The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1898-07-16
THE REAL HAWAIIAN VIEW
HOW THE NATIVES CONSIDER
THE SITUATION.
Judge Wilcox Tells as a Kamaaina
What the Feeling Among Them Is
Cheap Politicians at Work.

There is very much interest upon
the feeling of the native Hawaiians in
the present crisis of affairs. The
Star has therefore interviewed Judge
Wilcox upon the subject. Judge Will
cox is a son of the soil, is married to
an Hawaiian lady, and knows the Ha-
waian perhaps better than any man
upon the Islands. He has a more per-
feet knowledge of the language than
any one not of Hawaiian blood, and
probably better than any one of Ha-
waiian blood.
Being asked what the feeling was
among the Hawaiians he had met,
Judge Wilcox said:
Fright here in Honolulu there is
good deal of opposition among a Ger
tain class, and that class not the best.
These people express their views in
some of the native daily papers and
say that the United States will take
away their lands; that they will i'm
press them as soldiers to go to Ma
Mia, and that they will be treated
with contumely, be called niggers,
and have no proper rights. These
men belong to the class of cheap poll
ticians, who hoped to get office under
a restoration of the monarchy. They
adopted exactly the same tactics when
the republic was first established but
dropped them because thew found
their predictions did not come true.
"But l do find that the native land
owners in the outer districts, the
men who work with their hands, and
cultivate their own little farms, or
others who work upon plantations,
and are getting regular wages, don't
care very much whether Queen Liliuo-
kalani or President Dole, or President
Mckinley, is at the head of affairs.
So long as their taxes are not too
heavy, so long as they can go about
their business unmolested, and can
earn a living they are content. 1t is
the loafers, the non-workers, who
make any antagonistic talk.
"Of course there is some sentimen-
tai feeling, and | do not blame them,
nor can any one else blame them.
They feel like man moving into
new and more modern house. He has
more room, he has more comforts,
but at first he is a little lost in his
surroundings. But during the period
of the Republic they have gradually
become more and more satisfied with
the change and that the new form of
government is better than the old.
They see that the taxes are spent
better for the people. Hundreds of
Hawaiians have told me this. They
appreciate the improvements in roads
| and the opportunity to acquire lands.
"a day or two ago | met an old
Hawaiian from the outer districts. He
asked me if the news was true that
| annexation had come at last. / re-
piled Yes What do you think of it?'
| He replied: 1T has come and we will
| have to accept it. America is not 60
| ing to take our land away from us,
is she? She is not going to drive us
away?' | said, Certainly not Then
| he said, we are all right: all we have
to do is to stop on our land and cul-
tivate it. We used to pay taxes to our
| Ali, whom we didn't see from years
| end to years end, and it does not
matter to whom we pay our taxes. I
have found that when we Hawaiians
have been in trouble that our haole
friends have helped us out. 7 am sat
isfed they will not abandon us now.
"When the Hawaiians thoroughly
understand that their property and
other rights are protected and re-
spected, they will accept the situation
and fall in line and become thorough
| ly good citizens of whom Uncle Sam
will be proud"