The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1877-09-01
Our Public Schools.

There is no movement in the interests Of a people
50 important as that which carries on the work
of education. BY this proposition 1 do not intend
to obscure in the very least degree. the eternal
concerns that are predicated upon religion but
if we would promote the most complete develop
ment, even in the moral growth Of men, we must
prepare them by healthful mental conditions. The
highest interests of any people are best secured
through the universal education that is represent
ed by the Public Schools. And though, g~eograph-
ically speaking, the Hawaiian Kingdom is but
q dot in the bulk Of this great round world, IL
might prove itself, through the education Of Its
people, an Archimedean lever among the. machipQy
of human activity that operates from pole 10 pole,
and eirdles the earth from the rising to the setting
sun.
1t is often said that people do not come here
to make permanent homes for life, and hence the
institutions of the country are Of little Importance
to them. This is short-sightedness, for whatever
advances q community, enhances the welfare OF
every resident therein. And then Il lie selnshness
to the EXTREMIST degree. Do these people who
come here to spend q few years in the accumulation
Of wealth to be enjoyed in other climes, imagine
that their departure from our Islands will totally dis
member the whole social, political or commercial
fabric! Have they no wish TO leave for others who
may desire to avail themselves of these same priv
ileges, such conditions as will cause them to be
remembered with pride and gratitude by future
residents Of this Island homer
But the future actual citizenship Of this King
dom is, or ought to be largely represented In
our Public Schools. What is given there should
be a matter Of earnest consideration. Popular
education is demanded by our political economy.
The individuality Of every citizen declares itself
through his power to benefit or injure the whole
community of which he forms q part. This power
is directly proportional to his ability to control
himself, acquired through the discipline and
knowledge of that period Of life which is usually
spent in the school-room.
The regard which every man e~ntertains for the
land Of his birth, or his adoption, demands that
the people be educated. And here prominently
is this the case. So many elements Of society are
brought together that the incest discrimination IL
necessary for the proper selection Of what will best
preserve us as a respected nation among the other
nations Of the earth.
The love Of mankind which Christianity develops
in the heart asks for q general interest in our
Public Schools. If we would be saved from the
depravity, the vice and wretchedness that charnc-
terizes the sea-ports Of the continental world. we must
demand and procure the essentials for the highest
mOIul u ~ VI NV AADhDB beHNA"~
ton, and enforce our compulsory School Law, Kill
all are brought under the influence Of the same.
There is no work to which genius and expe-
Tience can be more worthily consecrated, than that Of
bringing about a pure, wise and intelligent interest In
our Public Schools. Every individual here, whether
statesman, merchant or artisan. whether he
represents capital or labor, should feel that the
Public Schools are a mighty engine for pushing
forward the work Of progress whose foundations
were so successfully laid a half q century ago.
Our position in the Pacific makes il important that
our lights should always be trimmed and burning.
We may seem small, but we can be important,
even to the nations whose shipping passes and
repasses our beautiful Island world. IL matters
little with what eye we are scanned ; popular edu-
cation is demanded, whether we desire to stand
forth as an example of a wisely lf-governed
people, whether this is TO be merely a resort for
health and pleasure, or whether il is to be halfway
stopping place for those whose journey Of life is but
one grand commercial speculation. The Pablo
Schools are the very Palladium Of every and all
our interests and as such must be guarded as
the nations most precious treasure.
MIRIAM WEBSTER.
August "a, 1877.