The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-12-10
THE VOTING PRIVILEGE.

The property qualification for
voters for Mobiles, established by the
Constitution, is a provision for sta
blllty and conservatism in govern
ment. Although the proportion of
native Hawaiian and Portuguese
voters for Representatives, who may
also vote for Mobiles, under the
restrictive conditions of this require
ment, is considerably smaller than
that Of voters, for Representatives,
Of other nationalities, the measure
cannot be adVantageously discussed
as a race question in any sense
whatever. The political experience
of this country, and especially that
of the last few years before the rev
olution of 1887, would not have JUS
titled the makers of the present con-
stitution in throwing open the
election Of the Mobiles to all voters
without qualification. Such an
arrangement would have speedily
swept back the administration of
government to the corrupt standards
of the Gibson ministry.
It was necessary, if the appoint
ment of Mobiles by the King was to
be given up, to- provide for their
appointment in some manner which
would make them the exponent of
the more conservative sentiment of
the community, not for the sake of
property holders, but for the benefit
of ell. Although property qualif-
cation does not include all of the
Intelligent voters nor exclude all of
the thoughtless and irresponsible
ones, by any means, yet practically
it reaches the object aimed 1T, and
perhaps it reaches it better than any
other method that has been sug-
gested. a man may have the prop
erty qualifications and still be weak
and Ignorant and easily led into
wrong views; but as a rule, the man
with the required income or estate
will be enterprising and more
studious of public questions than the
man who lives from hand to mouth
It cannot be reasonably argued
that such restriction is unjust or
that it favors any political party.
Native Hawaiians do not make
political party, neither do the Portu-
guese, nor the voters for Mobiles,
these various classes will always
divide more or less at elections upon
the existing political questions. If
the property qualification interferes
with race prejudice or is an obstacle
to the accomplishment of political
aims based upon race distinctions,
then it has an additional value of
great Importance, for there are few
greater political mistakes, from all
standpoints, than the attempt to
influence or control government in
the interests of race which forms
part of the body polite. National
advancement can only be promoted
upon the basis of the interests of the
nation as a unit; any divergence
from this principle is full of danger
to public and individual interests.
It is generally recognized that the
voting privilege is not a natural
right which belongs to all; it is
rather a public duty which men
should be called upon to perform
according tc their capacity to per
form this, service intelligently and
with benefit to themselves and their
fellow citizens. There is no con
venient or practical method known
of gauging this personal capacity by
individual examination: commit
tee of wise men might possibly con-
duct such examinations, but as it is
not easy the line between capacity
and incapacity in relation to the
act Of voting, such a committee,
themselves belonging to some poll /