The Hawaiian gazette., 1888-05-08
AGITATION.

Nothing will ever come of agitation
in behalf of Chinese restriction as
Stunning the offensive against the
planters as a body, particularly so
long as everybody in the country is
directly or indirectly benefited, al
most to the degree of dependence, by
the sugar industry.
It is folly to decry existing legisla
ton of restrictive aim until such
has had full and fair trial, and
equally foolish is it to insist upon
fresh legislation founded upon the
views of persons whose public express
sions prove them to be either deceived
themselves or seeking to deceive their
hearers upon the subject.
Little or no advancement of the
cause may be expected from the lead
ings of men who cannot refer to
consistent personal record, or who on
the other hand have proved their
shallowness in principle, Inconsistency
in purpose, or recreancy to the COM
mon welfare, in former conspicuous
relations toward the public.
1t is very unsafe for people to re-
pose confidence in any agitator, to the
extent of choosing him as represen-
tative in the councils of the nation,
on the strength, simply, of his shoot
ing his bark out at the head of any
prevailing tide of popular feeling.
While believing that portion of
the planting guild in Honolulu acted
very unwisely when they threw an
apple of discord into the Legislature
that they had assisted in electing
upon the Reform platform, still some
people who have been writing and
speaking to the public lately must
take their readers and hearers for
fools when they represent to them
that the plantation representatives In
question had their own way altogether
on that occasion. The record shows
something very different from such
representation, so much so that it is
safe to say that, in comparison with
the legislation restrictive of Chinese
IN any other English-speaking coun-
try. that just placed upon the Ha-
waiian statute book is the most GER
tain and precise, and safe against
legal circumvention through treaty or
constitution or code, of any laws ex-
tant upon the subject. One ford
orator on Maui the other day pointed
at the cases of the United States,
Tahiti, South America and Australia,
where he said special Legislation
is enforced to prevent themselves
being swamped by Chinese" Read
ers of this paper know better than
that the enforcement of restrictive
legislation is being done with salts
faction to the people of either the
United States or Australia. 1t is no
torious that in the former country
the restrictions have until now been
fagrantly evaded, and well-known
that the status of the matter in the
Colonies is very uncertain from the
necessity of reckoning with Imperial
treaty interests.
Another thing that is given the
public here in false colors is informa
ton relative to the numbers of Chi
nese lately entering the country.
Everybody who will honestly reflect
moment will recollect that an en-
ormous issue of return passports was
battered off under the former regime
to the extent, indeed, of furnishing
enough doodle for several private
fortunes and there is no means Of dis
eliminating between the documents
originating from that wholesale
scheme of public fraud and the pass
ports that may have been granted in
regular order to bona fde Chinese
passengers hence. Not only is it
competent to make the point just
noted, but, in the same connection, it
is proper to remind the public that
the excess of Chinese arrivals over
departures, last year, was not great.
With the law of last session faith
fully enforced the matter of immi-
grafton may be left to its operation
for another period.
There remains the enactment of
legislation empowering the Govern
ment to gradually but firmly reduce
the industrial and mercantile conges-
ton of the Monaghan element in Ho
nolulu and the towns and villages of
the group. Gradually, because the
state of affairs has been the result of
steady development in a long period
and cannot violently be abolished
without producing crisis that this
small country is unable to bear.
The requisite legislation just men
toned is not, however, to be obtained
by stirring up class prejudices, as,
for instance, between planters and
the rest of the people, or between the
sins" and the outs" There ought
to be conference fully representa-
tive of the planting, the mechanic
and the mercantile fraternities, to
calmly and judiciously examine the
facts and endeavor to come to an IN
derstanding as to the requirements.