The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-08-10

tcution that we can. II we pay atten.
ton to our disordcrly youth at the out
set we may do something with 1t, u we
neglect and ignore II, We shall reap the
consequences In the growth of the class
similar to- the huodlum OF the mainland
or the larrikin OF the Australian cities,
and from such classes some of the worst
of the worlds criminals spring.
! Within few days the action Of dis
orderly and scmi-vicious boys have been
brought prominently into notice. In
! the circuit court the case OF David Kui
is being tried, where the defendant a
| young lad is charged with having stab
! bed one of his companions with a knife.
! 1t is fortunate that young Kui is up on
on minor charge and is not being tried
! for murder, for his victim had narrow
| escape.
! In the police court, three boys be-
! tween II and l6 years of age are held
upon a charge of burglary. They are
suspected of more than one crime.
These youngsters went into burglary in
! a busness-like way, laying plans by
which their nefarious designs could be
carried out. There was deliberate
preparation for the preparation of
! their crime which makes it peculiar
among Juvenile offenders.
Lastly on Monday a small Portuguese
boy robbed the box of one Of the tram
cars. The father discovered the boy
with the money and returned it to the
! tramcar driver. But the crime had been
committed and the criminal tendencies
of the child had been shown. The mat
ter was compromised and no prosecu-
! ton will take place, but unless the child
has been properly punished and made
to see the enormity of the act, it may
react on his future life.
such an array of juvenile offenders,
is happily a rarity in our country ard
| it is to be hoped that it may not prove
a frequent occurrence. But should there
not be something done to provide for
the future, and should not some one go
forth and help to bring the waits and
strays into better condition, and save
rather than punish?
For such as transgress the law sufii-
GENTLY to come within its clutches, as
these unhappy lads have done, there
should be opportunity given for reform.
1t is possible to regenerate, as it were,
these unfortunates, if proper care is
exercised by the Government. 1t is
however questionable whether we have
the proper machinery for such regen-
GRAFTON. One may go further and say
that the Government has not the ma
chnery at present.
The Reform school, as it now is, is no
place for carrying on a systematic re-
clamation of vicious boys. 1t is not in
suitable location in the first place, and
it has no proper facilities. The place
might be made useful for truants and
small offenders, but not for lads of the
class that I>ui and others belong to. At
torney General Cooper when Minister
of Foreign Affairs and President of the
, Board of Education, gave much atten-
tiOn to this matter, and could not nave
but through some inadvertence, trough
the money to purchase land for an in
dustrial school was certainly voted, the
item was lost in the shuttle, and when
Mr.. Cooper was ready to go ahead, there
was no cash to go ahead with and in
consequence the country has to wait.
The result is that young offenders like
Kui when convicted have to be sent 70
Jail instead of being put into a place
where they will have an opportunity of
being reformed, taught habits of in
dustry, and given an opportunity of
becoming useful members of the social
system.
1t is unfortunate that the money for
purchasing the site for an industrial
school of this sort was not Forthcoming
as location of peculiar advantage hap
pended to be in the market, and the
Legislature had provided $4,000 for
conducting the establishment, and fit
ting it up, and had also provided sal
aries for superintendent, matron ana
guards.
But not only is an industrial school
= needed for boys, one is needed for
girls. The reasons for the latter have
been often stated in these columns. We
may take it for granted that unless We
seriously go to work to try and reform
some classes of our youth, they will get
completely out of hand, and we will be
furnishing ourselves with a plentiful
crop of youthful criminals, to our own
everlasting disgrace.