The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-04-01

there are none to be seen there which are
not more than forty years OH. In the
Museum things are just a. bad. Not q
single department o. the natural history o!
t.e islands i even fairly represented
whilst some are unrepreseuted altogether.
Stiil more lamentable il the condition OF
this national collection in respect 10 every
thing that belongs to the past of the Haw-
allan race itself. such relics of ethnologi-
cal interest as ara to be found there are not
exclusively Hawaiian and the visitor is left
10 wonder ami conjecture what group OF
islands this or that object may have come
from. Being thus deplorably deficient in
the department TO which every one would
have supposed some special and patriotic
care would nave been given, it i not 10 be
wondered at that these neglected and
forlOrn collections should be found utterly
wanting i'm the books and specimens neces-
sary To assist tine learner who aspires TO
master any department Of human knowl-
eige, or being already instructed would
follow the incessant developments AMI adj
vances made from year to yea. For such
purposes these collections are wholly use
less. Yet their existence demonstrates that
some one has had higher views As to the
duty of the State towards national culture
than appear to have prevailed among those
set i'm authority over US for a long time
past.
1t is rs we have said high time that we
should shake off the Iethargy which has pre-
vailed, and consider earnestly what ought
to be done, or at the very least what it may
be i'm our power to accomplish. AS a be-
ginning it is surely not too much To hope
that patriotic sentiment may come to the
aid of our aspirations after knowledge, and
leal to the formation of creditable national
collections of such literature and such OBJ
iects of chronological and biological interest
as will illustrate the past and present of
the Hawaiian race, and of the country in
which it is domiciled, and the relations
which the races, products, and natural OBJ
iects found in other lands bear to them.
Let us have a collection of books which
shall be worthy of being called Il Library
of POlynesian Literature. Let Us strive to
form as rapidly as possible a Museum fully
illustrating Hawaiian Race History and
Hawaiian Natural History. We need not
be alarmed at contemplating the expense
tina would necessarily be incurred. Leav-
ing out of consideration the indubitable
fact that it would be an eminently repro
ductive expenditure, the total expense of
forming and maintaining such institutions
would be but a small matter. In the hands
of an energetic and competent director, a
very moderate yearly appropriation would
build up for us within a few years 4 Haw-
allan Library and Museum of which we
could venture To be proud. And one of the
first things to be done, if we are ever to
nave anything creditable accomplished in
his direction, will be to secure such an
officer. For present purposes it is not the
mere man OF science or naturalist that is
wanted so much as one learned in Polyne-
sian affairs. \ Polynesian, or better still
a Acknowledgements PrOfessOrship might
ju~diciously be created, and this work
delegated to its incumbent, whose duty it
should be also to carry on the work of
which the foundation has been laid in such
works as that of Judge Fernandez, devoting
his energies to the completing of a thor
oughly scient. fic history of these Islands,
since the days when the native race took
possession of them.
If such Il beginning us this were made, it
would soon be found that both Library and
Museum would be improved in other direc-
tiOns besides that to which attention was
being specially directed, and that too with
out any great expense being incurred.
Museums are ever ready to exchange speci-
mems, and i'm return for such as could be
procured here it would be found possible in
the space of Il few years to obtain a typical
collection of meteorological AMI biological
specimens sufficiently complete to give to
the Museum that educational character
which alone can make it valuable. With
Fiji, the Society Islands and New Zealand
an exchange of chronological objects could
be effected. For the Library most valu-
able contributions could be got by an APP
zeal officially made to the Smithsonian
institutions, the Governments of various
countries and colonies, Universities in
America and the old world, all of whom
would gladly help this isolated and most
interesting community in such a matter.
We speak from a knowledge of what has
been done elsewhere, when we say this,
and know as a fact that in exchange for
a series of the official publications of this
HI. gdon, most valuable contributions to
the Library could be procured, especially
if asked for i'm the name of His Majesty and
the Government of this country. We sim
cerely hope that the Legislature will be
found ready to make a suitable provision
for these purposes. As the planters propose
TO establish Il Hawaiian ProfessOrship of
Chemistry, so let the Government give US
an Hawaiian Professor of Malayo-Polyne-
sian lore and put the Museum and Library
under his care.