The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-03-22
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compulsory school age from fifteen to
eighteen years was adversely reported
on by the Education committee and
tabling recommended.
Alawa defended his measure, arguing
that there could be no such thing as
too much education.
Long explained that the committee
had asked for a tabling of the bill
for one reason, that being the con-
gested state of the territorial schools.
The age of eighteen was too high, most
parents with large families being I'M
able to keep their children in school
until they were nineteen years old
Kaleiopu wanted the Hawaiian mem
bers to consider the bill well, which
had many good features. There had
been formerly a question of requiring
new buildings for additional pupils,
but this was no longer a question, as
the Territory was already spending hun
dreds of thousands of dollars on new
school buildings. In 1876 there was
no age limit and the result is that
the school pupils of those days are
holding high positions now, one of them
being the present honorable Speaker of
the House
The boys now can get no positions,
being found on the waterfront or ped
ding newspapers. Punahou, st. Louis
and kamehameha are turning out pupils
who gain good positions in the govern
ment. So far as the white people are
concerned they can send their children
to private school and to the mainland,
but the Hawaiians can not. Therefore
he favored the tabling of the BILL
Long explained that there was moth
ing in the law to prevent anyone go
ing to the nublic schools until they
were fifty if they so desired, but to
make the age limit compulsory would
be an injustice on many parents.
Kaleiopu took issue with this and
banged his desk in his surprise at the
honorable member from the Fourth The
statement that parents may send their
children to school after they have reach
ed sixteen years is not so. This might
be true of private schools, for the
speaker himself had been at st. Louis
until he was twenty-six. Now the pub
lie school pupils are only about four
feet high and didn' have the appear
ance of children who would ever get
good government positions This ques-
ton was a serious one for Hawaiians
and he urged the tabling of the re-
port so that the Hawaiian children
could grow up to be great and good
men like the Hon. Mr.. Hughes and Hon.
Mr.. Rice.
This delicate fiattery failed to win
Rice S support. however, who moved
to adopt the report.
Long quoted statistics to show that
now there were over 500 pupils at
tending the territorial schools over fif-
teen years old.
Sheldon, speaking as a Hawaiian, said
he would like to support the bill but
could not IN view of the injustice it
would do to poor parents. He believed
IN children going to school as long as
possible, but not in their attendance be-
ing compulsory
Alawa thought that a vote for his
bill would prove that all the members
wished to see Hawaiians educated up
to the standard of other lands. The
speaker pointed to himself as an ex-
ample of what a Hawaiian could rise
to if he only went to school long
enough.
The bill was accordingly tabled by
a rising vote of to 10.
COMMITTEE REBUKED.
Ndielopd dSheu IuaI the HuDllc Lands
committee be excused, as the members
had arranged to go up Palolo on com
mittee business. This request brought
down upon his head a rebuke from
the speaker for arranging an excursion
during the business hours of the House.
The withdrawal of the members of the
committee might result in the loss of
quorum and holding up of public
business. The committeeman therefore
sat tight and put off their trip for
the time being.