The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1872-09-14
THE PACIFIC
Commercial A0brrtisrr
~SATrRDAY. SEPTEMBER "a.
The Ministry.

@-@ H'-AA 49,
satisfaction. The somewhat lengthy interval Of
a fortnight which wac passed over after the resig-
nation Of the late Ministry without the announce
ment Of the formation of a new Cabinet, very
naturally give use to a feeling Of uncertainty ana
consequent uneasiness IN the public mind, as to
who might be the men into whose hands the Gov
eminent Of the country wac to be placed. Not 4
few stood in confessed dread lest, Parturie7f mon
hs. tue subsistence Of the political storm should
see the same party restored TO power that had been
permitted to misgovern the nation for eight mortal
years,-with only 4 fresh accession OF arrogant
and mischieyous energies. Those uncertainties
and approximations are now however happily at an
end, and a feeling Of relief and security has fol-
lowed upon the assurance that the public concerns
are in the hands of men possessing character and
the public confidence. Such are the Minister Of
the Interior (wbO also performs the functions Of
Minister for Foreign Affairs al interim and the
Attorney General. Mr.. Stirling, who succeeds u
the Finance Department, is comparatively a new
man, only a few years resident in the country. \
Scotchman by birth. and Civil Engineer by pro
fessiOn, he has for several years past held the post
Of Superintendent Of Public Works in the De
partment Of the Interior. His character for in
5egrity and honor stands high in the community,
with q hint at irmness in good suppiy-wbich,
however, Is u Scotch trait-and he is a gentleman
OF education and liberal views. KS t. ms quail
ties as a inancier, they remain to be proved. The
new loan Acts may afford ample material for prac-
tice IN that respect A Minister OF Finance with
an intelligent financial policy suited to the needs
Of our peculiar position, is something that the
country has not been blessed with since perhaps
the days of Kamehameha Ill. Then necessity,
IN the inception Of the Government, forced the
adoption of a policy, and 1t was in all respects a
fortunate and successful one. In the present ext
gencies, there is again the necessity tor u sound
financial mind az the head of the Treasury De-
%partment. Something in addition to strict Integ-
rity and good intentions is demanded in that Office,
and that is financial ability. No one in the COM
munity ever in;imated that the late incumbent of
the Finance Office was other than an honest man
and an exemplary citizen, and We improve the OPP
pOrtunity with pleasure of emphatically saying
SO; but as Minister Of Finance,-well, N'nnporfe.
The prominent feeling in the public mind Is one
Of cheerful acquiescence and satisfaction at the
change in the material composing Ills Majesty's
Cabinet, but there has hardly yet been time 10
guess or to suggest as u what particular line of
policy the new Ministry will be likely to pursue.
Ii may, however, be assumed without doubt that
it viii be, 50 far as practicable, radically different
in some important respects from the experiences
of the recent past. And in this connection we
are irresistibly reminded that the incoming Min
listers become heirs by entail of the consequences
Of their predecessors acts. The evil spirits have
been cast out, il is true, but they have by no
means left the house - swept and garnished."
On the contrary, the late occupants would seem
10 have improved the latter portion of their ten
ancy in doing all the mischief possible, some of
their last acts being an endeavor TO cover the
premises knee-deep in mortgages. Truly, the
incoming administration has not succeeded to a
very Furnishing establishment. An empty treas
ury an already resPectably-sized public debt
and ample provision for its large increase a di-
minlshing population, and a dwindling COM
merce these are the legacies. How to supply
necessary funds without increasing the debt how
to stay depOpulation, and infuse new life into the
nation how to revive commerce and encourage
agriculture these are the tasks TO which the
Ministers must address themselves. The accom-
plishment of something in this direction, or at
least the active manifestation of an intelligent
appreciation Of the necessity of striving for these
ends, is what the public here and the outside
world expect of them. No sinecures indeed are
theirs.
The other day, the country passed through a
grave crisis, when the question of simply u Min
istry was the one to be decided. Now we come
face TO face with the problem that lay beyond
that crisis and which constituted its gravity. We
are now at an extremely critical period in the
history Of the nation, when it has become a
question really of life or death. 1t is not too
much to say that the ultimate fate of the Ha-
waiian race and nation is in the hands of the
present Government, as to whether they shall
advance or recede whether the a. interesting
experiment - of free Government in these Islands
shall be a success or a failure whether n perma-
nent and prosperous POlynesian state, under its
native sovereign, shall be built up here on this
highway of the nations or whether, the grand
resources Of the country all undeyeloped. the
race shall 60 on, rapidly and unchecked, to
dwindle and fade away, and the country continue
on the downward course towards political and
material insignifcance.
The time and the situation demand prompt
and vigorous measures from the Ministry. guided
by enlightened and liberal counsels. For the
development of these, we shall watch and wait.
Pledged to no party, individuals or special inter-
ests, we hold ourselves now as in the past, free
and unrestricted to criticise. to censure, or to
applaud the acts of public men as they shall be
sole aim to advance the best in
terests Of the country and of humanity.
The Gazette appears to be rather unfortunate 7
in it's CORDS of correspondents, and feels compelled