The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1881-12-28

there may be, but the matter has taken no
definite shape
In every relation of life the necessity Of
having such an interpreter is felt. In the
police department, when investigating
crime we are entirely in the hands of
irresponsible men, men whose translation
may be good, or may not men who may
be telling the story correctly or may be
garbling it, or even be incapable of rend-
ering it properly. It is a serious thing to
contemplate, that at times the ends of
justice are defeated because the evidence
either for or against the prisoner has been
incorrectly given, that either a scoundrel
gets off scot free or that an injustice has
been done to some unfortunate man, and
yet this must and does continually hap
pen. Take again the investigation of
accounts. We have in this city and scat
tered over the group large number OF
Chinese firms. These, without exception
keep their accounts entirely in Chinese.
These accounts are sealed book to all of
us here; when we have to investigate them
what can we dot We call iii the assistance
of third party and trust that what he
tells us about them is true; but we have
no guarantee that it is so. We have no
means Of check upon the statements save
from the goodwill of some Celestial In
labor matters there should also be some
thoroughly efficient person who could,
when a serious difference of opinion
between employer and employed occurred
get at the root of the matter, and instead
of giving the result of his Investigations
in half-broken English, capable of mis-
Interpretation, present it IN a clear,
concise form which would carry conviction
to the mind of every practical man.
1t is, moreover, not only what the trans
lator would do himself, but it is the whole
some check that he would be upon trans
lators of Chinese race.
When man knows that what he says
can be overhauled by person thoroughly
competent to understand what is true and
what is untrue, he will become more chary
of what he says; he will be careful to
render into English the exact truth, he
will hesitate to add this or that word
which will either seem to extenuate or
appear to make more henious the matter
under consideration. Finally, in discus
sing the necessity of an interpreter we
get back to one apparently very small,
but at the same time very important mat
ter upon which the government and
the public at large ought to be thoroughly
informed and that is the Chinese wall
literature. Our dead walls are covered
with documents upon the sense of which
no one in the community has the slightest
idea. They may be prayers; they may be
innocent notices of sales and so forth, and
they may be obscene or reasonable docu-
ments; no one has any certainty upon the
point. Now this is, certainly, very
uncomfortable condition of affairs to live
under, and we are surprised that people
have consented to live SO long under such
conditions that there has not been more
popular clamor upon the matter. The
subject has often been discussed in these
columns during the past year, first being
touched upon March 18th, and since then
being kept prominently before our read
ers. This is something that is of vital
interest to every plantation owner and
business man in the country, and should
give food for reflection. The matter of
having a proper Chinese interpreter is
really urgent.