THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6147, 30 July 1881, Page 6

THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

. ' [fbom a conßEi!ipbt»Dßinr'.] ' ' I HcwonfMTpJiily 10, .THE OUTBREAK OF" SMALL-POX.-As the accounts current iin'the colonies about the epidemic.of' small-pftx have in many inotances been of a very exaggerated character, I am glad to preface my fetter with the news that the disease appears to be now , effectually stamped out. It ie. more' than a fortnight since any new case was discovered, and there is no reason to suspect that any concealed cases exist, because sincii the epidemic mitigated the police and officers of the Board of Health have been ■ able'to cope fairly with their work, and it is difficult to conceal even a snspected case. A lart;e number of natives and some Chinese hare been prosecuted for concealing cases ol: the' disease, and smartly fined, and the intention thus manifested by the Government to enforce tho law 'with stringency, coupled with increasing vigilance on the part of the police, had the effect of deterring people from attempts at concealment. Hovr necessary such stringent action had become may be judged .from the statement made in one case by the Marshal, that there had been no leas than eight deaths among ona group of patients whose cases could all be distinctly traced to infection by one peraoii. whose illness had been concealed. We hope' there will be no more cases, unless they break out in the quarantine ground, where there are still a few persons who were sent there from the houses in which the latest cases were discovered. On the 12th the interisland quarantine will be abolished altogether, the Board of Health hail ceased to issue itii periodical bulletins, and everything is re', suming its wonted course.

There was no time during the presence of the scourge when the statement that "tho native population was being decimated " had anything like foundation. The total number of lives lost is serious enough, but does not represent a large percentage of the population of this island to which the epidemic was confined. ■ Tho niimfer of cases has been 783, and of deaths 284—a sadly largo proportion, made so by the wilfulness of the natives and their superstitious avoidance of foreign medical aid and faith in their own kahunas, Hud the disease spread to the other islands and so scattered itself over an area too large for our staff of officers and physicians to cope with, the result would probably have been worse, for the natives in the country districts though outwardly perhaps better Christians than those living in the. capital and its suburbs are certainly less under the influence of "white civilisation" than the latter. Happily the precautions taken proved successful; the only outbreak outside these islands being among some newly-arrived Chinese labourers on Kanai, and that was promptly and efficiently stamped out. Hence, now that these islands are again open to the tourist, he may go about amongst them an he likes without fear that emall-pox is lurking anywhere. Even the gazetted precautions are not now strictly carried out for white men. GRAND ERUPTION OF MAUNALOA. Others besides ournelves have lost something through the influence of this gloomy epidemic, and the tabu on interisland travel which it has necessitated. From your part of the world few tourists come here, but during winter and spring it has been usual for America to send a considerable number to visit the islands and see the volcano. As one of the grandest eruptions of Maunaloa which is on record has been in progress, ever since last November, we should, no doubt, have had many more visitors than usual this year, especially aa there are reported to have been an unusually large number of tourists in California, had it nob been for this other eruption of small-pox, The activity of our great volcano has been so great and continuous during more than eight months past, that it is to be regretted that it has not been freely vieited during the whole period, so that we might have had authentic and varied records by eye-witnesses of the wholo phenomena. A few visits have been made to the upper part of the mountain by good local observers, but only a disjointed account of this unprecedentedly long eruption can be couijtructed from what they have told us. Fourteen days ago, one bay of the advanced front of the flow suddenly broke out, and a etream of white-hot lava ran from it with incrediblerapidity down a winding gully for about a, mile and a quarter, bringing it into very close proximity to the homestead and mill of a sugar plantation which lies about two mile 3 south-west of the town of Hilo (east coast of Hawaii). The gully fortunately ended in a shallow and extended depression, which tho lava has since been filling. For some days the flow in this gully was very active, and caused great alarm, bpth in Hilo and at the plantation, and all precautions were taken at the latter place to be ready to remove plant and machinery on ehort notice. Since then the alarm has subsided, and tho flow has become sluggish. When it is remembered that the actual source from which this lava comes is (by the course of the flow) at least forty miles away, some idea of the tremendous phenomena to be seen at the actual vents through which it is erupted may be obtained.

