Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1885-04-04

island Some of them are making heroic
efforts to keep their people from drinking and
gambling, and to preserve the chastity OF their
| young women and maturing girls
But it is hard, uphill fight, They have
TO contend agains, the gambling habits Of the
vicious among the Chinese and their illicit
| liquor selling, and against the unrestrained
passions of Chinese, natives and whites alike.
The sincere among the Christianized Chinese
are said to be largely in the majority in Ko.
hala. Their daily life and good works are in
evidence Of that sincerity. Unfortunately the
unregenerate greatly out number them. They
are said to be fairly good workers and make
little trouble to managers, directly. Most Of
them, however, gamble more or less. Efforts
have been made to prevent gambling, but have
been unsuccessful. In one plantation | was
told that the Chinese did not gamble during
the week but began Saturday night and KEEP,
it up until bed time Sunday. As result most OF
the Chinese on Kohala plantations save very
little Of their wages, which accumuates in the
hands Of few, who are thus enabled to launch
into trade.
Trade is Chinaman's avenue to wealth and
consequence 1t may be poi manufacture it
may be restaurant keeping it may be vegeta.
BILE peddling it may be washing it may be
shop keeping OF the latter employment,
Kohaa has a superfluity. AT leas, 40 Chinese
shops sell dry goods nominally and liquor
more or less secretly. take the word Of re.
putable men Of all classes that the Chinese are
selling, with almost complete immunity from,
punishment, the vlest of vile liquor to an cx-
tent that we in Honolulu snd ii hard to realize.
For S. any native can buy bottle Of red.
rooster brandy-costing say 50 cents. In one
sense the stuff is cheap, even at S., for there is
more fire and fight and headache in it than in
five bottles Of good liquor. 1t is evidently
what the natives like. And the native judi
ciary and constabulary are neither rigorous in
Furnishing or Jealous in detecting the fatal
traffic.
found public opinion divided as to the
evil or good which would be likely to result,
| from the recent action Of the privy council.
Some said, with hopelessness l was sorry to
see yet could readily understand, that the
native race seemed determined on self-des-
truction and that it was closeup" between
the sorts Of suicide offered. Others though,
that If licenses were given to men who would
sell good liquor, ii. e. liquor that was what i,
pretended to be {: whiskey, brandy, rum OF
LII, H., H.,
illicit sellers would be privately detected, pun.
ished or starved out of their trade. Others
took the out and. out prohibition view. 1t is
my belief that public opinion in Kohala-l
mean the public opinion of intelligent Ger
mans, Englshmen and Americans--woud pre-
fer licensed liquor saloon kept by man who
would not sell to minors, to women or to habi
tual drunkards than the present system OF
illicit selling. Blu, find that no one has any
confidence that the license for Kohala will be
given to the sort Of man above indicated. As
the Advertiser correspondent says They
''don't want the license, anyhow"
Kohaas cardinal political grievance is the
fact that road money levied upon and collected
from the district is not spent in the district
The roadways are naturally good. They have
been badly laid out in their methods Of cross
ing the numerous guches. Instead Of running
up streams, the inc!iaes at the gulches rur
down stream. or course either grade or dis
lance is increased. Bridging would be offer
a great advantage, winter torrents sometime:
delaying travel. Very little road money ha!
been spent in the district save to pay tn,
salaries Of the local road supervisor during til,
brief time he is allowed to work. During tn,
past two years Kohala has paid enough in roat
taxes to make the bad places land there are I
few very bad ones) in first rate repair and tc
build two or more needed bridges. / ar
speaking now Of the roads in the cane growing
portion of the district. The mountain road t.
Waimea, where the Kohala folks are obliged
to go to attend court, is in disgraceful unrepair
I am told that many years ago breaks coult
be driven over it. Now any thing NOR.
wheelish than barrow would be break be
fore it had gone one-third the through distanc,
from either Waimea or kohala Mill. II thes,
are good reasons why kohala's road money ha
not been spent in Kohala, the people Of tina
district would like to know them.
Honolulu, March IS, 1855. r. S. S.
p. S.-Judge Fernandez has done me tn,
honor to explain that the big heiau accused
the first Kamehameha Of building, between
Mahukona and Kohala, was built 800 or I ,ooS
years before Kamehameha was born. as
sured my distinguished critic that was neve
SO glad to be wrong in my life. But Minister
Daggett, who happened to be present, was un
kind enough to suggest the after though, tina
any fellow as ignorant Of heiaus as that ough
to 20 to Nevada and run for congress.