The Hawaiian gazette., 1869-11-03
and 4th Resolutions, which read as follows,

8 ReSolved, That as the laws of this King
dom do especially favor the introduction OF
such laborers, By legaliZing foreign contracts
for service and By providing q penal enact
ment for the enforcement of such contracts,
it is advisable that the law TO that effect be
repealed.
1. Resolred. That laws enforcing contracts
TO service BY penal enactment, tend to in
justice, and are contrary TO the spirit OF the
age,
should be considered together, which was
done accordingly, and the Resolutions
were adopted with great unanimity. But
the Hon. Godfrey Rhodes having remarked
that he desired to speak, and that the
President and Secretary had put the mo-
ton very precipitately,-were too sharp"
indeed.-Mr. Joseph o. Carter moved
reconsideration, which was duly carried,
when MIR. Robert f. Wakeman again
moved the passage of the above Resolu-
tons. whereupon Mr.. Rhodes spoke to
the following effect:
have not been able to attend the previous
form an opinion regarding the discussions
only through the necessarily imperfect re-
ports of the newspapers. Labor-and a
good, steady, and abundant supply of it
is the great desideratum in this country, and
if all the natives would work industriously,
there would still be an insufficient supply;
and no one should take hold of this subject
to speak of it, for the purpose of furthering
any ends of their own-what might call
personal, or, perhaps, party ends-address-
ing those who are unaceustomed TO consider
such questions, for the purpose of mislead-
ing them, for their own ends. Those who
are getting up this excitement have every
thing 10 gain and nothing to lose, and are
getting it up as mere cry to mislead the
people.
Zone can hardly see what they have to gain
although it may be true that they have
nothing to lose-unless they think they will
get notoriety, and that is a gain.-ED. GAL
l have lived here great many years-more
than thirty-and have seen the country
advance from poverty, when no lands could
be obtained for agricultural purposes, and
when, what evermoney could be amassed
by trade was carried out of the country, TO
its present very creditabe state of pros
perity. This town then consisted of small
collection of grass huts, which has grown to
be the present very pretty, if small, city.
The plantations are the cause of this, and
this prosperity gives life and business to all
forms of mechanical pursuits. l therefore
deplOre the attempt to array the feelings and
interests of Mechanics against this interest.
We need labor, and must import it. !, my
self entered into the first project to bring
the Chinese here, in conjunction with the
late Judge Lee, Mr.. James +. B. Marshall,
and one or two others, and employed them
at Kauai. l always found them good, faith
full and industrious laborers, and l believe
that to be the experience of the country,
generally. With regard to the contract
laws, l consider them good and just laws.
If make contract to pay money, and do
not do it, the law will compel me TO do it to
the utmost of my ability selling out my
furniture, and all my property, to fulfill that
contract: why not compel man to keep his
contract to pay labor, as well? There is no
PENAL enactment, justly so called, for nom
compliance. 1t is coercive enactment-not
an enactment to punish man for not doing
a thing, but an enactment to coerce him to
do faithfully what he has agreed to. Please,
Mr.. Secretary, to read the 1417th, 14l9th,
1420th, '22d and '23d Sections of the Civil
Code. This the Secretary did, and Mr.
Rhodes continued l call upon the lawyers
to tell us whether that is penal enactment,
"a punishment for not doing or for doing
any thing. Why should you endeavor to
make men believe that it is a hardship to
fulfill their contracts, deliberately entered
into, or inculcate the las it appears to me,)
immortality Of not keeping them? Faith in
contracts is the very soul of all enterprises,
and if We can not depend upon them, and
upon the ability to enforce them-if the con-
tractor is unwilling to keep them-all will
be confusion, bankruptcy, ruin.
Mr.. Rhodes spoke long time,-some-
what over three quarters of an hour
During the latter part of his remarks, the
audience manifested much Impotence.
Mr.. Carter, rising again, remarked that:
Out of courtesy to the last speaker, he
had made motion to reconsider, which had
been carried, and he had repaid it by person
ality-saying that those who were prominent
in opposing his views were getting up
party cry, and that they had nothing to lose
and everything to gain thereby.
Mr.. Rhodes wholly disclaimed any in
tention of being personal.
Indeed, throughout, it may be observed
that some gentlemen, not particularly
careful about the form or application of
their own remarks, were very sensitive to
any suggestions regarding themselves,
other than those of the most hattering
nature. Mr., Lyons, however, magnani-
mously offered to take the reflections of
Mr.. Rhodes on his own shoulders.
Mr.. Widemann then offered to lay
before the meeting the Resolutions which
had been drawn up by the Majority Com
mittee, and reported at the Armory, but
the meeting refused to hear them read, or
to take any notice of them.
Mr.. S. n. Castle then addressed the
meeting:
Increasing years warn me against evening
meetings, and nothing but a sense of duty
hriuUs mo here to-pirht Tho adnrt;or Of