The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1883-07-18
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WEDNESDAY, JULY IS. 1855.
To DAY we say before our readers the
table Of exports for the second quarter of
1852. From this it will be seen that there
is large decrease in the output Of sugar.
1t has been well known among business
men that this would be the case. The
yield from the Kohala, Hamakua, Spreck-
elsville and the Eastern Kauai plantations
has been much less than at first antici-
pated, owing entirely to the drought The
falling off varies from a couple Of thous-
and to few hundred tons according to
the capacity Of the plantations The total
/ for the season which ends in October,
competent Judges state. Will be consider
ably below the yield Of last season but
next seasons crop viii be heavy one,
especially as after the long spell OF dry
weather we NAV look forward to coplous
rains. One other branch of industry
| shews n decrease. that Is tallow, but with
stock raisers find more profitable use for
! ;beir cattle than boiling them down The
| item of moi IS not worth notice. 1t Is only
for our own people working as laborers
elsewhere. that it is exported. All other
exports shew a gratifying increase. The
total value. compared with the six months,
corresponding. Of 1882 is only S12S,000
behind In view Of the prospects of next
] 41,o-, = M ,-.aeos, 10
discouraged.
TIE placing of the Chameleon-li like Prem
Ter on the stand during the celebrated
libel suit of Fitch vs.. Thrum, elected some
interesting facts concerning the manage
1nent Of the p Q. l. Our small world has
been repeatedly told that the Premier has
nothing to do with the editorial manage
ment: indeed, when under oath, in answer
to Mr.. Dole, he especially dwelt on the
fact that he had nothing to do with the
editing Of the paper What did he
admit a little later on7 That he had sug-
gesied that an article upon the discharge Of
the nine lepers from the Kakaako Hospital
should be written, and then again, that
not finding it quite correct, he had suggested
that another should be written, explana-
tory Of the first. The fact being that he
did not suggest the correction until the
Saf,fysiog Press had gone to work and fairly
skinned the first suggested article. II he
knew that the first statement was wrong,
and he had so much stggestire power, why
did he not Immediately suggest the antidote?
Now to be the editor Of a paper, it by
no means Is. necessary that the gentleman
occupying that position should write one
line. We doubt whether the editor of the
London Times ever puts his pen to paper
for the writing Of an editorial He simply
| gives orders or suggests to his writers. and
cuts and frames the article to his taste.
This suggesting and pruning is done by the
! Premier. who Is as much the editor Of the
r. c. 4. as he was in the days when he
himself wrote It's editorials The question
Is. why does he resort to subterfuge?
| Merely to blind peoples's eyes and make
them think that the government organ is
an independent paper, when it is merely a
government tool, without a Will of its own.
HIS MAJESTY THE K1Se may well feel
grateful for the patriotic action of the
Honolulu weekly press, native and foreign,
(NIr. Gibson's papers excepted which has
been the means Of exposing the misdeeds
or Incompetence of such public servants
as those who have been the occasion of the
recent trials
/ Moreover the King may be thankful for
having his eyes opened to the mischievous
policy of appointing one man to work the
whole machinery Of the Government. The
Premier and Minister Of Foreign Affairs
without any special fitness for either post,
the head of the educational system of the
country, without any knowledge of. or ac
quaintance with the subject, the head of
the health department, with set of notions
on the burning question which is worse
than absolute ignorance, practically the
ruler of the immigration system, but not
| acquainted with immigrants labor, an At
torney- General without the first rudiments
of aw-add to these few public employ
meHts, those of a land owner. a sheep
farmer, newspaper proprietor, estranged
from, and distrusted by the whole commu-
nifty cannot the King see now what he
has done. and as far as may be, retrace
his steps and endeayor to call order out of
chaosl
1t is true that the weight of public indig
nation has, as yet, fallen only on some min
or branches of the Upas tree, it may never
theless, at some not far distant day, strike
the Triumvirate which now misTTlles in
the name Of the King and by his pleasure.
Any body can rule with state of siege, =
said the great Italian statesman Cavour
he might have qualified the epigram by
adding if he can keep it up Here the
Representative part of our system, as shown
by the events of the last session and those
which have followed it, has sunk under a
Cesarism injurious to the body polite
from whatever point Of view it may be
considered.
1t is worthy of remark, and to be well
borne in mind that the first three libel suits
ever tried in this Kingdom. were each
brought by government officials. against
the Independent press, for exposing and
commenting on the misdeeds of the said
officials, and worthy too of note, that IL
al these cases the action of the press was
justified in one by native, in the second
by a foreign jury. in the third. the law ad.
visers of the Acknowledgement withdrew
the prosecution, presumably in dread of
! 80 NAttAAAAAo NAAANn lAta NltIeQ uDt Alok-
All these things show that this little
ship Of state Is on the wrong course and
it is time that the King as pilot in chief
should put 1t right
The state Of affairs here, as shown in
the constant reports of the last twelve
months, cannot fail to attract attention
and comment abroad VIII the attention
! be friendly and the comment favorable
Tn July Term, 1883, of the Supreme
Court will be memorable one in the
annals of Hawaii. The three independent
newspapers, Pc AiRo, Saturday Prs, and
GAZETTE, were all charged with libel
against government officials, and the com
plete failure of the suits showed very
significantly that Hawaiians and foreign
ers are agreed that the public press must
be supported and sustained, and that they
are prepared to sustain them whenever
they do their duty unAinchingly and
expose wrong, no matter by whom the
wrong may be committed.
The questions at issue were not mere
personal ones there was far wider
significance to them. Government in