The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-10-12
THE LEGISLATURE.
124TD DAY.-Continued.

Rep. Thurston said the house had
spent much time in discussing tax
bills, and had managed to carry
through, with a swing, question
affecting the property of the people.
They had now before them meas
ure affecting the lives of the people
both in this world and the next,
The smoking of opium had COM
menced in the present century.
When introduced into China, the
government had imposed severe pc.
nalties upon anyone importing or
using it. The penalty in certain
cases was death. The East India
Company, however, who were pro-
fitting largely by the traffic in the
drug, had induced the English gov
ernment to 60 to war with China for
the purpose of compelling the
Chinese to admit opium. The cele-
brated opium war of 1912 was one
of the foulest blots upon the name
of Great Britain to this day, and
will ever remain so. The Chinese
had opium imposed upon them by
outside influence. And history re-
peats itself. An opium bill had
been defeated with ease at last ses-
sion. Now, however, it was not
enough that England had forced
. opium upon the helpless Chinese,
but she had given us one of her
citizens to impose the drug upon
this Kingdom. The Minister of
Foreign Affairs had stood up for
this bill both in the house and out
of it, and especially in his paper,
the advertiser, he had advocated
opium license for year and a half.
His paper the p. Z. Adoertise,'
says it will increase the revenue and
be a good thing for the country.
What does he know about it, Let
us get away from the statements of
party who knows nothing about
the matter, and take the opinions OF
those who do. Deputy Marshal
Dayton says that since prohibition,
scarcely any native Hawaiians using
opium had come to his notice. But
when opium was sold under the old
law, it was in every Chinaman's Is
house. The natives went in there
to smoke, and he (the MarshaD was
finding out some new victims among
the natives every week. The bill
will increase the use of opium. 1t
will render it possible to have an
opium centre anywhere in the Isl
ands. Penalties for violation of the
law cannot be imposed unless a per-
son is caught smoking the drug. AS
the law is now, the drug can be
seized where ever found and the
parties in possession, punished. He
had no doubt, opium was used
among the natives years ago. Sew
eral instances of its disastrous
effects had come to his own know
ledge. A young man on the island
of Maui who was very clever, able
and good looking man had married
as nice native girl as ever he (the
speaker) had seen. He and his wife
contracted the opium habit. He
became miserable, degraded
worthless fellow. His wife murder
ed Chinaman to get out of his
store few tins of opium which she
had not the means to buy. She was
sentenced to be hanged, but the SEN
tence was commuted by His Majesty,
and now she is serving out her life
sentence over the reef. Another
was a graduate of Punahou College,
talented and accomplished, having a
fine future before him. Directly
through the effects of opium, he had
committed forgery and perjury and
was now serving out his. sentence on
the reef. 1t is argued that opium
cannot be prevented from coming
into the Kingdom. 1t can be pre-
vented. Japan is more accessible to
opium smuggling than this Kingdom,
put the japanese government had