The Hawaiian gazette., 1880-01-21

] WOulO no uOuDl De IlHulN pllLtu DN llldL1
persons. former King is said to have de-
clared that he objected to city government
of Honolulu, because its mayor would be of
more importance than himself. We hope we
shall not be regarded as iawuing applicants
for royal favor when we say that we are not
ready for all this ourselves. In this we trust
that we express the views a of majority of the
foreign voters who hold about one-tenth of
the voting power of Honolulu.
THE question of immigration still interests
the public, and with the capacity of the coun-
try to support far larger population than
now lives here, it is likely to do SO for some
time to come. 1t is not likely that further
efforts will be made for the introduction of
Chinese for they will bring themselves. Their
immigration will need Legislation, to prevent
too great disproportion of males. The
country needs two classes of population-or-
dinary laborers and intelligent agriculturists
with families. With these, the requisite num-
ton. We need the laboring class because our
largest staple cannot be produced to any great
extent on small farms worked only by the
owner and family. We need intelligent farm
ers, because q limited number can find en-
ployment at that vocation, and 1t is the duty
of every we'll -wisher of HaW ali to make places
for more. Could the whole country be cut up
into farms of 80 to 800 acres and then be cul-
tivated by farmers who owned them and un-
derstood their business, the nation would be
on a firmer basis of stability and prosperity
than ever before. Are we securing the immi-
grants needed in the class brought recently
from the southern seas The so called /" Ma
nahiki experiment of 1868 was failure, be-
cause the people came from low islands, were
possessed of low vitality. and were unable
TO endure the comparative rigor of this climate.
1t is said to be a physiological fact that those
people who come from mountainous islands,
who are used to long and hard land journeys,
whose diet consists of q variety of fruits, veg
etables, roots, grains and animal food besides
fish, are far harder and possessed of more
strength, vitality and endurance than those
who inhabit the low coral islands of the Paci-
fc, whose diet consists of cocoanut, mangrove
and fish. 1t is not matter of surprise that
the latter class of people are unable to live
and work in these islands. If we are not
misinformed the last two arrivals from the
south, the "Hawaii" and "Storm Bird"
brought only such people, and it is proposed
to procure still more. Are these the people
desired to fill mp Kalakaua' Kingdom? Is the
country the gamer by their coming? If they
prove to be of like type and parentage with
the "Manahikis," unable to endure this eli
mate, are sickly and rapidly die off, what are
we going to do about ii q? There is no ques-
tion as to the need of immigration, but only
as to the methods 10 be used and the people to
be brought. Why would it not be well to
spend part of the money in creating induce
ments for people to settle here? There are
crown and private lands in large quantities
which might be made useful for this purpose.
THE press represents the idea of enlarged
facility of expression; and when we discuss
its freedom, the principles of our subject carry
us back of the printing press to the founda-
ton question of liberty of expression. We
know how despots have been accustomed to
answer this inquiry, and we know too how
free discussion" has been the battle cry of
all earnest effort for political reform. No diff
ference, except in degree, appears between
the press and any other channel of expression ;
the same ethical principles that govern public
speaking or social conversation, apply also to
the publication of books and newspapers.
The invention of printing marvelously in
creased the influence of uttered and written
thoughts. Words with which the orator
reached a thousand listeners or the writer
slowly and doubtfully impressed a few hun
dred readers, were now scattered broadcast
over nations. Perhaps it is more correct to
say that printing has added new and peculiar
power to the ordinary influence of uttered and
written thoughts, which originates from the
consciousness of the reader, that what he
reads, written with an intuitive perception of
the views held by many people, is read by and
impresses a great many more. 1t is this re-
fex action on so immense a scale that consti-
tutes the power of The press. The power does
not exist until the publication is read and its
ideas appreciated by many people, There is no
wonder that the rise of this new force was un-
welcome to the governments of the day, and
that they sought to place it under such control
as should either rob it of those features dan
gerous to despotism, or appropriate its great
resources to themselves Such action was
polite and generally conscientious, for in those
forms of government where official watchful-
ness took the place of public sentiment, not
only was free discussion thus augmented in
consistent with political security, but under
its license morals could with difficulty be
guarded The surveillance of the press in
France under the empire is an illustration of
this necessity.
Although Anglo-Saxon readers need no ar
gument to convince them that the freedom of
the press in general terms is right of citizens
nd hapaf,ial 10 Yha r,a0y,1a =
uncertainty of opinion upon the absoluteness
and comprehensiveness of this right. 1t is
thought by some that there are certain sub
jects which are entitled TO exemption from
public criticism. These favored interests may
be the executive, the Judiciary, the clergy or
any other class or institution.
1t is plausible theory that courts of justice
should be secured from journalistic censure.
Their great importance the essential neces-
sity of the supremacy of law;-the need that
they should hold public respect and confidence,
that they should be above suspicion, all may
appear good reasons why they should be free
from the nuhlished iudpments of self-assumed