The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1880-01-03

stately forms OF Idkl ana hekuanaOa. here also Cohlee Ie
joyial and pleasing, countenance Of KaPaakea, than whom
none eXeeled in the qualities of caution and modesty IN
for his own affairs. Now before the minds eye the STOPPING
form of John Ii and amongst those who servedl and
labored for the good of the country and the progress OF the
nation, we cannot forget HaaIiio, Keiiahonui, Namakaeha,
Kaeo, and Kanaina. OF the servants of the Government and
the people who are now living, it is not fitting to speak on
this occasion, for the web Of their history is not yet woven,
nor are their labors finished.
Standing upon this spot this morning, our thoughts revert
to the chiefs and counsellors who have departed before and
some remarks are suggested in regard to events OF the past
one consider that it is a light and easy task to conduct the
affairs Of our Island Government, he will be greatly mis-
taken, for evidently it will require all the skill, the watchtul
care, the patience, the caution and the industry that can be
bestowed in the future, in order to secure the w~el[being of
the people and the prosperity of the Government.
The pleasant memories of my youth about this city of ours
are still fresh. When the palace which once stood ON this
ing thorns, sparsely dotted with grass houses, among which
wound narrow lanes, formed by the banks of taro patches.
Now, as we look about us on all sides, all these things are
changed it would seem as if the bloom and verdure of the
valleys had been transpanted hither,-the handsome white
brought down from its mountain hidingplace to the inner
most homes of the people,-the whirl of the wheels of
hammers in the various haunts of industry,-the construction
of ~telegraphic wires and the telephone, carrying with the
Iharbor, there thirty years ago there was but one wharf, that
'Of James Robinson, whereas to-day the water frontage is
face of the harbor is now disturbed by the movements of the
numerous coasters, merchant and whaleships, vessels of war,
our interisland steamers, and the periodical calls fthe huge
mail steamers.
Our commerce twenty-five years ago was next to nothing
Z" Ml"NN viz NY IiSCH9 tiiiS , vi ~ 0uOoO uJS Ol
commerce depended upon the visits of the whaleships we
produced nothing of Importance for export, except such
winter months and a small portion ofthe spring but during
the long summer months we saw no more of these customers.
to the sum of S148, 685.76 and in the year 1878, the value
of our exports reached the sum of S3,247,87949, Not. only
this, but we must consider the wages earned by the people.
Formerly twenty-five cents per diem was considered high
wages for a hbOrer, but now he demands as high as two
dollars or more for a single days work. 10 SfEE@ !
1t is not however in this city alone that we find evidences
of the changed condition of the people and the country. Let
rs turn II ewes TO the Vin1WaFd islands and eXamina their |
conditions. a hundred years ago, those islands were noted
their spears and javeHns, where apparently the only use OF
the common people was to help their chiefs in their warike
pursuits, to implicitly obey, to trust to and to love their
But in these days, on those plains where once the flying
spear and swift iavelin were familiar objects. q great war of a
different character is going forward on most ofthe fertile por-
of the country. In the far distant past it was the fierce
tread of armed men on their marches and in their combats
that filled the air with the dust of their movements but in
these days it Is the untiring point of the pillow that industri-
ously stirs up the dry soil which has SC long lain fallow,-
the steam whistle echoes far and near, arousing the idle to
hands with the industrious, that both may work together
IEoSress. FIFTY years ago, II a prophet had arisen who
end IlilO and the barrenness of Kau should be cultivated
that the rushing streams of precipitous Koolau on Maui that
ran to waste in the ocean should be diverted to fertilize
the broad plains of Kulaokamaomao,-that the first telephone
the rise of Nehe,-that Honolulu should witness the prosecu-
and churches,-that the bulrushes of the swamps of Eva
and Waikiki should be swept away by the agriculture of a
song, should be made to serve in fertilizing the land and
doing the work of man-what should we have thought of
a prophet q? We should have pronounced him a
visionary or a mailman.
But in the past fifty years, during which we have enjoyed
the benefits of an enlightened civilization, many and great
changes have taken place, affording a noble contrast to the
of our f~orefathers. To-day, every man is a freeman,
our laws protect equally the person, the life and the property
of every man, secure from injury or spoil. In these last years
we have received Il generous national concession, which must
and consolidate our agricultural interests, giving
new life to the land. And thus, as the country grows in
wealth and the Government in its ability to serve the people,
in like generous manner and proportion may we provide a
home for the Kings of Hawaii
For myself, being a member of the Masonic Fraternity, l
am reminded of the Sovereigns of this Kingdom who have
members of the same and have devoted their ener-
to forwarding the interests of that benevolent Order,
whose object is to combine all good men in one sacred bond
Of brotherhood. To-day the honorable duty has devolved
that Order of laying the cornerstone of the Royal
Palace here to be erected so also was awarded to that
Order the honor of laying the foundations of the world
Temple of Jerusalem.
Three of the crowned heads of this Kingdom were men,
of this Order, as was also the late lamented Prince
The cornerstOnes of all our principal public
buildings have been laid by the Order of Freemasons.
Kamehameha IV-one of the wisest of our Kings, and
laid the cornerstone of the Sailors Home and of the Queens
Hospital.
Kamehameha V, the King of infexible will and undaunted
mien, laid the cornerstone of our much admired Government
building, AiioIani Hale.
We are now in the reign of Kalakaua, the only one of
Sovereigns who has assembled all the steps of the craft,
and has reached the pinnacle of Masonic honors.
1t is Il matter of surprise as well as of qualification to know
that the sentiments and inclinatiOus of our Kings have in this