The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1880-11-13

gigantic sum was named by Mr..
as necessary for carrying out hissuggest1ons.
In point of fact, his figures are as follows
i. Sewers, pumping machinery, water
closets, &C., for a complete system of car
rage by water to beyond the reef of all
sewage matter, liquid or solid, S1e4,SO5. z.
Sewers for liquid ewage only, and intro
duction of the pail system, with barges, &c,
S1O6, 500. 8. The same, but substituting
the dry earth system for the pail system,
Sill, $50. OF these proposals, the less ex-
pensive ones are by far the best. The same
Minister, whose words we have quoted,
brought up and succeeded in passing
through the Legislature an appropriation
Of 500, 900 for a Marine Railroad. Evidently
then he, his colleagues, a majority OF the
members of the Legislature, and the
public of Honolulu generally, (Which did
not remonstrate), think a marine railroad
of more Importance to this city than mea-
sures for its sanitation. 1t is a fair con-
clusion then that they doubt the stories
that scientific and medical men concur in
telling them as to the evils-the death en-
rendering evils--of cesspools and inadequate
drainage. Ignorance is but too often he
parent of scepticism. Yet in this case the
ignorance is assuredly willful. In this very
report of Mr.. STRINGS we find the follow
ing passage. "There can be no doubt OF
the necessity of getting rid of the privy
and cesspool as soon as possible" and
again "In fact the whole soil is noW so
charged with filth, that for years to come,
whenever we have unusually damp wealth
er we may look for q return of malarial
fever, eUen after the establishment of tho
roughly good drainage" Did the ministers
and legislators who read this believe Mr..
STIRLING or did they doubt ? "a prophet
is without honor in his w country" and
though it is quite probable that no one
knows more upon the subject than this
prophet of evil to whom they would not
listen possibly a name of world wide repu-
tation may influence them and their sue
cessors and this reckless Honolulu public
which abets them in their indifference. j.
BAILEY DENTON in his recent course of
lectures before the Military Engineering
suits arrived at as to the Sanitation of
towns and villages gives the following as
one of the settled deductions of all expe-
rience N science on he subject. mo
cesspits for the reception of excretal
hldIlSiI VIII ~ " pSIlCCltJ "obSA
tight, SHOULD exist in the inhabited parts of
any district, and, if water tight, only when
systematic s~cavengering is strictly carried
out by the local authority - and again,
"~scavengering is essential, = > no town
should exist without a carefully devised
system of scavengering with especial refer
ence to ~nOxious trades and offensive collec-
tions of putrescible matters" Like Mr..
STIRLING, Mr.. DENTON has no ifs or butts in
his conclusions. The former does not say a
sewerage and scavengering system is desira-
ble--he says it is a necessity" Mr..
DENTON lays down his rules as demon
strated propositions about which there can
be no two opinions. We trust that the peo-
pie of this town will listen to wise counsels
such as these, and will not allow the Gov
eminent to await the day when the helpless
population will be decimated by filth-en-
gendered disease before they undertake the
measures that are necessary for our protec-
tion-even if they AVE to forego- for the
present the cherished Marine Railroad in
order to provide funds for sewers and other
sanitary appliances.