The Hawaiian gazette., 1870-05-11

we do not take this matter in hand at
once,-but, from want of public spirit, let
it slip out Of sight,-we shall lose those
advantages which the attractiveness of a
good hotel VIII have upon the travelling
public; we shall throw away our means
of directing and increasing the currents
of travel to our shores which is possible,
now, by our extending steam communica-
ton with other countries.
Possibly the three to four hundred way
passengers that will be landed, monthly,
on our wharves, and the hundred or more
monthly arrivals that have heretofore
come TO us from abroad, and the inter
island travellers, win, in the course of
time be provided for in some other way,
and after some fashion; people have not
been obliged to sleep in our streets yet,
/ (although some of late have come pretty
close upon such a necessity We can
easily keep up, and largely extend our
present reputation of Indifference to the
wants of travellers, and the sort of well
come we have extended to them, that is
"If you can not get quarters on shore,
you can 90 back from whence you came;
your coming here is no business of ours"
We can apply the I" let alone" principle;
we can let matters take care of them
selves; but how can we expect to make
business progress, and to extend our re
sources and means if we neglect to make
the most of our opportunities? Honolulu
ought to grow, little at least, out of
these steam communications with other
ports; and would do so, to the manifest
advantage of real estate owners, and
business men of the town, if we were
only disposed to apply ourselves diligently
to this matter
A Hawaiian writer, in late paper,
reasoning upon the times, says "he ex-
poets TO see, not only one, but two or
three hotels put up Immediately" and
with the true instinct of business, and the
proper spirit of enterprise, advises the
land owners in the vicinity of the town
to plant gardens at once, in order to be
on hand with their produce" There is a
ring in this advice of a readiness to go
still further,-to urge the Hawaiians to
take shares in the hotel stock, should that
be necessary. rrari .aaa
We hope that if the public do COM
bine to get up a hotel, no make-shifts will
be hit upon to take the place of a first
class, fre-proof building. We have heard
asuggestion that the Sailors Home build
ing might be made to answer the purpose.
This suggestion is an impracticable one,
as well as unwise. 1t is not building
that can be made to supply the require
ments of the case, nor could it be so re-
arranged as to make it convenient or
popular as hotel But if that could be
done, it is impossible to divert the build
ing from its present use, by reason of its
charter, nor can the consent of the donors,
who assisted in founding that institution,
be procured. The necessity and the ben
eft of having Sailors Home in our port
has not yet passed away, and it would be
most unwise to destroy a good institution
to avoid the meeting another public want
in proper, creditable, and straight
forward way.
If we are to have lrst-elass hotel, the
best plan, and that most certain of success,
is to take hold of it from the foundation,
with the resolution to make it so, hand
somely. m.ar3 s-airs