The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-08-11

To the Editor of The Examiner-Sir:
Permit me through the columns of your
paper to give a brief reply, which will
be my only one, to Father Yorke's four
long diatribes against the Protestant
missionaries of Hawaii
Father Yorke has generally lodged
the questions at issue between us. The
occasion of my former article, to which
he replies, was his charge that Protes-
tant missionaries expelled Roman Ca
tholic priests from Hawaii. Instead
of fairly discussing, this matter he has
gathered the testimonials of transient,
uninformed visitors at Hawaii, some of
them enemies of missions, or liberti-
nes. or infdels, to show that the mis-
sionaries did not good to the natives,
that they spoke against the Roman
Catholic religion, that their teachings
| influenced the action of the Govern
ment, and that it was believed that in
some instances they actually directed
the action of the Government. When
| he has quoted from Jarves' history he
ed what refutes himself.
| The charge that the missionaries did
no good is a singular one for a Roman
| Catholic to make. Father Yorke has
well said: "By their fruits ye shall
know them" Compare the results of
Roman Catholic missions with those of
| Protestant missions in the Pacific. In
| the PHILIPPINE Islands Roman Catholic
priests labored continuously since the
! year 1865, and the natives there are
still in the most Wretched degradation.
| In Nukuhiya, of the Marquesan group,
j Roman Catholics have had exclusive
Jurisdiction for over forty years, and it
is there the common remark that 'the
natives would kill and eat man to-
morrow if the French police should be
withdrawn"
! Compare with these results the re-
suits of Protestant missions in the Ha-
waiian, Hervey, Tongan, Fiji and New
Hebrides islands. | would ask where
in all the world during the last 200
years Roman Catholic priests, by their
sole unaided efforts, have raised a sin
gle pagan people to genuine Christian
civilization?
AS to the charge that missionaries
spoke to the Hawaiian against the Ro-
man Catholic religion l reply that Pro-
testant preachers have always and
everywhere felt free to speak against
that religion, that they should do so,
and doubtless ever will do so while that
religion retains its paganism.
AS to the charge that the teachings
of the missionaries influenced the Gov
ernment / reply that they indeed did
so and also improved the whole state
of the people, causing purer morality,
more honest trade and happier social
relations, and thus it came to pass that
where there had before been barbarian
licentiOusness and savage tyranny a
well-ordered civil government was es-
tablished to the great grief of plotters
for papal usurpation.
In contrast with Father Yorke's quo
tations from irresponsible, uniformed
travellers we have the statements of the
standard histories of Hawaii, which l
have quoted showing that the Hawaiian
Government acted independently of the
missionaries, and even against their
advice, in expelling the priests, and
that the chief reasons for the expulsion
of the priests were their efforts to over
throw the Hawaiian Government and
the introduction of idoIatrous ceremon-
les which by a law, enacted after the
war with idolaters were reasonable.
Mr.. Jarves tells us that the Hawaiian
rulers exhibited remarkable fOrbear-
ance in merely expelling the priests,
when by their former methods they
would have inflicted upon them severe
punishment for intriguing to usurp the
civil government.
It is amusing to read Father YOrkes