The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1883-11-21
mates, and neither over nor under estimates
are the things required.


"OxLr forty-nine thousand: and Of these
43S are confirmed lepers, and then add
about 300 more not yet in the sad limbo OF
AIolokai, and we have about 200 lepers.
Seven hundred living dead Kanakas."
Vide Nolou of March 11th, 1873. The
number of natives has not certainly in
creased since then, but the number OF
lepers has. Upon the text above quoted,
the editor of the NiG0p, now the Premier
of the Kingdom. preached moving ser
mon. He calculated that of the Hawaiian
race there was then but 10000 healthy
ones. He waxed eloquent over the condi-
tion of affairs He was most sarcastic
upon the uniforms of Ministers and others,
(but then he had no uniform, and no orders
now he has.l He said "we faunt our
gay feathers Of meaningless uniforms be
fore the mocking eyes of real power and
prosperity-we strut ike mountebanks III
trappings that do not belong to us and
dof them when the show Is over, to so
back to our real dirt and cheese and beer .
This was fine. and the writer drew
moral. the then Ministry were doing these
things. as for him he could not sport or
SPEND the emoluments of place in peace,
or mock land with the pomp and circum-
stances and paraphernalia OF great State.
from which land goes mp an oyerPowerlng
chorus of decay. and the everlasting wall
Of death"
So much for that writer in 1913. See the
same man IN 1888. From the demagogue
he then was. he has turned in to the sub-
servient Minister; and now though : the
land = gives forth a sadder chorus OF de
cav" and the - everlasting wall OF death ,
is more piercing than ever, he IS content
to strut like mountebank II hls trap
pings" to allow the waste of public funds
for follies and eXtravagancles: to play the
fool and dazzle the Monarch he serves SO
badly. with dreams of an empire which
cannot be realized, and which, even If real
lied. he could not control.
The wall of the leper rings louder IN
this year of grace, 1888, than ever 1t did IN
1873 What cares the Premier for the
wall. nothing his ears are now stuffed with
official pap, and as long as enough can be
wrung out of the kanaka and the foreigner
to pay for his own schemes and to give
support to his relations and particular
friends, why the everlasting wall of death
will never reach the tympanum of the Of
fetal ear.
But this leprosy matter cannot be put
aside. ii must be heard. Are things to go
from bad to worse, simply because an I'M
principled demagogue has chosen to climb
to power by INSCRIPTIONS acts, and having
reached his miserable goal, fairly blocks
good government The present position
of affairs must be met and fought. Spas
medically the present government does
something in regard to leprosy, but they
only act when public opinion, as expressed
by the free press Of the country, forces
them to action. Nothing is done without
compulsion. Since the discussion of this
terrible question has been dropped, how
many lepers have been sent to Alolokai
The Secretary of the Board of Health is in
vited to respond.
The time is rapidly coming on when our
venal and callous Ministry will have to
render an account OF their stewardship, and
no matter Will be more closely gone into
than this question Of leprosy. 1t IS a dis
grace and a shame that so little has been
done by them: ample funds have been
placed at their disposal, and they have
frittered away these means on the "pomp
and circumstances and paraphernalia Of o
great p State
III uedllIS VIII tLAt Atl9lV9g IuOoNlOA
the Premier had an opportunity for re
trieying the ill-smelling reputation which
he unfortunately has He has neither
dealt with it nor left it thoroughly alone.
A few half measures have been carried
out, some self denying ladies have been
induced to come here and look after the
sick But no general scheme for stamping
ont this fell destroyer of Hawaii, this ugly
snake that lies cooled in the most beaute
Gus valleys Of the group, waiting for those
who may carelessly approach it, has ever
been even proposed by this man who ten
years ago, when he was not in office, when
he was seeking to get some foothold on
the political ladder, was most earnest in
his invectives against the then Ministers
In 1873 only $4,000; 700 lepers, and only
10000 pure and sound Kanakas In 1888
serious inroad has been made on the lat
ter figures: syphilis, leprosy and pulmonary
complaints have been doing their dread
work. and within a year another demon
has been added TO eat away the life blood
of this people: free rum. Free leprosy
and free rum will soon reduce that 1900.