The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-11-16
BRIEF MENTION.

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THASKsGIvIyG.-Wha, is going 10 be done abou;
having a general Tbanksgiv;ug2 We have seen no
iutiuatioa Of any public service Ter this purpose.
/, is now ,Ae middle u November, and there is
ample lime 20 aPpo.a; = day upon which The
nation may assemble. by recommendation Of IL
Heal. aad 10 public acknowledge Gods mcrcies
aud blessings et tae year.
SFoErs ~To-DAI-These Will be quite nun
circus, including the regatta which Will be the great
feature ofthe day torse riding Picuics in the suburbs.
&c. Sc, aad the Miastre,s in the evening. We
hear that at Oats Sail Loft there Will be dancing
between the boat raees-a rev feature il reEattAs,
aud certainly very attractive to the young folks.
HooFH6 CouGH.-Tbis disease. which period
calIy becomes epidemic here. has prevailed for
month past in Honolulu and lis enyirous. and We
hear OF quite q number Of deaths among the chill
dren Of natives. There : really no remedy Tor
the disease-so the doctors say-and i, must be
allowed 20 run its course. extending generally
over a period Of SIX weeks; but care as TO the
taking Of fresh cold may prevent fatal results,
The "FoEEIGS MAuL"-This is the title Of a new
monthly commercial paper published by Ward s
Lipman, of Philadelphia, Pa. Il abounds with
interesting statistical information concerning the
Export Trade Of The United States. OF the greatest
value TO merchants abroad having. or intending.
American connections. Every business man who
desires to keep even with the times will be sure 10
have 4 Gle Of the Mall in his counting-room. Sub
scription price, $50 per annum.
COMING ~RACEs-Perhaps it may sound somewhat
premature, but yet it may with p~ropriety be men
toned, that the owners Of racing stock are already
preparing for New Years. Ga that day, as We
are informed, there will be some trials Of speed be-
tween imported and homebred nags-not at Kapio-
lani Park, as we could have wished. but-at Kahu-
ku, on the other side Of this Island, on the estate
of James Campbell, Esq. Sporting men are already
making up their purses for the day, which is a
month and a halfhence.
SoUTH KoNA.-A recent arrival from this district
gives a dismal report Of the state of things there
in an agricultural point of view. In former years
there was no lack of moisture on the uplands. from
frequent recurring rains, but for months past there
has been a drought. Added to this trouble is the
pest of ants, a large kind, never seen before this
year, which attack and devour taro and sweet pota-
toes when just planted, rendering futile the attempt
to raise a crop on which to support the family.
Many have in consequence been obliged to subsist
on the hqpuu. or fern root-a rather hard kind Of
| uleL-au Ty auu taSleIesS lnluE Inc pTOulEal son
who would fam eat the husks that the swine fed
upon, was no worse of in the matter of food than
some of the South Kona people.
BRoKEN GLAss-We again call attention. to the
very culpable practice OF throwing glass bottles
and broken glass into the streets, to the imminent
danger of lifelong or fatal injury to pedestrians
or valuable horses We presume that, in most in
stances, the practice results from thoughtlessness,
rather than from an intention to do injury. In
either case, it is to be equally condemned, and
anyone so careless of the public safety should be
dealt with in the seveTest manner the law wik>
allow. Must we wait until a human life or two is
sacrificed, or some valuable horse is ruined, before
anything is done to check this great evil? It
would be we'll for the police TO sean the streets in
the early morning, before the tide of business and
travel has set in. Don't throw glass into the
street
THE WINTER RAINS are quite backward this year.
By the middle of November formerly we used to
be pretty well wetted down, but latterly it seems
that we have fallen upon dry spots. Perhaps the
astronomers will explain it on some theory Of sun
spots. What rain we do have is very unequally dis
tributed. Oar latest reports from Makawao, Maui,
represent the district as badly dried up. t Eohala,
Hawaii, where during the drought here they had a
surplus Of rain. they had a reverse for a month,
having been compelled to stop planting for the
want of rain but now again We hear that the dis
trict has been favored with copious showers.
Kauai has her never-failing streams, and can irri-
gate. So can the Hamakua and Tilo districts on
Hawaii, and we hope erelong to hear the report
verified of large natural reservoirs of water in
Kau, accounts of which we published recently
from the pen Of a correspondent.
GAS IN OPERATGoN-We had the pleasure on
Thursday evening of this week, Of witnessing the
operation of one of the " Union Gas Machines"
at the store of G. w. Macfarlane & Co. on Queen
street. The machines themselves are of the sim
plest construction, and any novice can manage
one when they do require attention, which is only
at long intervals, while they are quite moderate in
cost. We learn that some of our planters have
ordered these machines for their private resi-
dences, and for their boiling houses for night
work, as being really more economical and GER
tainly safer than any kind of oil. The light which
we saw at Macfarlane IL Co.'S on Thursday night
was not OF a glaring character. like som other
artificial lights, but while amply sufficient to read
or write by, might be termed a subdued daylight.
The street light was brilliant. and illuminated the
entire neighborhood. We are informed by the
Agents. Macfarlane & Co, that all the machines in
Honolulu and neigbborhood will be under the
supervision Of an %employe, who will inspect each
machine at intervals of one or two weeks, and see
that they are properly taken care Of
The CoNCERT.-Aadame Jennie Claus concert
last Saturday night proved all that the public anti
cipated-and a great deal more. Her excellent and
mastery rendering Of the difficult music Of Vieux-
temps and Wienawski excited the surprise and un-
bounded admiration of the audience, and called forth
the most fattering applause and repeated encores.
There is, in our community, a great deal Of musical
talent of a high order, and which has been carefully
cultivated. People of this class are not easily de-
ceived as to the merits Of an artistic who appears
before them, and at this concert Madame Claus took
them by storm. We need not say more, for this fact
covers the whole ground. The amateurs, Miss