The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-11-04
OUR STREETS.
From the Daily Pacific Commercial Adpertis J

From the Daily Pacific Commercial Adpertis }
A LARGE number of complaints have
been made to us lately about the state of our
streets-Some Vel bal, many in writing. We
have published several as specimens of the
rest they have all one burden, and many
of them suggest the same remedy as our
correspondent "a Citizen" whose letter
we published last Friday, viz: The estab-
lishment of a Municipal Council. We have
on former occasions expressed a doubt
whether the time is ripe for such an institu-
ton in Honolulu. Not that we doubt for a
moment that it is the only method by
which n radical cure of the present state of
things will be effected. That is not the
origin of our doubt. There are two reasons
why the people of Honolulu, as a body, are
not ready to see the city incorporated. One
is that the white residents who own a large
quantity of valuable property in the city
are so greatly outnumbered by the native
population, that they are afraid that if We
had a Municipal Council elected by rate
payers in the usual way the whole manage
ment Of affairs would probably fall into the
hands of natives without either the eX-
perience or the education to conduct the
affairs of the city with judgment and sue
cess. This difficulty might we think be got
over. The other is not likely to be so man
ageable being the decided aversion of pro-
~prietors and hOusehOlders, both native and
foreign to pay the taxes which are neces-
sary to provide for the improvements so
urgently needed in the city. Every body is
ready to comp!ain-no one to pay. We do
not profess to see our way through that
difficulty. The natives who have never
seen any other town may be excused
for being content to go Oh year after year
with things as they are. They possibly
look upon the fragmentary Improvements
that are made from time to time as some
thing wonderful, having nothing to COM
pare present things with except the state of
affairs in the past. There is less excuse
for that part of the population which is of
| fOrainn nrinin SnDnn of fhnta hoHyo no
doubt been here long enoug to have for
gotten what a we'll kept city is like. If
they do take a trip to another country it is
probably only to San Francisco, where their
ideas are not likely to be much frightened
up, that city being for its size and wealth
perhaps the worst kept of any in the civil
lied werld-HOnolulu only excepted. But
there are a great many here who ought to
know better, and do know better, but for
the most part they would rather let things
go Oh as they are and grumble at them
daily, than than see the face of a city-rate
collector at their doors. This is the great
| difficulty that stands in the way of the
improvement of the city. 1t is useless, and
unjust too, to grumble at the Road Super
visor or at the Minister of the Interior, and
expect them to make bricks without straw.
This city cannot be made fit for a civilized
man to live in without a large expenditure
of money. The sums that have hitherto
from year to year been available for this
purpose have not been n 1.-THE of what was
necessary, until the citizens of Honolulu
are convinced of this they will not begin to
move in the right direction, and should
drop their grumbling. The city is a dis
credit to them, to their representatives in
the Assembly. nc to the Ministers who
have ruled over them; and until all con-
cerned are thoroughly convinced of this, and
are ready to find the money wherewithal
to away the disgrace, they should leave all
the grumbling to the luckless %tranger
who visit the town, and who have to run
the guantlet of its unlighted i'll kept streets,
as the passengers by the City of New York
had to do on Sunday night.