The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1882-03-22
LErrFn: published in anothel

Tie Planters Assoclauon.
a LEr4EH, published in another column,
shows pretty plainly the difficulty in which
the planter is for labor Kohala, with a
Chinese population of nearly double what
it needs to supply its labor requirements,
is unable to get the men to work, unless
for very exorbitant wages, and even these
are sometimes refused The root of all
this is undoubtedly the illicit liquor traffic.
As long as Chinaman can, by the sale Of
cheap gin, make an easy living, at com
paratively little risk, so long win he refuse
to gain his livelihood by honest labor a
planter who came. down from Hawaii
lately, was speaking only the other day on
the matter; he says, and 1t has been SAID
often enough before, that the quantity Of
liquor carried up every week by the YES
sells running to that Island is really enor-
nous Every one knows whom it comes
from, every one knows whom II Is con-
signed to; but once In the hands of the
consigner, it disappears from the gaze OF
all but the initiated II IS not openly sold,
it cannot be consumed by the consignee,
even if he were drunk day and night, the
year round By sort OF underground
railway it is disseminated throughout the
Island No part Of it that the illicit
liquor dealer does not manage to penetrate,
and get rid of his pernicious stock Quar-
rels. fights, debauchery, and a whole train
of evils follow Men who have been pre-
viously steady are thoroughly deInOralized
To break up this illicit liquor traffic,
| would have a most beneficial effect upon
the laborers of these Islands Setting
aside the moral view of the case, and com
ing to merely the low ground of CONNER
cial necessity. ii would be a very great
boon. to have this infamous trade put a
stop to. When the Chinaman finds that
he cannot exist by peddling cheap gin, be
will be only too glad to make his beef and
rice by working in the fields, as he was ac-
customed to do in his own Flowery King
dom, before he landed on the shores Of
what is likely, in time, To cease to be called
the Paradise of the Pacific. IT ought not
to be 50 hard to put down the traffic.
When we know the centres of distri-
button. a strict watch would easily tell us
the different directions in which il is car
RED away: the little spirituous rills, which
empty tne cenl1di reSefNOh Inls i q
matter which must claim the attention of
our planters very seriously. They should,
as body, urge upon the Government the
necessity of the most stringent action IN
this particular A large number, We are
assured, feel most strongly upon this sub
ject, and no doubt some definite line of
action will shortly be decided upon. A
suggestion of Introducing the Gothen-
burg system was made in these columns,
some time ago, as possible means OF
meeting the evil, but it was only put forth
as. one :method, and from its results an
apparently excellent one, out of many that
had been tried in other countries Other
plans might be tried, and whatever they
might be, they would assuredly find the
hearty support of those who have the in
terests of this country at heart. No one
can contemplate the present condition Of
affairs, without seeing that great harm is
being done, and that the ogre, who is, as
it were, preying upon the very yitals of
the population had better be fought and
killed as soon as possible. ruzE a.r