The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1891-01-15
Plantation Labor.


| when modestly submitting to your read
ers my views anent Javanese coolie
labor, that my temerity would involve
me in literary duello with your pseudo
nymous correspondent, Lyndhurst. :"
Still less did | seek it. But since he has
chosen to throw down the gauntlet, and,
moreover, seeing that the ADVERTISER in
an editorial on this question has nailed
its colors to the mast, l accept his chal-
lenge, and trust that may prove foe
not unworthy of his steel.
''The art of writing" says James Rus
sell Lowell, Consists chiefly in knowing
what to leave in the ink pot" do not
know whether ''Lyndhurst is familiar
with this pithy aphorism OF the inimi-
| table American humorist here quoted.
reckon not, for had he been he would
probably not have fallen into the
| lamentabe error of betraying himself
| into saying things that will scarcely
| stand critical examination. AS 1t is, he
| is in some danger of being defeated with
| larry sentences this morning he exhibits
sublime disregard of one of the funda-
mental principles of all rational and
! logical controversy, to wit: the absolute
necessity OF arguing from facts known,
admitted or proved to be true.
Let us go a little methodically to work in
| ton and deal with its six COM
| he
! hurst ITO use sporting parlance-opens
.'facer." He says, in effect, that / de-
liberately question his honesty of pur-
pose If he will have the goodness, how
ever, once more to refer to yesterdays
ADVERTISER, he will find that very dis
tinctly absolve him from having any I'M
worthy motive whatever. Besides, look
you, by preserving his incognito he
| places me somewhat at a disadvantage,
and for all l know he may be large
sugar planter himself, in which case l
should be all the more pleased if could
succeed in bringing him little nearer
to my own way of thinking. These re-
marks will, think, effectually dispose
of paragraph number one.
My combative opponent next proceeds
to tell us, what had half surmised, that
the information upon which he bases
| his arguments is derived from books you
| know, "On Javanese and on sugar plan
tations and plantation labor in general"
| Just SO. And from his silence upon the
subject do not suppose shall be guilty
OF jumping at conclusions if | draw the
inference that this silence may be con-
strued into tacit admission that he has
not personally had any dealings with
Javanese, either in their character of
freemen or as coolies. Now, sir, we are
all pretty we'll aware of the fact that aC-
thOrs of books of travel from time imme-
mortal are prone now and again to allow
| themselves to be carried away by their
enthusiasm and 10 draw a little on the i'm
agination of their readers. Neither
| Herodotus in the past nor Stanley in the
present age, Coryphees among travellers
though they be, have been acquitted as
altogether free from this human weak
ness, and the "noble savage" in full
war paint is generally presented in the
most attractive coleur-de-rose. l am
really very sorry SO rudely to dispel his
illusion, but "Lyndhurst may safely
take my word for it that the amiable and
gentle native he reads about in Sir
Thomas Stamford Raffi9's (1811-16)
"History of Java" and in Wallace g
1854-62) 1.-THE Malay Archipelago" is
very different individual from the Ma
lay coolie of to-day. If intended for "ex-
portation" he is selected from the worst
scum OF society-otherwise the astute
Mynheers would not part with him
and has been accustomed to getting
more kicks than halfpence. would no
more compare him to the free-born ma
tives of Java than would draw parallels
between the piratical ruffians who re-
Gently made the dastardly raid upon the
British steamer Namoa to the wellbred
Mandarine students with skin almost
as fair as that of any white woman, in
gorgeous silk gowns and gold spectacles
-(they recalled to my mind the words
of the Scriptures, Not even Solomon in
all his glory was arrayed like one OF
these")-whom have seen in the library
at Hong Kong porting over the classics
in the original or reading scientific works
in the modern languages far too abstruse
for my own poor mprehension, land who
are now positively engaged upon trans
,ation of Shakespeare into Chinese. But
a truce to digressions. "Lyndhurst -
then comes to my support by quoting
some book or brochure-about the name
of which he does not enlighten us-on
the plantation laborers in Queensland
which, it seems, confirms my statement
about the trouble which the Javanese
coolies gave their employers. And here
he brings into the attack the heaviest
ordnance of his artillery with which he
is going to demolish me. This is it !:
OK Plantations using Javanese oyer
seers CD were very successful with their
\ nh, 10, ~f,t, L. 81
overseers were in trouble all the time
because they did not understand how to
manage their men Possibly Mr.. Viggo
ferred to-" Maybe l was. And [ own
that this is what the convival Dick
Swiveller would call regular "stagger,
er." Well, am crushed, but | dare say
shall survive it. The fact is, "most
curiously, too, it happens that on the
particular plantation on which | was en-
gagged we had two Javanese dangers -
Il never heard the term oversaer applied
to them) who had the entire confidence
of the coolies. and who acted as inter-
prefers and middle-men between them
and myself. | would simply give them
my instructions, land leave them as much
as possible to the r own devises. They,
however, were either powerles5 or I'M
willing to exercise proper control. Exit
paragraph number 2
In paragraphs number 8 and "Lynd-
hurst drifts into so charming vague
ness that | confess to feeling completely
mystified. My obtuseness is not equal
to the task OF following the labyrinthian
thread of his reasoning and leave it to
better heads than mine to unravel. There
is happy You touchthe button-we-do-