The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-11-25

into the souls of sixty generations
His own pure, just, beneficent spirit.
He has regenerated the governments
by regenerating the sentiments of the
people who are governed. Bringing
many favored souls among the peo-
pies into sonship to God, with all its
joyful inward liberty. He has,
through them, imbued and leavened
the body of the people with such
honor of justice, such love of purity,
such purpose of freedom, that extor-
ton and tyranny are paralyzed, and
upright, beneficent administration
holds the constant and determined
support of the people, so that no cor
rupt statesman or politician dares
openly to gainsay it. 1t is the public
opinion of the most advanced of the
Christian nations, which, regenerated
by Christ, and transfused with some
degree of His own benevolence, purity
and Justice, is now more and more
completely "breaking in pieces the
| oppressOrs."
Now there is no moral inspiration
except that of the Lord Christ that
can achieve such victory and make
| the people free. Confucius has come
| the nearest to a practical movement
| towards social Justice and order. His
| spirit of discretion, equity, benevo-
lence, seems nearer to that of the
Light of the World than any other
that has permeated great masses of
men. 1t has made success of an
organized civilization, capable of hold
ing in orderly subsection the largest
and most crowded mass of men on
earth. But China lacks freedom, joy,
uplift, aspiration, progress. Confu-
cius has failed to secure anything like
clean or impartial justice, or to eradi-
cate very gross judicial and executive
corruption.
The limitations, the weaknesses of
| COHfucianism lie not so much in the
imperfection of his ethics as in the
| inadequateness of their sanctions.
His moral teachings are much on
the same line as those of Christ,
though less searching, and Oh more
earthly plane Christ's ethics enjoy
the inestimable support of His own
personal power. His teachings are
reinforced in his disciples minds by
the radiant splendor of his own life,
and pressed upon their hearts by his
personal communion as their risen
! and living Savior. And over the
whole Christian system broods the
heavenly, vitalizing atmosphere of
Gods fatherhoOd, under which all men
are brothers, and breathing which,
they love to do each other good and
not evil.
Accordingly it is that we find the
progress of civil freedom and equity
substantially proportioned to the
growth of Christian knowledge and
the multiplication of intelligent and
earnest .. Christian believers. The
freest nations-those most healthy
and vigorous in their political life
are those which have most habitually
cultivated the knowledge of Christ
obtained directly from the New Tes-
lament, those which most read and
use the Bible. The English race led
the way in political liberty, and were
the first toquell the arrogance of their
mOnarchs. And of the English, as
Hume the historian, no lover of the
Bible, has told us, the leading and
efficient champions of constitutional
freedom were the Puritans, who held
most closely to the Bible, and were
the most intense in the Christian
faith.
So, in q general way, we find civil
liberty and Professionalism hand in
hand. Holland has more of liberty
than Belgium, Switzerland than Ba-
varia, Saxony than Austria. And Of
the Catholic nations we find those
the most rapidly rising in freedom
who, like France, possess free Bible
and are most closely in contact with
Protestant light and liberty in the
neighboring peoples.
1t is through these richest heirs OF
freedom, the English race, that we OF
Hawaii have become endowed with
our own excellent growth of civil lib
erty. And it has come to us directly
by ministrations and light from the
mightiest, the happiest and freest o
free and happy nations, the United
States of America, tho generous, the
J indulgent, the cordial nursing par
ents of all that is best and most pro
, gressive in Hawaii. But what is
most needful and most instructive fol
, us to remember, is that our Hawaiian
freedom has grown up in the closes
, fellowship with our enlightened
and active Christianity, and derive
, from that Christianity its vigor ant
: vitality.
} This is lonely group. The wides
of all unbroken wastes of Ocean be
: girds Hawaii. No islands elsewhere
: are nearly so remote from other habi
: tations of men. They are rare il
5 beauty, delicious in climate, majestic
in grandeur. They sit solitary, ;
2 peerless cluster of jewels on the bosom
of this mightiest of oceans. Ye
) though far, they are not left solitary
: They lie at the junction of all tn,
l crossing lines of Pacific trade ant
t travel. A future of highest CONNER
3 cial activity is before Hawaii, an
4 one of most frequent and rapid com
j. munication with all the renowne
: cities and harbors that encircle thi
great ocean.
e Such endowments of our favore
< Island home fit her to be an object Q
), our patriotic pride and hope, and @
), our earnest, filial eXertions to realiz
d for our dear land the worthiest, tn
= noblest of ..destinies in her civil an
i social conditions. And on this da,
II of Thanksgiving let us devoutl
praise our God who hath alread,
s given us in high degree this hes
Y blessing of free and just government
r What have we here of politica
e good? Let us take account of it, an
e estimate it fairly.
y Through Gods favoring guidanc
d and succor, we have here in Hawai-
o attained to very advanced form {
d political freedom. Our form of cor
d stitutional and representative govern
o ment belongs to the higher types eS