The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-11-01

The Ala of October 9th, ~criticises the policy
Of the American Government in refusing TO take
the Fiji Islands when they were offered some
years ago, and says that the United States has n
theory, or something else, which forbids the ac-
ceptanee of foreign territory unless they buy or
take it by force. 1t concludes that "if King Lu-
nalilo would only put n decent price upon the
harbor he offers us for nothing, we should most
certainly buy it. But take it without price?
never. There could be no stealings in that trans
action, and so we will have none of it. Uncle
Sam disdains gifts
The LAW of 1850, commonly known as 1.-The
Act to Mitigate while it still remains in full
on the statute book. has been imperative for
more than 4 year past and is practically a dead
letter. Its operation was " suspended - by the
Ministry during the late reign, for reasons which
were not those of public policy or economy, but
Of 4 purely private nature. The suspension of n
law, under the circumstances, was an arbitrary
act Of a Minister, entirely unauthorized and lille
gal but such proceedings in those days created
no great degree of surprise. Besides, the law in
question was obnoxious to the prejudices of many
abstraetionists who look no farther than the sur
face of things, and who were pleased to see it
oyerthroWn, by no matter what means. With
the coming in of the new administration how
ever, at the beginning Of the present reign, it
was expected that this law, rs well as others,
would be again put in operation, as there existed
no legal reason why it should remain suspended.
The report was current several months ago that
the necessary steps We're about to be taken for its
reinforcement but nothing has been done and
the law still sleeps, while the evils and diseases
which it was intended to remove or to mitigate
are suffered to flourish and grow ranker than
ever among the people. This is q well-known
fact, as medical men will testify. And the mel
ancholy and alarming truth is, that the majority
of the cases of disease that are known and pre-
scented to the hospital and to physicians for
treatment are very young females, often mere
children.
The diseases arising from prostitution are far
more widespread and destructive among the CON-
mon people than the smallpox or any other
epidemic ever could be. Secretly and insidiously
the curse is eating out the life of the people, and
absolutely nothing is being done to save them
from it. The amount of good accomplished, in
Guiding the lives saved, by the law in question
while it was in operation, can never be estimated
or stated in figures. 1t was the one measure
this 3. law to mitigate which struck at the
root of the evil, while all the other remedies of
moral or religious influences and fines and i'm
prisonments failed of accomplishing the desired
end. Admitting that the law is n somewhat
difficult one of enforcement and possesses features
that are Objectionable, yet it can surely be
amended. Whatever may be averred as to it's
imperfections, it was infinitely better than no law
at all on the subject. Properly executed, it was
Il most powerful agent in staying the diminutiOn
of the race with its suspension, sterility has in
creased among the females, and leprosy and death
have hnurishrd.