Tiie front of the flow lies in the woods, and is divided into several heads like that from which the outburst just described came. Should a like advance! be made from another point, the town of Hilo will certainly be overwhelmed: and unless the outlet just formed should fairly tap the stream and conduct it to the sea, from which it is now not very distant, there is no reason to suppose that similar advances will not be made from other parta of the main flow, and lively apprehensions :is to the fate of Hilo are entertained. The steamers will thus be crowded with visitors to Hawaii. For those who are indulging in the now commonplace pursuit of "globe-trotting" I can fancy no greater inducement to turn aside from the beaten tracks of travel, than our island volcano how presents. FATHER LARKIN TO BE TRIED FOR MANSLAUGHTER. A trial will come off here next week, which has excited some local interest. The Rev. Father Larkin, well-known in West' land and Otago, will lie arraigned for manslaughter. Some weeks ago a large schoolroom, 100 feet by 60, which formed part of the college of St. Louis, lately founded here by the rev. gentleman, fell to the ground whilst its interior was being decorated for a, firemen's "social evening," to have come off that very night. Six or seven persons were in the building, and Father Larkin was standing on the verandah, when one of the iron tie-rods which strengthened the place broke with a loud report, and immediately afterwards the walls fell outwards, and the whole roof came bodily down on the floor. Father Larkin and three others escaped :in time. One young man, a native, was killed, and two women had a marvsllous escape, being imprisoned under the centre of the roof, whence they were quickly extricated. The evidence at the coroner's inquest showed that the design oi the roof was not suf licient, in the opinion of all witnesses, except the architect, to meet the Btrain of so wide "a span, and that, to make matters worse,, the design was departed from by the contractor, and the roof materially weakened by hie omissions; that the tierods had been, afterwards put in to prevent the walk from spreading f. that the latter were clampbd round the plate 3 instead of being bolted through the rafters : "■ tnat one of these had broken, and been repaired two days before; and that struts had been procured, and were' to' be P^*i. -Pi. that afterni >on to strengthen the building, to meet the strain the expectedcrowd would put upon it. The coivraerfc -, ' jury brought in a verdict of manslauehter ' % " against the architect and Father Larkin holding (as subsequently did the committing magistrate) that the later had had sufficient warning of the weakness.of the building to make it his duty to allow no oho within it until it had been made.jniprd cafe. What ' ■ the jury at the trial wiU lind it is impossible . to conjecture,, because tip..very many here, ' both in his own Church a.oel among tho most influential Proiestanta, en tortain such violent prejudice against Father Larkin that he may not havo a fair trial. Tlw evidence by which it is sought to fix on him. such knowledge of '. '■ tue state oi the building iis would render his. auowmg people in it culpable, or even rash, is very weak indeed, and is opposed by tho ; / tact that he had himself been for somo time inside shortly before the accident, and was'standing at the door when it occurred..': Three boys, lately from New Zealand, namea Frederick Clarke and William and Leonard Webb, had a narrow escape. They wore amusing themselvss closo by one corner of. the building, but had fortunately been pro. hibited from entering lest they should interfere with the work going osi within. '.'.jVv. ■;■■.

TRADE NEWS. There is no business rows that VouM interest your readers. Rici; and sujrar «,< - chief products of the kinfidomj are 8 (on n" '- county of the reciprocity treaty Wth. 1 ! ' ,• ■ &

"United States) higher in pirice'here than in .-I A^xicklana.rSo is 'coffee,, of Iwhich large quantities might be grown. An occasional •■■•■' shipment of - - pulu... (for. mattrasses) | and a few bananas* are all we can export ; ■ - ■your, ! way,xa3:arule )J althpugh,,l:see some wool lying on the wharf for the steamer this trip.. We have few wool-growers here, and Dne of theni.Mr. Sinclair, of Niihau, is at ."presentin New Zealand .-with his family, so I presume this exceptional shipment is his .... clip, or part of it. : .' ....... ,i - ' '"'" ' . KING KALAKAUA;' ' ; The last news from Bang Kalakana was from Calcutta, but we expect by this steamer to hear of his arrival in Europe. He is ; making a tour of the world; and has-'been received with.profuse hospitality by! th& Emperor of Japan, 3, great Chinese minister at Tientsin (the death of the Empress preventing his reception by the Chinese court), by the Governor of Hong Kong, and by the King of Siam... His experiences abroad are likely to make him quite discontented!with his littlekingdom, and the absence of pomp, state, and any tiling worthy of the name of a royal income, to which he must return.