Little Falls transcript., 1884-10-10

Clsrgyman's Observations Of Changes
During the Past twenty-five Years
Condition Of the Native Glasses.

/
During the Past Twenty-Five Years
Condition Of the Nativa Glasses.
Some thirty years ago says the San Francis
co Bulletin ReT E. 6. Beckwith now pastor
of the Third Congregational Church of this
city, was . teacher at the Sandwich Islanda
Twenty-Five years ago he left the islands, and
has not since returned until last June, ~hea
he WAS invited to deliver the annual address at
| Oahu College, Honolulu Since his Ea.arn Ia
this city he has deliveIed, at the Third Con-
gregational Church, several Sunday evening
addresses upon the subject OF the changes
which ha observed had taken placs i'll tha
| islands during the twenty five years Of his
! absence. Sunday night he gave the final Iecturs
Of the course.
The Golden Age OF the islands was from tina
year 1S40 to 1855, when they were under thu
rule Of Kamehams Ill This king, under The
influence Of the Christian missionaries, enacted
| wise legislation the object of which was tbs
benefit Of the native race. He gave the peopIs
| constitution. And perhaps the wisest act Of
! his reign was tho division Of all the lands into
small patches, which the natives were allowed
ia purchase in fee simple upon paying merely
! the cost OF survey. The oEect of this was
to give the natives homesteads, and devel-
op among them the benefcent idea of home
life, which before they had almost entirely
lacked.
Since the death Of that King and during the
last twenty five years, the changes in the islands
have been most marked, and, SO far 80 the
native race is concerned, painfully disastrous.
And the chief cause has been ths increase Of
OF the great sugar enterprise. There is no d.
versity of industry now. Everything is sugar.
Potatoes or grapes, for instance, are grown
hardly anywhere on the islands. Every one
has rushed into sugar planting with an idea OF
becoming rich. Yet hardly any fortunes have
been made, and if the Reciprocity Treaty should
not be renewed and present prices Of sugar
should continue, nearly all the planters OF the
islands would be bankrupt.
The effects upon the natives of the
growth Of the great plantations and tho
vast influx OF capital, have been manifold.
The great demand for labor has made it mors
profitable for them to work for others than for
themselves upon their homesteads. As re-
suit they are losing their home ties. Twenty
thousand male Chinese without families, have
been flooded in upon the population, to work
on the plantations. These have not only their
evil effect upon the morals Of the people, INT
are gradually ousting them from their little
land holdings.
The increased distribution of wages among
the natives has hastened their ruin They
have more money than ever before. Being
mere children, unfit to manage business m
able to save money and easily led into tempta,-
rion, their little wealth in lures them more than
it benefits. Honolulu is a moral perfect nlaeis-
from to them There the men go 10 earn the
highest wages, and the young ladies to bs III
best opportunity TO spend money, and the
most luriig temptations to vice. 70 these they
yield. Few ever escape from Honolulu, and
most Of these who do, go away to die
A general attempt is Low being made to
necessary in order to unifv the nation in the
midst Of the increasing foreign population.
And yet even this hastens their ruin For it
enables them 10 como into closer relations with
that portion OF the foreign element which are
responsible largely for the increase Of vice
among them. They get TO know the unscrup-
ulous and vicious foreigners too well.
The deterioration in the morals Of the peo-
pie has been rapid and appalling. The tenden-
cy Of the was always towards gross licen-
iousness If the influx Of foreigners has not
increased this, it las at least introduced amoug
the people attendant diseases which are eating
away the life of the race Drunkenness nag
made alarming increase
Twenty five years ago there was a law ahso-
lutely prohibiting the sale Of liquors to th6 na-
tives Now there IS q license law Twenty
five years ago Mr.. Bockwith rarely saw q ma
tive under the influence of liquor New the
streets OF Honolulu reel with drunken natives
He saw on this visit of two weeks more drunk
ards than he saw before in eight years.
The present evils are due in large measure 10
the utter sef5hn3ss of the government The
interests Of She natives are entirely lost sight
Of. The king. who owes his sovereignty. rot
to his lineage, but TO political trick cares only
for his own agrandizements. short time ago
q resolution Of lack OF confidence in the minis
try was lost by one vote; the ministers all vot-
ing for themselves. Shortly after the resolu-
ton was actually carried in spite OF the niu-
listers, and yet in the face Of that defeat they
have not grace or sense enough TO resign The
natives hate King Kalakuhs But Queen En-
ma, who is Of genuine royal blood, they love.
Not long ago, to propitiats the people, the King
conceded large reductions in the expenses Of
certain branches OF the government And sfter
the people had made great demonstration Of
gratitude to him for the act ne then asked afi
appropriation for the royal stables, which ex-
ceeded the total amount Of reduction. The na-
ton is dying in the hands Of bad and selfish
men,
In 1868 The American Boards Of Foreign Mis-
sions formally Withdrew from active work in
the islands, intending as fast as practicable to
place native preachers over the churches, F1-
perience has shown thai this course was IDis-
take The natives we're not then ST ~ carry
on the work themselves, and the loss Of the re-
atraining and guiding hand Of ths Christian
missionary has proved not the least fsetor in
Fastening tho certain doom Of the native nation