The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-02-02
|OLD NATIVE
WAS ABUSIVE
Created Scene in
the Police
Court.
Defied Truant Officer to
Arrest Son a Second
Time.
Ancient Politician Shook Stick Al
Judge and Called Truant
Officer Liar.

Long before the Police Court was
ready for business yesterday morning
| there We're omens of trouble. Over in
the prisoners dock sat a small native
boy, barefooted and with his hair look
| ing for all the world as If some of the
other prisoners had been playing foot
| ball with it. Near Deputy Sheriff Chill
lingworth sat truant officer. Down
on one of the front benches sat Ka-
mai, one time famous as political
leader here. Old kamai had in his time
fought many political fight. He had
reputation for pugnacity and clever
| ness in this work that few could gain
say. In his day he had been a dandy.
Old timers remember Kamai, of Pua-
hia, with his bouquet and his white
| plug hat and his continuous flow of
oratory at election time.
But Kamai is old and feeble now. He
appeared in court in full dress waist
coat but his other clothing would excite
no comment His face was old and
wrinkled; he was lame; and into court
he had hobbled on cane, but this did
| not prevent him from wearing a big
bunch of carnations in his buttonhole
as of yore. But what could Kamai be
doing amongst that mob of Chinese
gamblers in police court. A moment
and we will find out.
The court came in and mounted the
bench. Chillingworth called off names,
their owners responded, and took what
the evidence against them warranted
or what the Judge in his wisdom
thought they deserved. A man who
had worn too few clothes on the public
streets paid three dollars and costs
cheerfully. There were others who had
been in various little scrapes but it was
not until the Deputy Sheriff had called
Kama that the fun began.
Kama walked forward. He was a
boy of not more than ten. His car
riage was as erect as that of any of his
elders and the expression on his face
might remind one of the pride of a
County Supervisor as he walks among
his appointees. The boys spirit was a
strong one. He was formally charged
with truancy.
Then the trouble commenced. Old
Kamai, the politician, hobbled forward
He made a bee line for the bench of
Judge Lindsay. All of the talking that
followed was in Hawaiian. A rough
translation of it is as follows:
Kamai said: THE reason l took my
boy away from that school was that
the teacher punished him severely sew
eral times. She punished him because
she claimed he had been talking with
a girl in the school. This girl persisted
in leaving her own seat and going to
the seat of the boy. For this reason
the boy and the teacher soon felt an
cry at each other. There was a bad
feeling between them. ! took the boy
away from the school with the inten-
ton of placing him in st. Louis Col
lege. But the school was full at that
time and when there is room l will
put the boy in there"
The truant officer, addressing the
court, declared that there would not
be a single vacancy in st. Louis Col
lege before the end of the school year.
Kamai assumed terrible anger. The
small wrinkles in his face became deep
gullies. His arms We're swung In eV-
cry direction. He paraded around in
front OF the bar of justice shaking his
big bamboo cane first at the truant OFF,
Ger and then at the Judge.
"Wahahee oe; hoopunipuni kela ka-
naka!" he shouted in great anger. Gle
fibs he lies, that man lies!D
The truant officer said he wished TO
speak on behalf of the government
He declared that the old man had tax
ell the boy from the school not on &C.
count of trouble with a teacher but
because he expressed a wish to send
him to relatives who lived on Maui.
He had not taken Kama there but in
stead had permitted him to roam wild
on the streets.
Yes, that Is true" shouted the old
man. He frantically pulled big bum
die of letters from his pocket and shook
them at the Judge declaring that there
Was ample evidence that he spoke the
truth. All the letters, he said, where
from relatives on Maui asking that he
boy be sent there. But up to this time
he had been unable to send the boy
away. The boy would"
Judge Lindsay here interrupted the
flow of language. He addressed the
old man and the. boy very rapily in Ha-
waiian. He declared 1t ridiculous to say
that there should be any feeling be-
tween such slip of boy and teach
er. There could be no real bad feeling
between the principal OF a school and
such a small boy. II the boy had done