The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1881-04-09

respect 10 the Ranala HlanIaGlOn, Is Ine
| crying and deadly evil of our national con-
dition. This mischievous disproportion
prevails on all our plantations. The editor
of this journal, in another publication
some eight years ago, thus spoke of a sad
condition of things in these Islands; of
three men to one woman in many places.
/ ''What must be the result ? You, respectable
people, and good, worthy, religious souls, would
shut your eyes to the results, and say that the
subject should be taboo, saying also &" Cover
up the filth of our national condition, so that the
Prying stranger, with a busy pen may not Sc e it."
But the possibilities and certainties of our
national weakness and social vileness are too
obvious to be passed by so we might as well
make a virtue of necessity, and make a clean
breast of 1t, and say that our country, though it
presents the outward semblances of decent
civilized condition, yet is inwardly full of all
manner Of uncleanness end destructive influen-
ces.
We have no statistics of prostitution in our
midst, and we are not going into that subject !;
but we say that the morality of such a people
must be in a terrible state. And can thoughtful
religious men, who have power or influence in
their hands, be content to look on and wait,
peacefully pocket their salaries, and rest at ease
III the hope that some political panacea that
improves the value of property will cease all
this ? Think well, Oh brother, the Lord Will
hold thee answerable for the sins of thy house
And the condition of the population of
this little Kingdom is far worse at this
time. On several plantations there are
some hundreds of men, and perhaps a
dozen, or a score or two of women. There
is one honorable exception we hear of and
we trust that there are more, of which we
shall be glad to give particulars when
fully informed; where owners of a planta-
tation are taking some pains, and going
to some extra expense to settle their work
ing men happily with helpmeets; and such
owners will find it q wise and lucrative
policy to promote the peace and profitable
development of their plantations, and at
the same time advance in the highest
degree the national welfare.
But the evils of this disproportion, and of
an utterly vicious and destructive order of
things prevails in nearly all our industrial
centres, and is destroying the life of the
nation. Some may sheer, and say that
this state of things has been always going
on, and was so, before the days of planta-
tons. Yes, when there were in whaling
times, three thousand or more sailors
ashore, eager for the largest liberty, and
some debauch, it was a bad state of things
for the Hawaiian race, hat provided the
entertainment. But the whalers and
sailors, whom nobody brought here, at last
left us; and then there was a chance for a
better order in this country, one worthy of
the spirit of evagelization, and mmen
surate with the hope of good men every
where, in respect to the trustful people of
this Archipelago. But what have The in
fuences that have controlled this Kingdom
since the whalers and sailors left us, done b?
They have sent for at public expense
chiefly, and brought here over fifteen
thousand Chinese, Portuguese, South Sea
Islanders, and other men; and not five hun
dred women. And our poor rem
nant of Hawaiian women, are importuned
and defiled in consequence of this increased
disprOportion of sexes to the destruction
of the last hope of their race and
nation. And who and what are the
influences that have brought this about ?
Well, we will not criticize any member of
this present administration of the Govern
ment, or any Government of the past we
will not say, as we do not think we can
say, that the Government is chiefly charge
able with the state of things we speak of. If
we undertake to fix the responsibility of
this matter, we must bring forward every
minister of the gospel, every judge, every
lSSpSCIdOIS hlOiiSJS PdlIJ oo q % OHC1J
Government man who, fastening to get
rich, has invested in enterprises, that
nave been carried out by large recruits of
men without women, by labor without
society, and by a great variety of vicious
and injurious means. And such men who
have thus fastened to get and promote
wealth, cannot stand up with clean hands,
and say that there is no stain of the life
1I--l e IL. Il
and it will be seen and shown, more and
more. And what a poor appearance we,
the thinking men of the nation will make,
with our success in crops and nance and
our miserable failures in respect to human
ity. To talk of the regeneration of Hawaii
is a mOckery, when we sacrifice Hawaiians
to u industrial enterprises.
We know that the rich mud flats of
Demerara, and some other mere planting
grounds, are spoken of as presenting the
same vicious disproportion of sexes, and
injurious social conditions that exist in
our islands: but those places have been
simply the working grounds of speculative
and transient colonial enterprise, without
a p%retense, or record, of any higher enter
prise or purpose. But our islands-the
Sandwich Islands of so much literature
the recognized favorite of the Great
Powers; the object of so much panegyric
and hopeof great and enlightened Christian
peoples; the islands evangelical by two
hundred and more missionary workers, and
watered with pious tears and treasure for
them, to become and to be, the merest
working field of selfish enterprise, to the
sacrifice of a race, the object of so much
international and religious interest, will
condemn all the influences that have favored
or brought this state of things about, and
load them with everlasting infamy, if it
must go on and lead as it naturally will
to the destruction of a race and to the
extinction of a nation.
Two M more men, n only
eight or ten women on the Pahala Planta-