The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-11-29

In color, the natives are a rich, dark
brown. The tropical sun and easy-go-
ing ways have made them rather indo-
lent. They are not a vicious, but a
very gentle, kindhearted. harmless
race. In the rural districts the women
wear single long loose gown. But
the men don't 0aughter.) The men
wear-well, as general thing, they
wear-a smile, or pair of spectaeles,
or any little thing like that. Laughter)
But they are not proud. They don't
seem to care for display. Uaughter.l
In the old times the king was the
owner of all the lands, and supreme
head of church and state. His voice
was superior to all law. Ii a common
man passed by the kings house with
out prostrating himself, or came near
the king with his head wet, or even
allowed his shadow to fall upon the
kings person, that man had to die.
There was no hope for him. The king
exercised absolute authority over the
lives and property of his subjects. He
could place a taboo" 1--WE get that
word from the Hawaiian) upon land,
or article, or person, and it was death
for any man to walk upon the ground,
or touch the article or speak to the
person so "tabooed" And this King,
Kamehameha, who died the other day,
never had ceased to chafe at the re-
strictions imposed upon the power Of
his ancestors by the laws and consti-
tuition promulgated by the American
missionaries.
Next after the King, at least in au-
thority, came the priests of the old SUI
perstition. And they regulated the
Church affairs''-that is, they decreed
the human sacrifices, they captured the
victims and butchered them. After the
priests came the chiefs, who held land
by feudal tenure, as they do in Eng
land today, from the king-and did him
service But the priests and chiefs were
little better than slaves to the king.
After them came the plebeians, the
common men who were slaves to priests
and chiefs and king, a class who were
cruelty treated and often killed upon
any trifling provocation.
It was death for a woman to sit at
table with her huband, and even to
eat from dish from which he had
eaten; and at all times it was death
for a woman to eat of certain OF the
rarer fruits of the Islands, at any time.
or in any place. Perhaps the men re-
membered the difficulty between an
other woman and some fruit some time
back and didn't feel justified in TAX
ing any more chances. (Laughter)
By and by the American mission
aries came, and they struck off the
shackles from the whole race, break
ing the power of kings and chiefs.
They set the common man free, ele-
waited his wife to a position of equality
with him, and gave a piece OF land TO
each to hold forever. They set up
schools and churches and imbued the
people with the spirit Of the Christian
religion If they had had the power to
augment the capacities of the people,
they could have made them perfect,
and they would have done it, no doubt.
The missionaries taught the whole
nation to read and write, with facility,
in the native tongue. l don't suppose
there is today a single uneducated
person above eight years of age in the
Sandwich Islands 1t is the best edd-
Gated country in the world, | believe.
That has been all done by the Amer
lean missionaries. And in a large de-
gree it was paid for by the American
Sunday School children with thet:
pennies. I know that | contributed
daughter I have had two dollars
invested there for nearly thirty years.
But I don't mind it. / don't care for
money Haughter.). if it has been do
ing good. I don't say this in order 10
show off. only mention it as a gentle
humanizing fact that may possibly
have a beneficent effect upon some
members of this audience. (Laughter)
These natives are very hospitable
people indeed-very hospitable. If you
want to stay a few days and nights
in a natives cabin, you can stay and
welcome. They will make you feel en-