The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-04-11
MONKS AND MISSIONARIES.

IL Is pTODdDIy d uSeltSS ldSh W III
to make the Boston Herald understand
Hawaiian politics. The Herald's mis-
conceptions of it are always startling,
but the latest one is not only startling
but broadly comic-for what does the
Boston journal do but compare the pur-
pose and character of the missionary
party" in Hawaii with the purpose and
character of the monastic orders OF the
Philippines. THE Roman Catholic
monastic orders" says the Herald,
send their representatives to the Phil
ippine Islands for the purpose of con-
verting the natives to the Christian re-
ligion and bestowing upon them the
benefits of civilization. The Protestant
denominations send their missionaries
to Hawaii TO perform the same duty"
Whereupon the Herald lets 1t be infer
red that both sets of priests turn their
attention to politics and have set up
oligarchies, plundering the native
races. Indeed, our missionary party"
is held to be even more of a detriment
TO the original owners of the soil than
are the monastic orders, for, while the
monks and friars, in the opinion OF the
Herald, have not reduced the numbers
of the Filipino population. lin Hawaii,
on the contrary" the aborig1nes have
been literally swept away since the
advent OF the Protestant Christiani-
~
sents.
These comparisons are deliciously
absurd. The so-called missionary par
ty of Hawaii has the same relation to
actual missionary work that the de-
scendants OF the Puritans in Massachu-
sets have TO the theocratic labors of
their ancestors. The term mission
airy" is a survival which may be COM
pared as such to the term Yankee"
which came of the Indian pronuncia-
ton of the word English" namely,
"Yengish." Gradually missionary"
has been made to include nearly every
opponent of the late monarchy, wheth-
er of local ancestry or not; nearly ev-
cry moral, God-fearing citizen and
nearly every man and woman who cul-
tivates the best interests of the COM
munity. So comprehensive is 1t in
these respects that any reputable man,
though opposed to what is called mis-
sionary politics" may be given the
common designation. For example,
Senator Pettigrew, while here, at once
jumped to the conclusion that Joseph
o. Carter was a missionary because he
went to church, kept out of saloons and
paid his bills; yet Mr.. Carter is no
more of a missionary as the term is
used in Hawaii than the Boston Her
aids editor is a well-informed writer
upon Island affairs. But it was natur-
al. on many accounts. for stranger TO
mistake him for one.
There is absolutely no common
ground for the Hawaiian missionary
and the Spanish friar. Our mission
aries" contain in their ranks no more
clergymen than an equal number OF the
good citizens of Boston and probably
| no more church-goers. They are sim
ply the largest aggregation Of our use
full citizens. If they have grown pos
porous, as many Of them have, that is
not due to the kind of rapacity which
the Herald attributes to the Spanish
priests, nor yet to the methods aptly
described by biographer of the Mas
sachusetts Puritans who says that
those ancient gentry fell upon their
knees and then upon the aborigines.
They prosper because they have been
and are diligent In business. Mission
airy work Is not one OF their business
pursuits; nor has it aught to do with
politics.
But 1t Is perhaps a waste of time to
tell these things to the Herald. Hav-
ing jumped to the conclusion years ago
that Hawaii Is held down by two or
three thousand solemn-visaged minis
ters and elders of the Presbyterian
church, who hit native with the i0np-
handled collection box whenever he
shows his head and then pick his peck
cts and turn him out to die of starva-
ton, the Herald will have nothing else.
The ground has been planted with
good seed often enough, but the Her
aid manages to raise the same old crop
of mis-statements. One would think
that, when considering Hawaii, 1t pre-
ferred to draw upon a picturesque and
luxuriant imagination rather than to
grub for prosaic facts or handle those
which had been grubbed by others.
growth Of Honolulu. During the two