The Hawaiian gazette., 1879-01-15
The Labor Question.

C. Advertiser is driving at, when it spreads
itself on the labor question. In last weeks
issue it deplores the coming to these Islands,
Of the male Caucasian and Mongolian, alike
denouncing both races as uncivilized, and un-
desirable as laborers. A few months ago, the
same paper took the GAZETTE to task. for
calling the attention of the planters to the
skilled plantation laborers of the Southern
States, and now that paper denounces the
Hawaiian Government for its supineness on
the subject OF procuring desirable as well as
sufficient number Of laborers to supply the de-
mands Of the planters. We repeat, that it
puzzles us to divine what the Advertiser is
driving at 1t seems to be in muddle, and
cannot see its way out of the difficulty; for
/ il keeps up howl OF indiscriminate complaint
without attempting TO suggest remedy. The
Advertiser, in last weeks issue, makes the hu-
initiating confession of its utter wOrthlessness,
when it says it has been lsboring without
[ effect for quarter Of a century, TO induce the
Hawaiian Government to adopt policy on the
immigration question. Yes, this is too true
+ % AAt ANNtAAlccA NUAQtIAul W III
all Its assumptions about grammar, logic and
/ rhetoric, for the past quarter Of a century,
that paper has signally failed in its silly
7 efforts, because they were silly and stupid.
I The Advertiser, while II was dealing in gram
mar according to Lindlay Murray, in logic ac-
/ cording to Bacon, and rhetoric according TO
Blair, for twenty-five years and upwards, has
/ seen the Hawaiian race dwiDdle down from
one hundred and fifty thousand, to less than
/ forty thousand. It now sees and feels its
/ folly, because the wheels of progress were
/ going round during the period of its Rip Van
1 Winkle slulnber 1t has at last awakened to the
reality of the Hawaiians being supplanted by
another race Of people on these Islands, q
/ process which cannot be stayed with all the
efforts Of this ancient organ of puerilities. In
the twenty five years of the Advertisers great
influence on these Islands, it has pursued the
slip-shod policy OF leaving events to take care
OF themselves, and now, that il sees its error,
coufesses its folly; but true to its instincts,
(if it has any ii goes blindly on in the same
course of carping and finding fault, when it
ought to address itself to the task Of sugges-
ting some feasible means of extricating the
Kingdom out of the difficulty it so dolOrously
/ deplores. What troubles the Advertiser more
than anything else, We opine, is the fact that
there have appeared in the columns of the GA
zETTE. within the past year, more practical
and useful suggestions for the consideration
Of the Government and the people of the King
dom than have appeared in the Advertiser for
quarter Of century. On the labor question,
the GAZETTE has pointed the Government and
the planters to the only field from which they
can obtain the necessary supply of skilled
laborers, at far less cost than is now being
paid for unskilled people from China and the
islands of the South Pacific. The GAzErrE's
position on this subject has been corroborated
by the testimony of others to the same effect,
namely: That if the Government and the
planters of these Islands desire it, they can
send to the Southern States, where there are
upwards of three millions of skilled field
hands, and obtain in a few months as many
people Of all ages and sexes to supply the de-
mands of this country as they desire. Ifit be
true, as the Advertiser asserts, that the Gov
ernment, through inefficient officials, has failed
or neglected to adopt policy on the immigra-
tiOn question, that will supply the Islands
with laborers, then the task of doing so must
devolve upon some other and more efficient
agency: and just here and now, the GAZETTE
will venture to make another practical sugges-
tion on the labor question. 1t is this: Let
the planters put their heads together, raise a
few thousand dollars, send some competent
agent TO the Southern States, and let him bring
here hundred or more families, and try the
experiment. This would be step in the right
direction, and would demonstrate the practi-
cability of this new scheme of immigration
This is practical suggestion, which the GA
zErrE makes to the planters in all sincerity
And while the Advertiser is busying itself with
the literary pastime of correcting our "bad
grammar, bad logic and bad rhetoric" we
commend this simple proposition to the plan
ters for their serious consideration. By the
way, would it not be well for our contemporary
to answer the following questions:
l. How many yards of Lindlay Murray's
grammar is equal to one good field laborer'i
work for one year on plantation?
?. How many tons of solid logic. according tc
the most approved masters, will it require Il
pay the interest on the money invested in on'
sugar plantation on these Islands, at the Tat,
Of one per cent month per annum?
5. How many miles of the most finished
rhetoric (such as the Advertiser would cal
goOd) would it require 20 supply the planters
with say, ten thousand skilled laborers to d.
the work on the sugar estates
When our contemporary answers the fore
going questions TO the satisfaction of the plan,
ters and business men of these Islands, we
Will have some hopes of its return to reason
and common sense. Now, in turn, We bel
pardon Of our readers for taking up so mucl
space to expose the absurdity and stupidity o
the Advertiser on the labor question. Th
truth is, the Advertiser is in quandary, AM
don't know how to extricate itself, while i
labors to palm of its balderdash about gram
mar, logic ard rhetoric, as an ans wer to stub.
born facts upon the all-important subject 0
how to supply the demand for laborers on tn,
sugar plantations. In the discussion Of tht
labor question, our contemporary had bette