The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-07-08
IN THE HOUSE.

The order OF the Day was reached
before 1890 yesterday morning,
which ought to have meant that
big days work was to be accom-
plished, but the legislative craft
ran on to so many sandbanks that
progress was slow. Rep. Kamau-
oha has introduced short and
very notwithstanding bill, which
came up for consideration yester-
day, after having been referred to
the Judiciary Committee. The bill
proposes to abolish the process by
warrant in cases of desertion of
service by contract laborers, sub
shutting the ordinary process by
summons, as in all civil actions.
The practical effect of this change
would undoubtedly be, as Noble
Baldwin observed, to abrogate the
whole contract-labor law of the
country, for it is the penal as
pect of the contract which
alone gives the system it's
efficiency: AS was well stated
by Rep. Smith in the course of the
debate, the laborer would simply
'1augh at the summons and depart
for regions unknown" Contract la
borers being invariably without
any visible property, no civil
remedy for breach Of contract can
be enforced against them, and
without the power to issue war
rant, the law would become en-
tirely imperative. The warrant of
arrest is the keystone of the arch.
The views of the ADVERTISER on
the subject of contract labor have
been more than once expressed,
and need not be recapitulated in
detail here. We believe, in brief,
the system to be an unhealthy one,
unsuited to the wants of a civilized
society, and incompatible with it's
highest interests. We believe that
the time must come when Hawaii
must do without it, and that it
should be the business of all true
friends of Hawaii to hasten by all
wise and reasonable means the
coming of that time. Moreover,
we believe that these views are
pretty generally shared by the
thoughtful and conscientious men
of the country. and that they are
making themselves felt in con-
stantly widening circles.
At the same time few will dispute
that the proposition to break down
the labor system of the country at
the present jnncture is inoppor-
tune, ill-considered and reckless to
the last degree. The sugar in
dustry is passing through the
greatest crisis of its history-a
crisis from which it can hardly
emerge without severe loss. At
the same time the prosperity of
the country and of every class in
it, is so bound up with that of this
industry that the public interest
requires that every nerve should be
strained to avert the catastrophe.
Instead of giving the planters a
death-blow, the situation requires
that the Government do every
thing in it's power to enable them
to weather the storm. There have
been times when the interest of the
planters has exerted too much in
fiuence on the course of legislation.
Such thing would hardly be pos
sible now, for the paramount in
terest of the nation to-day is to
save the sugar industry from de-
struction.
The bill in the House will there
fore deserve to be killed, as it I'M
doubtedly will be. At the same
time we are not sorry it was intro
duced. 1t contains a timely warn
ing to planters to get their indus
try on sounder and safer basis
} than is afforded by the system of