a very
questionable one. The whole matter bears the
impress Of the hand OF the vii ,-pulier who occu-
pies the Finance Department.. The same hAe
game was played upon the occasion Of sending the
Envoy to Washington.
The transactions ut the meeting will be found
fully set forth on our first and third pages, and
we ask that they may be carefully read, not
because it is IN expression of public opinion. as
the largest vote taken did not exceed thirty-fve,
but because we believe that its careful perusal
will be instructive. One point strongly set forth
was, that men only were to be desired. Women
were not wanted because they were either useless
or too expensive. Thus we find that the suise of
repopulating the group has been cast aside
The testimony Of the meeting il to the effect
that japanese are worthless as laborers on our
plantations. DIR. Lee, who came to these islands
with the japanese, addressed a letter to the meet
ing, in which he set forth the merits of the class
of laborcrs, and urged as a preliminary step that
n treaty should be made with Japan, possibly
with a view of Offering his services as envoy.
In support of the plan to import Chinese. the
Chairman read the views of an agent of the
Memphis Convention, a body which declared
itself in favor Of coolie labor because it came
nearest to slave labor. The Planters in urging the
want and immediate necessity Of more labor,
never referred to the influence which the influx
Of a large number Of Chinese would have upon
our society, or upon the future of these islands,
but rested their claims entirely on the dollar and
cent basis. a plan was proposed by which it
was possible that the contract and assignment
system might be avoided, and criticism as to its
merits invited, to which M response was made.
During the meeting n gentleman who defended
the planters stated that the situation was such
that in order to secure labor some plan was
necessary By which is might be forced This
remark was received with prolonged applause,
leading those present to believe that such a con-
dition Of affairs was much 10 be desired The
discussion ON the assignment clause was sharp
and spirited, and when the sense OF the meeting
was taken the vote stood twenty-five for the
clause to sir against A motion calling for the
ayes and noes was warmly opposed By the Min
ister OF Finance in behalf OF himself, the Minister
Of the Interior, the Second Associate Justice OF
the Supreme Court and the twenty-five others
who voted in favor Of tie clause Affer some
discussion the motion was Withdrawn, owing TO
the extreme scnsitiveness displayed by the sup