Nuhou, Volume II, Number 9, 12 August 1873 — Mr. Nordhoff's "Hawaii Nei." [ARTICLE]

Mr. Nordhoff's "Hawaii Nei."

We have had the pleasuro of wclcoming Mr. Nordhoff hack to thc islands, and also of pcrufeiiig !ils iirst paper or chaptcr coxicerning tlicm in Harpers Monthly ; for August We recGgnise t!ic samc iaeile and agreeable p< n with wlneh we aie ■familiar in his €alifbrnia, ,J and othor pleatfant books of earlicr 'days. It' is not yet a }!i*o.per timc to rcvicw a un{bldcd wovk ; but' we wish to touch on a few particulars in "". oi\ler to suggost 16. Mr, Nordhoff 's mind to obtain %vhildt he is hcrc inore precisc informat-ion on eeiMain points. Thc title <4 Ilawaii'. Nci s ' ? as an to indicatc al?road tlie u collcctivc kingdom of Ilawaii nei/* is not correct. Wheh tlic nativcs speak of 'this Archipelago, as a £1 collective kingdoiiK'" thcy designatc it as u Ilawaii Pae.xVina.' ,r The expression " Ilawaii Nei is a sort of afiec- ' tir-nate dcsignation of the soil when at home —- 4iterally Ilawaii. herc or this Ilawaii, woukl ncver usc sueh an expression abroad Gf in speaking of their islands. If thev were in and spcaking of their eountry they say Ilawaii-i-o. Thus they say- 'maa-nti } - this plaee or by here; and maa-o } tbat plaee or by thcre. But this a triflc—we pass on to the point, whieh chiefly attracted our attcntion, in a Bl very cursory glanee at the papcr, aiid upon whieh ' wo ean only make a slight comment at prescnt: Mr. Nordhofi' considcrs ali the evidenecs of oitr ei?ilization here as cxclusivcly an illustration of New England, and cspecially of Massachusctts : This is a somcwhat gencral idea, and often - eommentcd upon abroad, but it owcs its origln inore to the activity of numerous pens, who have been busy in manufacturing opinion in America, than to the actua! faete of the Let us esamine a little into these facts. Sinee the Amcrican Congrcgatioiial was established herc about fifty years ago—one hundred and forty-threc missionaries have been scnt to this Archipclago by thc Ameiiean Board; and of this number thcre are fifty-fi.vc, or about iWO-fifths, who are not from the lsew England States : and of thosc from these States, on!y eleven clergymen are from the State of Massaeliusetts. Thcn why thib general and particular laudation of Massachutctt& m thc work of cvangeli2ing and eivilizing islands we ean'not underatand. ; All the promincnt \vork of the American inissibnarie£ has bcen done by men who did not havc the honor to elaim the Bay Statc as their - aath*e eoil, to dcrivc their inspiratiQn |rom the prc"eminent,oulturc ol the llub. Judd, the •statesman and organizer ; Andrews, thu.Jexicographer ; Armstrong, tlie ehampionofsehoois ; Bingham, the historian, and al 1 those men of note in ihis missionary lieid; Alexanderj iniliek, Castle, Paris and Poguc, all elaim thcir t>irth" in inferior lands, whieh however, no doubt havc eonie littlc sharc of civillzation and eulturc. There arc 44 white frame houses with green blinds uid picket fenccs " in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylva!iia, Itelawaie and eveu iu eueh savage eountrios ai Virginia aml Kciitueky 5 from whenee the itfty-five ?iu€slonaries eame f a« well m New Kngland; aiu! the usual Amcrican defieieney of ;\re!jiteetural taste ? so notieeable both North and South, has been indulgcd ia hcre, Ail this body of missionarics have donea great deal of iaiīhiul work : but Miue of thc mOi\\{?cnsihlo and refleetive among thcm iuust fecl someītmes that thcir work is over-praised, lt eannot he eonteniplated sueb a wonderful t!ung thatj S, l

! one hundrcd and fortv-tbrec educated people } J j aideē by aboufc one uiillion of dollfirs, eiioukl un-, ( dertHke to teacb and cmlize } aay une liundred und . i iifty thousand people, who lmd voluntarily J wlth-1 out any foreign suggcstion, destroyed tbeir an-• cicnt idols and abrogated their superstitiou« ■ i taboos ; and, iftcr a lapsc of fifty yeai« of influ-. ; cnce, shoul 1 havc around them only fifty thous- j | and of thcsc people» who are, tiiey *:is\ li three-! i fourths diseascd: 4 * and to associatc with wLom' !■! . I | woukl causc to their children a namele=s taint" ' j of degradation , aud wlien vre consiuer fiirther-; | more that over one-third, or nearly one-half, of ! tliis remnant have sought counsel and consvlatio.n! i in Cathoiic and other teachers. !