The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-11-11

cOursed by strangers and even by many for
eign residents of long experience about the
laZiness of Kanakas. 1t is said of them
that they have given up all work, will not
even cultivate their own tarO patches and
even allow the Chinese To beat their own
poi. This is spoken of as u sure sign of their
utter deca,ience, and that the Celestial will
speedily possess the Kanaka's place. Now
there are a great many foreigners in this
country who ut one time in their lives and
some on their first arrival here, handled a
plane and rip saw, or laid brick and mortar,
or welded a c~aulking-irOn, or followed n
pillow, or served before the mast, or stood in
the galley over a ships coppers, who will
not touch, handle, or have anything to do
with these things now, and why? Simply
because they AVE made money and can
get along very well without manual labor.
Such is the case with the Kanaka. There
was a time when a poor simple Kanaka
would do a days work for a shrewd hoOle
who would give him a tenpenny nail for
his pay when a little more advanced in
knowledge and means he was content with
n rial, bit or twelve cent piece for a really
good days work. These are matters of his
tory, and we foreigners of this day remem-
Der very well, not so long ago, when we
could get from n stout able bodied Kanaka
a good days work, a better days work than
we could get from any man of any other
nationality, for p cents, and he supply his
own board. At that time we must also
PEAR in mind. a good fat chicken could be
bought for II cents; and a lice turkey might
be readily procured for % or so cents. Good
native working horses were sold anywheres
for from ) to 10 dollars, and net unfrequently
a fair working pony would be knocked down
by the auctioner for barely sufficient to
cover his tax which its owner either declined
or was unable tn pay. Good sweet potatoes,
a net full, or barrel, say $50 lbs for 81. 90, and
poi or pounded taro, the staple food of these
Islands was sold in bundles of 80 to 40 TBS
weight for % cents each or five bundles for
S1.OO. This state of things has greatly
changed for the better, for the producer !;
for the worse, for the consumer. Now the
same Kanaka who was once content TO ride
over the pail and sell a few chickens in
town for ~ cents each, readily commands
for the same birds 81 and SIPS each with
customers ready to wait on him and save
him the trouble of delivery. His former
% cen.s turkeys, are now in command at
81 80 and 81 each. The most miserable
little pony he bestrides now is worth $25
to $50, and for his former $40 horse, he
readily obtains $50 to 800, and his taro
that was not worth Hcent PEI TO-, readily
brings him . to Scents per h., without the
necessity of his mudding his legs or his
hands in its product. Then, why should
the kanaka work any more, as he once did,
when he can get the means of living so
much easier? Why should he work any
more than the foreigner, when he has i'm
hands from the necessity of drudgery ? The
kanaka is giving up work because he has
not the same necessity to work he does not
give up work through sheer laziness, and
go into utter vagrancy and beggary AS his
reviIers would pretend. This view of his
situation is utterly false as is proven by a
glance at the analysis of the tax assessment
of the Kingdom for 1851, where it is shewn
that Il, 769 Hawaiians contribute in the
form of direct taxation upon real and per-
sonal property the sum of 1924, OS1 43 {;
whilst the Wanted Chinese that are said to
be working him out of house and home,
and who number IO,S94 taxpayers, pay only
$40, 4OI G3 on real and personal property.
The idle talk about the kanaka should
cease, the accusation of laZiness for de-
Ginning work when the means of living are
iANiNc~NHf - JpSN - oPBiASNC'I w VIC
foreigner as to the Hawaiian. When neces-
sity impels the native man to work, he is
recognized by all fair minded foreigners on
these islands, as the best plantation hand
or other worker to be obtained. How
would our valuable and inter-island fleet be
maintained, if il were not for he hardy
Hawaiian seamen? If fanny planters desire
to obtain a first-class teamster and plow-
man, he obtains the services of a native
Hawaiian, if possible. No men are their
equals to do the rough arduous porterage
and stevedore work of our ports.
And those who have studied fairly the
character of the races amongst us, will
always give a high place to the native
Hawaiian for his industry, his energy, and
his hardihOod. And philanthrepists
throughout the world would be 'grieved to
learn that such a race must pass away, and
on the other hand will rpt0ioa IN he in