The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-04-11

severely 'iuHc-
OUR ATTENTION has been called to an editorial
in a recent issue of one of the journals of this
city, anent the effects Of scholastic education upon
the Hawaiians; and as its general tone is calcu-
lated TO convey a false impression, We cannot per-
nit it to pass unnoticed.
In the first place the writer in question puts
forth the singular statement that . Scholastic ed
ucation is hurtful III Hawaii, whilst beneficial
elsewhere" We cannot believe that it is hurt
full +" anywhere, and we would therefore alter the
sentence so as to read, Scholastic education is
less beneficial in Hawaii because there are no
home influences to second it,"
Again, an intelligent foreigner is reported by
the same writer as having said that the curse of
this country is the food of literature; j. c. in the
native language. Now so far from there being a
flood" of literature for the natives, there is a
woful dearth of the same. We do not count a
newspaper as anything more than an ephemeral
production, serving to convey something of the
news of the day to each reader, but in no sense
forming 4 part Of a library. And as for books,
there is really but one or two published in Ha-
waiian, and aside from the Bible and a limited
number of school-books, there is nothing for an
inquiring mind to feed upon. If the writer in
question had been confined in his reading to the
list we have enumerated, we opinc that even he,
with all his native acuteness, would to-day be i'm
a doleiul state of ignorance, with whom not a few
Hawaiians would compare quite advantageously.
In the article under review, the inference to be
drawn from the assertion made is that the Ha-
waiians--girls especially-arc too much educated.
C.ropEipr fb,f oI,oot;n,, orI oo,EooE ,,.kk co.a:-.
influences of a good kind, tend to awaken a de-
sire in the minds of Hawaiian girls to marry
something better than a crude Hawaiian; and
granting also that instances can be pointed out
wherU an educated girl educated so far as the
limited advantages of the country will allow has
PFeEFF~d q" he~a-"~ tho ,aistrea~- of q. Eoroisno-
who could crafty her taste for dress, etc. we
would ask whether the first ambition is not one
calculated to inspire our Hawaiian youths with a
desire to fit themselves to become husbands for the
educated girls; or whether the now exceptional
cases limited at, recently, did not form the rule in
the years of comparative ignorance-now happily
gone by-in the history of this people? 10 a
certain class, the license permitted in social life
in these islands a few years back, was congenial ;
but we can hardly believe il to have been so to
this writer, even though he advocates less Of
scholastic education.
In reference to the education Of Hawaiian girls,
we believe that there has not arisen a more knotty
problem to solve than this, in the history Of the
Outstanding OF this people. There is no deny
ing the fact that there are next to no home inAu-
enccs to lay the foundations of character, and to
train the hearts of our young islanders in virtue.
Hence the necessity for that education, whose
foundation must be scholastic.
In the article under review, the writer preposcs
less of books and more of the hoe That
regimen was tried for a number of years in the
Southern States of the American Union, but we
hardly need to say that it failed to educate the
negro up to the point of selEgovernment. 1t was
also tried by the Dutch in Sumatra; the Spanish
i'll the West Indies; and we may add that it has
been put in practice in some localities in these
favored isles; but it has always failed.
The need of a good homo influence on the Ha-
waiian is admitted; what means shall be adopted
to create ii? In our view, this object will be best
secured by placing in the hands of the youthful
Hawaiians a household library. The native who
now calls on his pastor or foreign friend, and sees
him with his family in the evening quiet of his
home, finds him and his reading. He sees almost
every hour of leisure devoted to 4 book; and not
alone do those whose mature minds have been
trained to take comfort and delight Ill the perusal
Of the printed page thus gather knowledge,
but there are little children lost in the wonders
of fairy tales, adventures by land and sea, stories
in tine lives of good and great men-and all the
features Of 4 bright world from which the native
mind Is shut out. Had but n modicum Of the
large sums of money expended in Outstanding
this people been spent in translating a constant
succession of instructive and entertaining books
for them-if the desire for acquiring knowledge
on their part had been met by 4 corresponding
cagerness to supply that knowledge in boOk-lorm,
"a home influence would have been created that
would have greatly sImplifcd the task that the
Board of Education now have before them.
1t remains for Us now to Auglicize this people
in the one neglected direction that should have
been taken in the outset. They must learn the
English language. This need becomes all the
more apparent when we read the evidence ofsuch
a ripe scholar and thorough Hawaiian as the Rev.
Mr.. Bond of kohala. This gentleman saws, in
effect, that We have 10 one here who understands
English that is capable Of teaching good Hawai-
ian; but We hasten to add, that We know Of q
number who do not understand Hawaiian who
can teach the natives English. some of our
readers may ask how we propose to teach the ma
tives English? We reply, let the people be ell
eoaraged IN every way to send their children to
those schools where the English language Is the
only one taught. In our opinion, the teaching
OF Hawaiian to the natives is nearly as foolish as