The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-05-19
NOT COURTEOUS
Treatment of Ladies at
Bishop Museum.
An Open Protest to the Trustees
of the Kamehameha
Schools.


with three other ladies, Hawaiians of
the highest respectfully, standing and
position, with five little children, were
sitting this morning in the shade of
the Kamehameha Museum enjoying the
fine showing made by the naval men
drilling on the College campus. Chairs
had been offered by a Kamehameha
graduate, he placing them on the grass
plot adjoining the Museum. After a
little while, Mr.. Brigham, the curator
of the Museum, drove by within a few
feet of us. He scowled most savagely
at us. In a few minutes a Portuguese
workman came to order US away from
that place.
AS it has invariably been the custom
to throw the College grounds open to
the public when any sort of public or
ser +-ru lie show is taking place with
:" IFS precincts, we did not pay any
attention to his orders, thinking it a
piece of officiousness on the part of an
ignorant person, and the man went
away After a while the man reap
peared and ordered us off again, say
ing he was acting by Brigham's orders,
and to use force if necessary. He took
hold of the chair of the wife of prom
inent official and-tippe6 it partly over.
She sprang up to avoid a fall, as did
two other ladies' I, being at the very
corner of the building and little in
advance of the others did not perceive
the man until he had taken hold of
my chair and had partly spilled me on
my knee. l turned around to protest,
when he grabbed my arm and pulled
me out of my chair, saying you get
out of this, those are my orders from
Mr. Brigham. If you don't go yourself,
[ make you go. Mr.. Brigham don't
allow any one to get on this grass"
There were quite a number OF car
riages standing around, occupied by
spectators of the drill.
The actions of the Portuguese were
so rough and insulting that the atten-
ton of quite number were attracted
TO our forcible ejectment.
Now, Messrs. Trustees, / would like
to know if the Kamehameha Museum
and the surrounding land is Mr.. Brig
hams private property, or is it part of
the Kamehameha estate, bequeathed
by the Princess Pauahi Bishop of rev.
cred memory, for the benefit of Hawai-
ians, and as such, subject to the regu-
lations and customs observed by the
school authorities.
1t has always been my understanding
of the courtesies extended to the pub
lie, and especially since the incum-
bency of the present gentlemanly
president and staff, that the college
grounds were free to all Hawaiians
during occasions such as this morning.
People were sitting down or walking
all around on the grass plots every
where else, unhindered, and it was
only the grateful shade of the big
building that attracted us to that par
ticular spot There wasn't a bush or
plant of any kind, other than the ma
nienie grass, and surely our sitting on
chairs on the grass couldn't do much
harm Mr. Brigham was seen by one
of the ladies peeping at us around the
corner of the house, just little while
before he sent his man to eject us so
rudely. Had we been white ladies, he.
no doubt, would have paid them the
courtesy of appearing in person and
asking them to get off his precious
grass plot. But being only Kanaka
women, though the other three are all
married to prominent white men, why,
we must be rudely hustled off as COM
mon tramps.
The great Kamehameha property
was derived from our ancestors, the
Hawaiian people, who surrendered ii
voluntarily into the keeping of our
chiefs, who administered it for the
good of all, the relation between chiefs
and commoner being that of parent
and children or of elder brother anC
younger brethren, from whence came
the famous battle cry of the great Ka
mehameha, 4 mua ma pOki. For
ward, my younger brothers.
Mrs. Pauahi Bishop, with hear
filled with love for her race. childles
/ herself. bequeathed her all for tht
| benefit of every Hawaiian child wh'
| chooses and is worthy to benefit b!
| her benefaction.
| In doing it she was simply carryin!
|
ancestors and sustaining her Owl
princely relation to the people of he
race as mother of all.
| Surely. it was never contemplate
! by her that the trust created for he
people should be used to sustain ant
! harbor man who invariably villifies
decries and runs down her own race
He has written insultingly about us
! he has talked worse, even the hOnOre'
/ have not been spared his villifications
and he acts insultingly whenever h
! gets the chance.
1t may be matter OF very little mo
ment TO you, Messrs. Trustees, that
few kanaka women should be so rude
! ~ insulted, but ii is not the first &C
ton of the sort by the individual oc
cupying the sinecure of the Kameha
meha curatOrship.