The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1881-12-10
TIE PACIFIC
& commercial A0OCrtl5cr
DECEMBER To- ISL
SATURDAY

10 AAAf q tNAAfa 80 A.HaH NHA"a. arH .".aA '.'.
little heard Of preparation i'm the way Of
candidate. Ia his respect, we differ from
the fashion Of older countries with popular
representation when the noise Of electoral
contests j. heard long iu advance Of the
decisive day. The main reason Of this
difference has been heretofore found iu tue
fact that we have had uo real political
parties, and 80 exciting questions Of state
policy 70 BE- discus-eI among the people
and decided in the legislature. II would
seem, however, that owing 20 certain
cause, the seeds OF the worst sort Of party
difference are being thickly sewn here-but
we shall refer 10 this 10y and by.
On the part II the foreign born portion Of
the community, and seemingly in proper
ton with their increase in numbers, wealth
and influence, there has been noticeable q
growing apathy and Indifference as 10 what
men are elected 10 the Legislature. That
this j. radically wrong, every one must
admit who j. entitled 10 "a vote and q voice
i'm the conduct Of public affairs. We hold
il to be the bOundeu duty Of every foreign
born subject, who is loyal To- the principle
Of Hawaiian Independence. 10 go 10 the
polls and intcLligently exercise the right Of
voting for the man Of his choice and 10y
so doing give an Illustration to his native
born fellow-citiZen Of his estimate Of public
duty and Of the value Of the principle Of rs
preventative government. Yet we see hum
dreds Of voters Keeping away from the polls
Oh election day, who are, however, quite
ready to find fault when any particular
legislation or want Of legislation does not
exactly please them. There is also another
class, which we are fain To believe is neither
very numerous nor very influential in
dividuals who openly express the belief
the wish being father To the thOught-that
Hawaiian autonomy is doomed, and there
fore they take no part or interest in
national affairs, on the vowed principle
that the worse things are managed, the
sooner the desired end Will come. Shallow
and greed-blindedI
We may fairly anticipate that the COM
ing Legislature, like others for quite 4
number Of years past, will be composed
Of natives in large majority, and that but
very few f%Oreign-bOrn members Will he re-
turned. The reasons for this are patent
enough. The intelligent natives can see. as
well a. can foreigners, that their race i
diminishing in numbers though they
may not be quite as sagaciOus as the
latter in pointing out the causes of the
decline or in suggesting possible remedies
| therefor. The statement, moreover. has
been repeatedly dinned in the native ears,
and proceeding from official sources, that
their race j. fated to utter extinction,
within a specified and quite brief period.
Under such circumstance they would be
more Than human were they not DESTROYS
Of retaining and exercising every SEM
blance even Of political power in their own
hands and ~theTchOice Of the representa-
tiyes j. clearly theirs by prcponderance Of
votes in every electoral district. Another
consideration has great weight in con-
trolling the native vote, and this is tile I'M
fortunately growing feeling Of antagonism
Of races. This j. of comparatively modern
growth, for the time was, and not 80 very
long ago, in the history Of Hawaiian law
making, when in "a House Of Representa-
tives consisting Of t~weuty-fOur members,
one half was fOreigu-bOu. The causes 81
this change,-the initiation Of this spirit
OF a%ntagouism between the red man and
the white.-Originatc with the latter, as
when recently a foreign newspaper tauntcd
the natives as having no other industry
than express driving. The native wei.
knows and readily acknowledges his own
infcriOrity To- the foreigner in point Of cdu
cation and general knowledge, but he i
peculiarly sensitive and naturally become,
embittered when he sees i'm the forcignc. q
disposition, scarcely concealed, to treat him
with contempt, and a Willingness to seiZ,
every opportunity To ignore his rights OF
the very soil OF his birth and ancestry
That this s. the experience Of the nativ,
in too many instances when dealing Will
foreigners, and that such experience j. a
the bottom Of the miserable and mis-
chievOus race -autagonism that has beer
growing Of late y~ears-admits of u'
question.
The sessions Of the Legislative Assembly
under our constitutional monarchy mus
always be Of q paramount Importance, a
those Of the highest tribunal in the land
the law-making power. With all the fail
iug- and shortcomings that may, Will
more or less Of truth be charged To tn,
account Of our parliamentary system, We
we can point with some degree of salts
faction To the accomplishment al "a fai
code Of civil and criminal law as the pro
duct Of our comparatively brief political
existence. There Is, in the nature OF things
a great deal Of ]extraneous and unpro!itabl,
discussion brought up in the Assembly
and widely divergent views are elaborated
but from out Of the whole there comes ;
residuum Of good for the country. Ia TN,
session Of ISsO, there were no less than on,
hundred and thirty-two bills discussed, Owe
eighty Of which were passed, and forty-fiv,
only received the Royal approval an,
became laws. The King having a mega.
tive. on all bills which may be passed 10y
the Assembly, Is in reality the chief lcgis
Iative factor i'm the state. With "a Ministry
i'm harmony with the Sovereign and fully
sustained by the Representatives of TN,
People, then, indeed, might we expect L,
see some positively good legislation accom-.
pIi-hed. That the session Of 1~~2 will u,
one Of the most important in the history %
Hawaiian legislation, we have every reason
TO expect. In a future ISSUE we propose Il
enumeratc SOME Of the more evidently
necessary measures that will probably b,