The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-05-23

A NOTABLE DISCOURSE was delivered on Sunday
evening last by the Rev. Mr. Frear, pastor Of the
Fort Street Church, on the subject of The leaks
Of our Prosperity, from the text IN Luke Io;I,
the parable Of the unjust seward The
same was accused unto him that he had wasted
his goods" Starting out with the proposition
that the good things of this life are the goods oil
the Master, entrusted to US as stewards, and that
all sin and eyil-doing is ~wasteful, it was shown
how amazing in the aggregate is this waste Of
goods that go to make up our temporal prosper
ity. All suffer from it indirectly. IL makes the
human race eat their bread in the sweat OF their
brows. The subject was well illustrated by the
sin Of slavery as it existed in the United States,
which was a gigantic waster of the nations sub
stance. All the industries Of life are still loaded
with the debts of its prodigal squanderings. The
tempest of human greed and passion that swept
over Wall street in New York city a few months
ago, and reaching finally in its influences really
every individual in the nation, was an instance
Of waste, produced by desperate phrenzy for
riches-a striking instance of the waste that sin
makes. To come nearer home, We were invited
to look especially at the waste caused by alco-
holic drinks and of opium as they are used here
in this kingdom. This was not the highest view
to be taken of the liquor and opium questions,
but still it is the most important, and may pre-
sent itself with most force at this %juncture Of
affairs to those who have the law-making power
in their hands. This aspect of the subject bears
directly on the welfare of this people. The re-
sources of this group of islands are enough to
make prosperous all its inhabitants. And that
- = -. IL z-.- -.uk l.. 100000 tbo,n - n
waste of the Masters goods. 1t needs no argu-
ment to show that what is consumed here in
alcoholic drinks and opium is even something
more than a total waste. There were imported
into this kingdom last year, ? 5000 gallons of
spirits, and % 900 gallons of ales, beers, &c,
and 7 300 gallons of light wines,-in all, $500
gallons Of such drinks. The inVoiced value Of
these drinks last year was about $50 900. 1t
took that amount of money out of this kingdom,
out of its solid earnings, to send abroad to pay
for these imports. Thirteen thousand dollars
more were sent abroad to pay for the opium con-
sumed here. So far as waste and loss are con-
cerned, would it not have been better to have
taken all this sum and thrown it into the sea 2
To stop this leakage alone, would make money
plenty here. 1t is giving away so much coin
without any needed or useful return. But this
is only a fraction in the estimate of the waste.
\ very low estimate shows us that the people Of
this kingdom pay out of their earnings and ac-
cumulations not less than 5000, 900, and most
probably considerably more than this, for drink.
On all the islands there are probably not more
than 5000 male foreigners. and many of these
are temperance men in practice as well as prinei-
pie. And the figures show that n large proper
ton of the liquor consumed here Is drunk by the
Hawaiians, to whom the law forbids it's sale.
To the $500, 900 for drinks must be added prob
ably $75, 00G expended for opium, and no incon-
49, - 1.S--L:-o - --L:oi.
swells the sum total to not far from $500 900,
that is worse than wasted in this little kingdom
of So 900 people, the most of whom are pro-
hibited by law from purchasing intoxicants.
Nearly all this sum is just SO much waste from
the general thrift. 1t promotes no healthful in
d~ustries; it creates no capital it builds no
homes it pays next to no store bills it adds no.
yigor to the productive energies it tends to
diminish rather than increase resources and popu-
lation.
We regret that our space will allow Of no
more than this imperfect outline Of the discourse,
which was argumentatively clear and eloquent
throughout. 1t has been translated and printed
in Hawaiian.