, 1854-10-07
OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON TERRITORY SATURDAY, OCTOBER Z

hundred thousand in lTTS, by Capt. Cook,
who discovered the Islands, shows the ca
pability of the soil to support an immense
population Since the settlement of Cali
fornia by our people, the products of the
Islands have rapidly augmented both in
quantity and value, to meet the demands
of the domestic and foreign trade The
ports Of Honolulu and Lahaina are the
rendezvous for a rapidly increasing feet of
whale ships during nearly the half of every
year, and the amount Of supplies required
by these vessels is very large, to which
must be added the wants Of the vessels en-
gagged in the Australian and China trade,
and the requirements Of the largely aug
mented naval forces in the Pacific. Hon
Olulu is the commercial emporium Of the
Sandwich Islands, as distinctiyely defined
as San Francisco is in its relation to the
Pacific coast Of this continent. The city
now contains about 10000 permanet in
habitants, and during the visits Of the wha-
ling feet, perhaps four or FIVE thousand
added. In 1924 the number Of vessels
that entered the harbor of Honolulu was
one hundred and three. In 1852, five
hundred and eighty vessels visited the same
port. This increase affords fair criterion
for estimating the future Importance of
Honolulu. From 1924 to 1852, no less
than 5036 vessels Of every tonnage and
class, entered this port. Before 1920 there
were but two merchants in Honolulu. In
1850 the imports of the Islands reached
over a million of dollars, and the domestic
exports from Honolulu aud Lahaina,
amounted to near seven hundred thousand
dollars. The Island on which Honolulu
is situated, yields very small proportien
OF the products Of the group, and not only
for its own population, but for the supplies
required by visiting vessels, as well as for
the entire foreign trade which centres at
Honolulu, the other islands are tributary
to that port, and all that is grown through
out the entire group there seeks a market.
Impressed with the Importance of pro-
noting this domestic trade Of the Islands,
and finding that steam communication was
essential TO its development, the Hawaiian
government have for several years past en-
deavored to procure this element of their
commercial advancement. To induce cap
italsts to undertake the establishment of
steam communication among the Islands,
q very liberal charter was granted by the
government, giving the exclusive right aud
entire monopoly Of all intercourse by steam
between the Islands to the Hawaiian Steam
Navigation Company, now organized in
the city Of San Francisco with capital Of
100000. This company has already a
small steamboat called the ALkamai, now
running between the Islands, and have
very recently completed the purchase of
two large steamers, the Sea Bird and Wesi
Point, both Of which are shortly to be dis
patched to Honolulu to engage in the car
rying trade, now large enough as the sta
tistics show, to furnish constant employ
ment to these vessels. The enterprise Of
the Hawaiian Steam Navigation Company
is highly commendable, and affords unmis-
taxable promise of realizing large returns
to the stockholders.
These steamers, and the line between the
Islands and California, are the forerunners
of the great lines of communication with
China and Japan, and the empire Of Amer
ican steam navigation in the Pacific S.
+. TINES and Transcript.