The Hawaiian gazette., 1884-02-13

We desire to meet our neighbor of the
4dceatser fairly and fully on its position
that the fact that the white population of
this city have failed to obtain a representa-
ton in the Legislature is due to the inju-
dicious manner in which the opposition to
the government has been carried on. Our
contemporary claims that he, as a locker
on at the game, can see more than the
players, and that he has discovered that
course more "conciliatoryn to the throne
and to the Hawaiian people would have
secured a better result.
Let us first turn back the page of Ha-
waiian history from the time when this
country began to exist under laws such as
prevail in civilized countries. Human life
up to comparatively recent date was of
slight value here 1t was death to com
mon native to allow his shadow to fall up
on a chief. There was no such notion and
no such thing as the right of personal lib.
erty or as right to any property, real or
personal, excepting that right which might
makes, and the might lay exclusively in
the hands of the chiefs.
The American Missionaries. whom it is
now the fashion in some circles, to con.
denim. assisted the chiefs to establish
basis of popular rights as well as of indi-
vldual rights, upon system of laws taken
mainly from the laws of their native land.
Like their Puritan ancestors who carried
into the American colonies the spirit of
English liberty and law. so did these men
seek, according to their light, to establish
IN Hawaii system of free popular gov
eminent with equal rights secured to all
1t Is not strange that they erred in over
estimating the capacity of Hawaiians for
self government, and failed to forsee that
the race of powerful chiefs who then
were alive and able to hold easy sway over
the ignorance and passions of the populaee,
would so soon die out, leaving nothing
behind them to take the place of their own
personal influence. They may have ex-
pected too rigid a morality, very likely
they ought not to have extended the suf
frage, but relied rather upon the aristo-
cratic government to which the rule of the
chiefs conformed. But they sought to do
what was best for the native race. and
sought that object with all earnestness and
sincerity. That Hawaiians did not more
generally develope under their brief train
ing into great statesmen, lawyers and
fnanciers, is a result which would have
1t is not at the door of the Missionaries
that the fault can be laid, that no Hawai-
ians at this day are merchants or shop
keepers, while every nationality that comes
here succeeds in business
In 1864, upon the accession of Kameha
meha V, came the first serious break with
the Missionaries, although they were not
the only, if they were indeed the principal
opponents of his course in setting aside
the Constitution of 1852 From that day,
however, until recently, there have been
few successful attempts ON the part of for
eigners residing in this country, to obtain
representation in the Assembly The old
Missionaries meanwhile have with few
exceptions passed away, but the term
Missionary Party" Is used as I'm oppro-
brious epithet to characterize all who have
set themselves in opposition to what they
deemed encroachments by the government
or by the King against popular rights
Entertaining, as those do who have
allied themselves with this opposition, the
belief that foreign residents IN this coun-
Try have rights to be fairly represented in
the Legislative Assembly as well as the
Cabinet, and that all undue influence over
the popular elections or over the members
of the Legislative Assembly, is against the
spirit Of this or any other constitution
which processes to secure the rights of all
people by a representative form of govern
ment, line of separation was at once
marked out which could not be ignored
by either side On tine side Of those who
chose to call themselves -the Kings Par
ty,p more lately the nationals, it was and