The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-12-09
It II T.
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December 9th.
OPPOSITION TACTICS DEVELOPED.


The tactics of the Opposition have been
developed. They are before the country,
and simply consist in abuse of
Mr.. Gibson and slanderous charges
against his colleagues. How all this is
to serve the best interests of the country
is beyond the comprehension of men of
ordinary intelligence. The very extrav-
agance of the charges defeat themselves.
No one whose opinion is worth having
believes a word of them but as the ac-
cuEations are calculated to create sym
pathy and support for the Administers
ton, they may well be permitted to pass
unnoticed by those more directly interest
ed. Indeed, the Opposition must be very
hard pressed for an ally, when it falls
back upon the irresponsible utterances of
a man who has charged against its own
members, individually and collectively,
nearly all the crimes in the decalogue, to
lend color to the slanderous and
malicious falsehoOds it puts forward to
impose upon the public.
We have challenged the Opposition TO
substantiate its charges against the Adj
ministration. If it does not do this it
should hold its peace. But the men who
are managing the campaign for the OPP
position are unable to produce any proof
of dishonest practices such as their
newspaper organs allege. Do they
hope therefore to influence the
voters adversely to the Government
by constant reiteration of stale and alb
surd charges? If they do, they are en-
tirely ignorant of the impulses and
motives which control human action.
The very best thing that could be done
to helpthe Government candidates would
be to keep up the extravagant and libel
GUS abuse of the Prime Minister, which
has formed the stock-in-trade of the OPP
position since his accession to office, and
which characterized the relations of the
same party to him since he first took an
active part in the discussion of public
questions in the Kingdom.
AS the Government are certain of Il
large working majority in the next Legis
lakure, they may very well rest content
without concerning themselves about the
rawlings of irresponsible malice in the OPP
position papers. But there is collateral
question which occurs to US as being of
very considerable Importance, if not to
Ministers, at least to property owners and
taxpayers generally, and which we desire
to submit to their deliberate aud honest
Judgment. Within the Kingdom, if we
except a very limited number whose
Judgment has been warped by prejudice,
no one attaches any importance to the
Campaign lies" of the Opposition news
papers, but outside the Kingdom it is
different In the States and Europe the
facts are unknown, and persons reading
such articles as appeared, for example, in
the Opposition newspapers yesterday,
would be apt TO conclude that the FL :
waiian Kingdom is not a place where capt
tai could be safely invested, or where it
would be proper for respectable people to
douicile In this way great and en-
during harm is done to the country, and
every man who owns property in it is
injured in his purse.
This may appear small matter at
first sight, but it is not 50 by any means,
and the injury already done to vested
interests in Hawaii by the agencies in
question is incalculable. 1t is impossi-
bic to wholly offset this The tendency
of the human mind is to be suspicious,
especially where self-interest is CON
eerned, and we do not hesitate to say
that millions of dollars were kept out of
the country, which would otherwise
have been invested in it to the per-
petuai gain of the planting interests, by
reason of the special circulation OF issues
of the Gazette" and now defunct Sat
urday Press" containing wild and UNI
truthful charges against the Government
and attacks upon the credit OF the coun-
try.
1t is about time property owners took
this point into consideration and made
their views and wishes known to the
country Heavy taxpayers are entitled
TO consideration, but they do not seem
to make their influence felt. If they
did they would very soon muzzle the
Opposition, or compel it to adopt other
,actics than detractiOn and abuse, which
,nIy act adversely to their interests.