The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1880-01-17

UNDER the heading \ word OF Commenda-
ton n bilious individual who signs himself
- Observer " gets of a large amount Of condem-
nation against the President and members Of the
Board Of Health and the ADVERTISER, which lat
ter he says e aspires to the distinction Of being
the organ Of the Ministry in general and the
President Of the Board in particular. 20 50 Obsery-
er says he writes h~urriedly and imperfectly.
This Is apparent, when We look at his spelling
and misuse Of words. But what he lacks in care
be makes up in venom, when be expresses his
desire to contribute 10 the 9 good work Of
bringing into d~i-repute the members Of the Board.
lie says-' Let us have facts. just 50. When
he speaks Of our present incompetent ard inefi-
cient sanitary administration, - what facts does
he adduce in suPporto Of the railing accusation
None, whatever. Nothing but general charges.
The whole article is a concentrated grDwl Of dis
satisfaction at the Board and the ADVERTISER, 20
intense and unreasoning n to afford fair ground
for the suppOsition that the writer has some
personal grudge against somebody concerned.
If JuH statistics on the subject Of mortality in
these Islands were to be published, as is suggest
ed, they would simply shOw-what has been de-
cIared in the papers for years past. and import
ant III lhi1 l5cus5lJNr-LUd the native race mas
been all along decreasing with more or less rapid
ity. One Of the principal causes OF this decrease
has been the pauci,y Of births as compared with
the deaths. 1t viii hardly be urged, by even
such a wrOng-hcaded : Observer as the Ga
@eue's correspondent, that the Board Of Health
must be held responsible for the steriIity Of Haw-
allan females. The importation Of South Sea
Islanders, which is being SO vigorously carried on
by the government and which We heartily COM
mend-and no sensible man will style us a gov
ernment organ for doing so-is undertaken for
the purpose Of experimenting that very decrease
IN our own people by those Of a cognate race. 1t
would subserye no good purpose but operate
rather in the other direction, were we to Z" com
placentIy parade before the world full particu-
lars Of the rate at which the aboriginal Hawaii
ans have decreased during the past twenty-five or
thirty years. Out we are glad to know from Off
cial statistics, that for over a year past the births
and deaths among the native population through
out the Islands have approached an equality in
.numbers) For it should be remembered that it
was to these people that the great powers conced-
ed the status Of an independent government in
1913. and not to American and European settlers
and Chinese coolies.
But il lie a fact, as has been stated before, and
as is perfectly well known to those who are famil-
lar with the customs and habits of the native
Hawaiiaus, that very many Of the aged and sick
come to this city from the other Islands and die
here, and Of course help to swell our death rate.
And it is also true, which any reasonable person
will concede in view Of all the facts, that the
death rate of this city as published is not by any
oToruufur nor d,oa - daurorafrota tI,,t
- our city has absolutely lost its healthy charac-
tel, ''-would-be. alarmists and spiteful d%etractors
to the contrary Notwithstanding.