The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1872-01-13


consequences and the goodness of the govern
ment is in the direct ratio Of the strength with
which the majority Of the members OF the COM
munitv are influenced by it. We do not care,
therefore,, what the reason may be, for which any
Christian ~refraiRs from cheating and stealing we
hold that be l. bound, as a citizen, TO take cog
nizance of the face, that the reasons FOR which
most men refrain are the fear of legal penalties,
and the fear of losing the good opinion and
friendly intercourse Of their ~neighbors. and 20
govern himself accordingly both in his political
and social action and in making his contributions
u the opinion Of mis- time. " henever this lear
for any reason disappears, Tweeds and Halls
spring up at once. and the business % honest
men Is not 10 determine the exact degree of their
guilt IN the eyes Of Supreme Justice, both because
no men are competent 10 any such task and
because Supreme Justice may safely be left u do
It's own work but 10 see, first, that there is a
stop put to their thieying, and, secondly, that
the stop Is of such a kind as 10 discourage others
from engaging in similar enterprises. The only
way of doing this is 70 take care that adequate
legal penalties are annexed to this class of offences
that is, penalties which experience warrants US
in believing 10 be deterrent and capable of Ell
fOrcement, and that behind the officers of the law
there is maintained a sufficient social Reproduction
OF thieves and receivers, and OF the alders and
abettOrs of thieves and receivers, TO keep the
officers of the law up to their work, to afford q
proper moral basis for legislation against thieving
and receiving, and to impress the minds of the
young in their tender years with Il wholesome
horror vi them. If we are right in these posi-
tons, any man who receives thieves and their
conlederates at his house on a friendly footing,
or shares their 'swag." or finds excuses for
them in public or private, or seeks to moderate
the public indignation which is sometimes neces-
sary, as in the present case, To give the law
momentum enough to override their strength and
audncity, undoubtedly does a grievous injury to
the state, and, as we believe, if he be "a pro-
E.nl.-- t-r-r..- - 80 I -, = H.
church.
We say incalculable injury to the church,
because it is useless to try to conceal the fact that
there is a widespread and growing feeling amongst
q very valuable portion OF the community, that
there Is springlng up between religion and moral
Iy a divorce, or want of connection, like that
which swept paganism away seventeen hundred
years ago. The early church achieved it's triumph
by making war on immortality, and it made war
on immortality. not simply by preaching against
it, but by seeing to 1t that Its members were
chaste, temperate, honest, at all events, to all
outward appearance. 1t allowed no man to re-
main in it's fellowship or communion who did not
prove his sincerity by his works. That is, it
was not open to an early Christian to maintain
his standing without purity of life nor was it
open to any man to come into the fold, on the
ground that, though not good, he was trying to
be good, while all the while stealing and who're
mongering. The answer of the church discipline
was plain and prompt; d" 1t is possible you
really desire to mend your ways but we must
have something more than your word for it you
must give up your particular weakness. If it be
swindling, you must from this moment deSist if
1t be ImpurIty, you must from this moment
abandon it. Otherwise, you must depart. We
cannot have you here if we did, the heather
would all laugh at us our religion would become
a byword and a reproach, and you would gain
nothing by our society, while VIZ should lose
much by yours. We shall not stand by you, or
--- al 800 -. -
bad fellow as you. are we shall not help you to
become a hypUcrite also. Be Off"
If religion is To retain much influence on
human affairs, the church must return to its
ancient ways. Not only must it rebuke immOr-
atty, but it must not furnish a sanctuary for
criminals. 1t fell into that error once before, in
evil days, and it atoned for it heavily. For,
although it is doubtless true that the spectacle of
corruption, and of successful and unabashed cor
ruption. in every variety of form, is very de-
bauching, and that the state Of things in this city
is very likely to demOralize profoundly IL very
large proportion of the generation which is grow
ing up under 1T, and which retains no traditions
of the earlier and better time, it is also true that
the great cause of morality is never left without
champions and defenders. The sight Of %rufians
on the judgment-seat, selling justice with ribald
jokes of ruffians in the legislature, selling laws;
of %rufians stealing millions of poor mems money
every year, and spending it in - toys and lust
and wine :" of great bankers and merchants
conniving at their theft and smiling on them, as
they gorge themselves of church members taking
their wages to do their bidding and further their
schemes-may we'll be believed to be playing
terrible havoc with the manners of the millions
of young men and women who, standing on the
edge of the arena, are asking themselves the
tremendous question What weapons are lawful
in this great battle of life? But, then, it must
not be forgotten that spectacles of this kind
disgust and rouse, if not as many as they seduce,
enough both to save society and avenge it. We
believe that there are coming forward enough
young men, mortified and outraged by these
exposures, to make the story of the Ring as
strange to the next generation as the story OF the
Pare Gur CeJs is to us in this. 1t will be a bad
thing for religion if they find the thieves and
peculators clinging to the horns of the altar, for
they will assuredly tear them away, and with
much damage and dissertation to the holy place.
And when that day comes, too, we would advise
all Butlerite tdivines" and 50 good Christian
men > generally, who support rascally adventures
for Office, if they are in the city, TO flee to the
country, and if they are in the country, to flee to
the city at all events, to avoid their usual haunts.
The papers are already discussing the probable
results of the death of the Prince of Wales. The
next heir to the throne, his son Albert Victor, is
less than eight years old, and if the Queen should
die or abdicate before he came of age, a regency
would be necessary, the choice of Regent lying
bSINceH III DiotheI u INT present H0h-dPldIcut,
Victoria s secondsOn, and the Duke of Cambridge.
If the Prince had but one SON, his brother Alfred
could not be legally made Regent, as he would be
the next heir, after the young King, whom he
would represent. The Prince of Wales has two
sons, however, and his brother would be eligible
as Regent. He is now twenty-scven years old,
having been born Aug. 6, 1874.
The papers have been telling of an old farmer
in Stamford CT, who daily for the last fifteen
wears has set on a rail fence TO see the cars pass.
San Francisco Ne,cs Letter thereupon re-
marks He Is probably trying to make up his
mind if it would be safe to ride in the cars. Old
fellow, you stick to the fence If the top rail is
sharp, turn it or put a cushion on top. Fit up a