The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1884-12-17

Ty..~. faa-cer,us class to the world n is
er,--riaI Interests they either Do not crzer Tn
situation comprehend lis prInciples; they e,ter
DO not know the history OF do not understand the
irternzfonal ASPECT Of the question. OF else they
IEsve heen thruzrh ySznics and have seen men
women and ehildrea who have had their properly
srert away from them by reaSol OF the dsrance-
r,,s-,f Of c-rrsncy, and they viii never comprsh-
nd VIA. h--z-zhf disaster Gpo1 them desire 10
- this country take such coarse that ny child
ren even Il usy no; live to Sc II VII Sc ths
tine uhsri, IN ever feT years. disaster VII not
suesp over the land simply because re are too
ignorant O. too Indifferent 10 for the eco2onic
conditions necessary to safety snd prosperity
Here we have man OF ability, expert
ence and standing. pointing out the dan
gers Of a silver currency. There Is little
doub; as to what class our Ministry should
come under. They do not require any
qualifying ~or- They certainly do not
grasp the situation or comprehend its
principles; they do not understand the in
ternational aspect Of the question: and
they are not honest"
There never was q greater Job perpe
trated than the flooding Of the country
with a mass of deprecated silver. paving
a man handsome premium foT, sending
ii here. How much that silver has cost.
how much it IS likely yet to cost, It seems
impossible to show. 1t Is worth. intrinsic
ally. about s. cents on the dollar and pro
portionately less as the coins become lower
in value. This coin came into the country
at its par value. The whole proceeding
reminds one very much Of the methods Of
certain money lenders in England who
employ agents to catch the unwary. and
who. when the finish comes dole out 50
much in cash and the rest in useless cigars.
inferior sherry and other trash. For the
deprecated silver dollars We shall have To
pay hard American gold coin. and the los
vii have to be horne by the pockets Of the
Hawaiian tax payer. Just as the swlndled
spendthrift has to pay up for his modlcum
Of coin and his trash.
We have not by any means reached the
bottom Of our troubled sea vet There Is
IN store for Us a most unenviahle time,
unless the Government decide to act To-
gether with the merchants and the people,
Ii Is most unfortunate that at crisis II
this kind there has been no acting IN con
cert: that We are, as Ii were bundle Of
sticks, not firmly knit together. but IN the
loose condition to be broken. For this
there Is no one to blame except the Mn
istry and the appointing power. The pres
ent Cabinet has ostentanOusly set itself II
antaSonism with the commercial section
Of the kingdom: II has fiouied both Cham
Der Of Commerce and planters. Ii has
sought in Its officials, not ability. hut sub
serviency and meanneSs. The appointing
power. that is the King. must be well aware
of this. has had II shown TO him again and
again. BY friend and foe Of the Ministry
The blame then Of what must inevitably
happen will rest on the shoulders Of thosC
who ought to bear it If d panic sets inf the
hard earned fortunes Of the sturdy cultiva
ors, Of laborious tradesmen, are lost. ON
citizens know exactly where blame belongs
They viii not be ike those who IN Mr.
Buffers speech have never comprehended
what brought disaster upon them. Il
disaster comes. which God grant II may
not. it Will be the King and his Govern
ment who viii have brought II upon Us
The duty Of the Ministry was plain: II has
been urged upon them both in public and
private: but no reasoning would drive int
| their heads the necessity of meeting tn,
| trouble, they themselves have caused, hal
way.
The merchants have shown themselves
willing to assist the government. and mel
of experience have advised what Is best t,
be done. The Government have appar
rently decided to do nothing: TO wall
steadily over the precipice instead of avoid
ing it: to wait till the horse has left til,
stable and is galloping off before lockin:
the stable door and carefully putting tn
key in their pockets.