The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-08-11
THE HUMAN ERROR.

It is to be regretted that Judge Rob
lnson. in working for a worthy cause
the repeal of the Hawaiian land laws
brought forth a statement which, the
way I reads applies 20 an honorable
class of immigrants, the Portuguese, in
every respect the best of all the diff
ferent nationalities that have been
tfled by our planters. some epithets
which they certainly do not deserve.
It they were poor and uneducated-
many We're educated at least in their
own language-when they arrived here.
no sensible man makes them a crime
or even dishonor of this deficiency.
But all. with very few exceptions,
were certainly honest, moral. religious,
law-a.biding sons of the Catholic
church.
But are they fit material to make
American citizens? The courts of JUS
tice have had very few cases on their
calendars in which Portuguese was
the defendant. And when they had,
they astonished the world, at least in
one case, by the very remarkable SEN
tence reted out to the unfortunate
"Pariah." 1t is the case in which Gov
ernor Carter very properly exercised
his power of clemency on last Christ
mas Day. Joao Cordeiro, convicted on
November 81. 1902. in the Circuit
Court of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, |
by Judge Little, of the offense of
larceny in the second degree, for
from the estate of w. H. Rich |
ard one steer, valued $25, in the dis |
trict of Hamakua, Hawaii. He was
sentenced to Imprisonment at hard
labor for 20 years, say twenty long
years.
This seems to me a very effective |
medicine to ward off moral leprosy" |
at it's first appearance.
IT we consider our Portuguese i'm
migrants as a class, not belonging as
such to the upper strata Of society, L
defy anybody to produce a similar
number of the same people of any other
(Americans included to
with them in their moral
character Unfortunately, the younger
which has learned to read
md to write, is rapidly degenerating
rom the good old stock of their par
nts such as the C'anomalous' p gov
of Portugal has produced
hem. If moral leprosy" be found
.mong them, they found it here in the
unny land of American liberty ana
We need not down
America to put Portugal up, but if the
ruits show the quality of the tree, our
itizens of old Portugal can very well
tand the comparison.
If the individual did exist for the
enefit of the State or the Society-a
otion which seems to underlie the
hobby so muchiy praised
ID by todays polittcians-it would be
light to teach and educate all the citt-
ems in order to improve the stock
wned by the Society or the state.
;ut this is a misconstruction, Society
xists for the benefit of the individual.
he State is formed in order to help
he individual to attain his aim of life
4 accordance with the notions the in
ividual has a right 20 have for him
eli o. mis- life's aim.
If only those are fit material Tor
american citizenship that know how
} vote inte1ligently, well, 1 declare
1ere are but few who answer this re-
uirement, not more, indeed, than are /
ctually able to run the machine OF
he government by themselves. the
1mmon voters are satisfied to belleFe l
their party leaders and feed and rat
n on the promises of the candidates
id graft
Now. whatever may have been the l.
of those individuals who Il
censed Judge Robinson during the
,hnson trial. he is certainly wrong in II
,cepting them for the whole people
is exaggerated statement is certainly Il
fensive to the Portuguese. But Is
ust deprecate also, similar exagger-
ions on the part of many of those
. oe
e press at this occasion. May all re-