The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1890-01-20
An Ex-Attorney-General's Opinion.

Mr.. EDITOR: Rumors have been
afloat lately that Mr. Rosa has been
limiting from time to time to the natives.
that those who had presumed to put
down the late riot would soon be brought
to justice. This circumstance probably
gave additional significance to Mr..
Rosa's assertion at the mass meeting OF
the Opposition, that his party would
never rest until they had driven a GER
tain obnoxious element among the for
eigners out OF the country. The ques-
ton arose at once who was included in
Mr.. Rosa's prescribed list and what con-
stltuted in his opinion an obnoxious
element, with an occasional query per
haps as to whether or not the obnoxious
element would drive at Mr.. Rosa's bid
ding.
The following open letter from Mr..
Rosa published in Hawaiian last Sat
urday in the National Herald, throws
some light on these questions. The
letter was written in response to another
addressed to him in the same paper and
explains itself. After making some
comment on Mr.. Kane, Mr.. Rosa thus
continues:
LAS to your request for my legal opin-
ION concerning the shooting Of those
seven persons who We're killed on the
10Th OF last july, and of the four who
were wounded, | can answer without
hesitation, they Chose VIII killed them
are guilty OF the crime Of murder and
manslaughter, and their names are all
known. And the public may perhaps
understand why | asked the Ministers
IN the case OF IOOmens and Wilcox if
aytIa Inn
answered, no. Within the few DAYS
subsequent to the riot OF the 30th of
July 1t was repeated the lawyers OF
the city, and by others who knew, that
some OF those who shot and killed were
very clearly guilty OF the crime of muir
der as stated above. And | believe this
will not be denied. / am sorry that Won.
"true Hawaiian" have publicly asked
for my legal opinion during these days
lest it should be said that this is to ex.
cite prejudice. Perhaps this will suffice,
and DOM you ask for my opinion again
on this matter in public | will tell you
the truth in regard to the good of he
public II you will come to my office.
A. Rosa"
Honolulu, Jan. IS, 1890.
The editor of the Herald comments
editorially on Mr.. Rosa's letter as fol-
lows, and throws still more light on the
subject in hand:
"Our readers will remember portion
OF the article of True Hawaiian cor
respondent whose thoughts we published
yesterday relating to those who shot
down Hawaiians on the 30th of july.
1889, without having any authority for so
doing.
eve have seen that Kane and Achi
are with the Reform party, and if that
party succeeds 1t is very certain that the
Cabinet will be continued in office, and
they two, with Kaauhai, will help to
keep them there. In that event we see
that those shooters will not at all be tried
for murder or man5laughter. But in
case the National party are victorious.
the Government will be urged to take up
the case and prosecute them immediate
ly. Therefore, this is the time for the
nation to deliberate, and when the dav
OF election comes, pass those fellows
aside, for the wound will not be healed
by them, for the time is very near at
hand when the real rights of all native
Hawallans will be vindicated upon their
own soil. The National party is the
party that will save us, but those Others
are they who will utterly destroy u.s.
There are two important and unpleas-
ant conclusions to be drawn from all
this and which stare one in the face
whether or no. The first is that the
natives must be wrought up into all
utterly unreasonable frame of mind
when prominent and professedly con-
sentative leader among them can, with
the popular approval, advance such doc
trlnes, and the editor of public news
paper finds it necessary to promise the
populace, as a reward for voting the
Opposition ticket, that the citizens who
suppressed the riot in question would be
proceeded against for murder,
The second is that there are foreigners
among us who are making use OF or
countenancing appeals to race prejudice
for political purposes with the intention,
no doubt, OF allaying these preiudices
when their ends are served. Anv
reasonable man knows, however, that
all the bad blood stirred up by these
appeals must run its course, and will.
Notwithstanding all attempts to cool it
down by those who stirred it up, find
expression in many ways in the legisla-
ton and administration of the country If
placed IN power. Ii the Opposition re-
sort to such appeals to get into power
they must keep them up to stav there