The Hawaiian gazette., 1874-03-18
The Question Ofthe HOur-Firmness
or Weakness?

MR. EDrToR:-I have read with shame and
sorrow, an article in the p. c. AdrsrtiSer signed
Justice" The whole article from beginning TO
end evinces a most deplorable disregard for the
sacred and inalienable rights Of man. Its every
| line is tnctured with the pitable, the weak, the
LdiSsez fdire policy Of the Ia tie administration.
l do not hesitate to denounce the writer as
being almost equally culpable with the rioters Of
the 18th Of February, in that he can nos sit COM
placently and thank God that none Of their in
valuable blood was split on that day. while he has
not word Of sympathy, not lisp Of regret, for
the blood OF those men who, in response to the
call Of the government, had assembled 10 execute
the most sacred and responsible trust OF electing
a sovereign.
The Oft-quoted maxim of law, Better that ten
guilty meg escape than that one innocent man
should suffer-" exhibits most humane and Chris
tian solicitude for natural rights and in precisely
the same spirit is the following aphorism, 4" Bet
ter destroy the lives Of ten guilty men than per-
nit one innocent man to suffer-" which present
for the consideration Of Justice" By the way 1t
strikes me that "PoltroOn" would beft him as q
nom de plume better than Justice" as being more
| in harmony with his sentiments
But TO proceed, the writer runs full tilt against
| the old and unimpeachable maxim, An ounce Of
prevention is better than a pound of cure" His
extraordinary logic says Is II not far better that
the mob were not prevented from carrying into
effect their premedttAted and 1ellsn designs upon
the persons OF the Representatives, now that the
greater part OF them have been arrested, and may
possibly be punished by the law" Shame, say,
dire shame and confusion upon the man who can
calmly defend policy like that. If consistent with
the principles he has enunciated, he would, when
awakened at the dead Of night by misguided indi-
yidual about to apply the torch to his dwelling,
seize his pistol and throw IL down the WELL and then
placing himself at respectable distance would con-
tent himself with saying, Friend don't do that for
If you commit arson the law will be obliged to at
tempt to you OF such tendencies by imprisou-
ment for life, and perhaps by DEATH Common law
is clear upon the duty of defending ones self or
ones reations-and by the higher law OF Christian
ity every man is our brother,-from violence, that
no man of education can be In Ignorance Of 1t. II
may seem superhuous but beg permission to quote
a little: "As there certain iljures that require
more speedy remedy than can be had in the ordi-
nary forms of justice, there Is allowed In those cases
an rajudicial or eccentrical kind of remedy"
" In those cases. IL the party himself or any OF his
relations be forcibly attacked in his person or pro-
perty 1t is lawful for him to repel force by force.
For the law In this case considers that the future
process of law is by no means adequate remedy
for injuries accompanied by force since it is impos
sible to say to what wautOn lengths OF rapine or
cruelty Outages of this sort might be carried unless
it were permitted man Immediately to oppose one
violence with another"
would not advocate the taking of any mans life
unless there should be absolute necessity for it,
but am convinced that If Mr.. Parke had been
backed up at the outset by thirty or forty men pos
sessed OF as much pluck as was shown by Mr.. Har-
ris, every one OF the Representatives might have
been saved from outrage aud death. II might per-
haps have been necessary to have split little blood
but thousand times better have drawn blood from
tina. cowardly mob than to have permitted them to
shed the blood of the nations representatives. And
the country would have been spared the humiliation
of seeing foreign forces In possession OF the public
buildings of this town. l should like to ask jus
tce" what, in his opinion, the result would have
been OF that dastardy lack of any determined resist
ance, which he SO heartily commends, had there
been no vessel of war in our harbOr at that time?
can inform him If he has any doubts on the subject
Before the sun had set the courthouse would have
been vomiting flame and smoke from every aperture
The majority of the members of the Legislative
Assembly who voted for Kalakaua would have been
massacred in cold blood, and the Dew-made King
would have been torn limb from limb by the savage
mob. Where and when they would have stopped
leave it to him to imagine.
Justice" concludes with the weak and cowardly
declaration that ait is always best to avoid extreme
measures" Carry that sentiment into practice and
you would never amputate the notifying limb to
the patients life you would never attempt TO
arrest the mighty conhagratiOn by blowing up with
powder the blocks of building in its track ; you
would employ argument instead of the deadly bullet
upon the wretch who should outrage your wife.
"Justice u in effect cries peace peace ~ when
there Is no peace. Because the fire shoulders he
imagines it to be extinct He innocently imagines
that have seen the final result of the riot Of the
18th February but observation and inquiry would
teach him better. If we are to have peace In the
future, the government must abandon its do nothing
policy, and be prepared to "conquer peace" The
depraved and ignorant classes respect no law but
the law of might. NUSQUAN NON PARATUs.
Honolulu, March 10th, 1874.