The Hawaiian gazette., 1882-09-13


The Hawaiian Kingdom has fallen upon
evil days. The respect it was wont to be
held in is gradually but surely slipping
away, and unless some stay can be made
in its headlong course downward, the end
Will be most disastrous and unhappy
Was it fer this that the Kamehamehas
strove through good and evil report
Was it for this that Judd. Wyllie. Rieord,
Lee and Robertson gave the best years Of
their lives, devoted their talents and spent
hours upon hours of thoughts To see
finally the Hawaiian Monarchy becoming
by word, taking rank with the petty
European kingdoms so ably travestied in
the old play of the Unequal Match: yet so
it is. Hawaii has drifted, is drifting from
the proud little position she had gained,
into sea of troubles and annoyances
which are likely to overwhelm completely
what few shreds of dignity still cling
about her Who is to blame for this
The King? Yes. We have pointed out
without any fear where the King has been
to blame: We have shown where he has
oyerstepped time and again the Constitu
tional line: We have reprobated the play
ing fast and loose with Ministers, the
capturing Of Legislatures. the inordinate
extravaganza which forms one of the
characteristics of the reign, the inteTfer
ence with law in the matter of leprosy
and even in other cases. All this we have
clearly laid before the public, in spite of
faint hearts who would have us little less
plain spoken. who would have us hide
what we had to say under more pleasant
phrases, who would sugar coat the pill:
and we have said 1t so plainly because we
would have King Kalakaua, as the head
of the realm, see that he cannot take
the responsibility of government upon
his own shoulders without also receiv-
ing the castigation Of public opinion
the moment he does wrong: moreover the
course which he has embarked upon will
again and again call forth like comments,
viii continue to arouse men of all classes,
until discomfort may become more than
mere discomfort, may become more pro
nounced We have then, as we have said,
hit hard, and yet hit as honorable men
should hit, at the very head of affairs.
-
But are there not some who are far
more to blame in this matter than the
King! and again we say yes and very
strong YES. The King has not had the
advantages of education and experience
which many of those about him have had,
and of all those who have wormed their
way into his confidence by insidious arts,
have truckled to his vanity, have urged
him on to the acts which are making him
so unpopular with native and foreigner
alike. no one stands more disgracefully
pre-eminent than Walter Murray Gibson,
the present Premier of the Kingdom.
Upon him rests the heavy burden, the in
delible stain of Turing a weaker man than
himself for the sake of his own aggran-
dizement, to the brink of what? we do not
like to write the word, but as we have to
deal with unpleasant things We must write
it: the word is RUIN.
Can it be pleasant thing for monarch
to surround himself nightly with mum
Der of guards This is indeed very
singular position for a constitutional
monarch to be placed in ! Constitu
tional monarchs find their strength in
the hearts of their subjects, not in sur
rounding themselves with armed guards.
To this then has trust in such an adviser
brought the King, and the shade of Kane
hameha may well rise out of its grave,
and the living descendants of the Kane
hamehas may well weep tears of shame
as they do, to see it so.
OH what a reckoning there must be
some day for the false adviser: to have
the knowledge of the world which he has
had. to have lured in his youth a small
potentate of the Malay Archipelago to
grieyous trouble with his specious wiles,
to have failed there, and have laid his
friendly chief open to the enmity of
vigorous opponent; and after all to have
learned no lesson from it. To think that
in spite of the fOllies of youth, which
can be forgiven, the same man should
again lure an island chief upon a slippery
path, should by the fire of his Eastern
imagination again, in his declining years
play the same dismal farce almost exceeds
belief 1t would be amusing, it would be
to watch this little show, were
it not for the knowledge that what is
amusing for the spectator is death to the
actors.
IS
1t is indeed tiresome to make alluslon
to what the Premier of the Kingdom has
done in the past, the public is sick of the
reiteration Of accusation. In our columns