The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1872-10-19
yrs. 10 IN.
si33 80

AMONG the noble charities in this State, the Or
phans' Home at Vallejo holds no inferior place. The
Home is n beautiful structure on a commanding site,
with an enclosure of twenty acres for gardens and
play grounds, and supplied with everything calcu-
lated to add to the comfort of the little ones sheltered
under its broad ~rooftree. We saw the orphans
lately at Church and were impressed with their
healthy, cheerful appearance, at the anne time that
their order and decorum indicated n firm yet loving
discipline. The Order of Good Templars in our
State, and especially Captain Wood, whose efforts for
the cause and the Home have been untiring, deserve
the highest credit for the admirable manner in which
this noble enterprise has been projected and carried
forward to the present day. We regret to learn that
there is still q debt of about 5000 on the building.
1t is to be hoped that at the meeting of the Grand
Lodge at Vallejo, provision will be made to pay the
debt, complete the Home and provide means for the
regular support Of the inmates.-The Occident, s. r.
FLuoRIc AcID.-In a volume published in Lon
don, 1910, entitled. "a narrative OF whaling voy-
ages round the world" occurs the statement that
Douglass, the famed explorer and naturalist, who
lost his life on Mauna Loa in 1884, reported to have
discovered a very valuable mineral on that mount
ain, known as fuoric acid. In Dana's System OF
Mineralogy," we find the substance described as
follows: 'Fluorid of calcium, usually called Huor-
spar. 1t commonly occurs massive, but crystalliZes
in octahedrons, which are frequently changed into
cubes. It's amineral of beautiful colors. and much
used for ornamental vessels. This is the material
of which the original myrrhine vessels OF the an
clients were made" Some twenty or twenty-five
years ago, an artist named Sawkins, who remained
some time on the islands. claimed to have discov-
cred this mineral on the mountains of Hawaii, and
offered the then Government $4,000 for the mon
opoly of its collection. but was refused. Does any
one know anything about this mineral?
Oriental LANGUAGES AND L1rERATURE.-Says the
S. +. Commercial Herald of the Doth ult The
action Of Hon. Ed. Tompkins, in donating AT acres of
valuable lands in the heart of Oakland, for the en-
dowment of q professorship of Oriental Languages
and Literature in the University of California, dem
onstrates that gentleman's breadth of idea and grasp
Of mind. He clearly foresees the time when n knowl-
edge of the languages and literature Of China and
Japan will be as requisite to the interests of this
coast as French and German have been to that Of
the Atlantic side. Mr.. Tompkins is clearly not Of
that refined type which glories in heaping insults and
outrages upon Chinese. Ii is not beneath his dignity
to accord them a place in the human family; but it
may seriously interfere with his political aspirations,
should he have any, and bring down on his head the
wrath of come who are incapable of approaching the
beauties of any language CT literature, or even the
amenities of civilized life. Mr.. T~ompkins is entitled
to, and will accept, our cordial Acknowledgements for
his noble act, as well as our sympathies for his pros
pective aDnoyanoes."
A PUBLIC CONFERENCE.-THE is what we have
always considered the fountain on the corner of the
Bethel lot, as we have observed thirsty strangers
stop and quaff from it's iron cup and gaze for a
moment at the legend inscribed over the arch,
" Free to all-Erected by the Honolulu Temperance
Legion" DC. But the other evening we saw the
lOilhIdtu mp " ~ ~ " - TO- 49, 49,
contemplated by those who 80 enthusiastically
helped to erect it. Two natives (they wore the
uniform of the Government band) walking Just
ahead of us up Bethel street, met a foreigner, and
after the greeting of apparent acquaintance, one OF
the natives said. Wont you have a drink?-Ive
got some brandy here" and pulling a bottle out OF
his shirt bosom. Yes but where shall we go to
get a glass ~ "Oh. right here is a cup and water :;
we often take orr drinks here - and the three APP
preached the fountain. to be disappointed by find
ing that the water had been turned off for repairs
to the basin. What a great public convenience Is
the Bethel fountain. we soliloquized. internally, as
we passed on the Government furnishes the water,
but who furnishes the grog?
SUPREME CoURT.-A native jury, with Associate
Justice Hartwell on the bench, was occupied all day
Tuesday and Wednesday in hearing the evidence in a
case of conspiracy, arising out of the case before re-
! ported of false impersonation in the execution of a
mortgage. The arguments of counsel, (the Attorney
General for the Crown, and Messrs. Harris and Jones
for the defense,) were made on Thursday, and the
Jury retired TO consider on their verdict at a few
minutes before l o'clock. At about q in the even
ing they returned into Court with a verdict of &C
quittal Of Alapai, the first indicted for conspiracy,
three jurors dissenting. Yesterday morning.
Kalepe. charged with the murder of Edward
| McCorriston, at Eva. last month was arraigned, a
jury impanneled and the trial proceeded with. AT
half-past 4, p. n, the evidence being all in, the
Court adjourned until this moIping at h~alf-past 9
O'Clock, and the jury were ordered into the custody
Of the Marshal for the night,