The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1857-10-29

Islands, which shall bring in the largest cargo ~ OIL
next year, in proportion to her size.
The singing, which was performed by an amateur
choir, was excellent. The following pieces were sung;
io-ss The Bark befn-o tho Gale Duett-HO o,
lovely Peace, with plenty crowned" Glee-" The
Chough and Crow''-all of which were sung with
much spirit and harmony, and drew from the audi
ence marked commentator.
ADDRESS.
BY the Constitution Of our Society it is made the
duty of the retiring President to deliver an Address
at the Annual Meeting. The selection of an appro-
pirate topic for this occasion, l have found to be o
matter of some difficulty.
On the general subjects of agriculture and its
branches, horticulture, Horticulture and arboriculture,
you have been so eloquently addressed by my tai
ented predecessors, that anything I could say on
those topics would seem ".fat, stale and unprofita-
6k.' You need no new arguments to convince you
Of the dignity and Importance of this most noble
of all pursuits. And were it otherwise, I have no
new argument to offer. OF the experience of others
/ am not competent to speak, except in general terms,
and a relation of my own experience, unfortunately,
would only show that, in my case at least, has been
amply fulfilled the Divine fat passed upon our COM
mon ancestor 6 Cursed be the ground for thy sake
thorns, also, and Mistles shall it bring forth unto
thee"
The anomalous character of our association, too, is
a reason why the usual variety of topics, strictly ap-
pertaining to practical agriculture, would be neither
interesting nor appropriate here. Nowhere in the
world will you find a society for the promotion of
agriculture composed of such heterogeneous materials.
Upon an examination of one of our lists of members,
1 found th,t of the whole number, which was ZIG,
there were t5 merchants and traders, A government
officers, "a clerks, 20 missionaries and clergymen, 16
mechanics, Z officers of foreign governments, 6 hotel
keepers, 6 physicians, 5 sea captains, 5 lawyers, 2
schoolmasters, 4 editors, / traveler-195 non-agricul-
turists, and 10 graziers and IL planters and farmers,
but 81 practical agricultursts in all. And when
you remember that most of these agriculturists live
on the other islands, and cannot be expected to spare
the time it would require, in the present state of our
inter-island intercourse, to attend our annual meet
ings, you will agree with me that a dissertation on
sub-soiling, manures, rotation of crops, or any other
of the kindred subjects appertaining to practical
agriculture, would be neither interesting nor in
structive.
The motive which ed to the formation of this So
ciety, by such a class of non-agriculturists, was a
noble one. 1t was a deep interest in the national
welfre-a desire to promote the prosperity of their
adopted country, by aiding, with their means and in
huence, the development of its agricultural resources.
I know, therefore, of no subject of deeper interest
to us, or more appropriate to this occasion, than
THE PRESENT PosrrIoN AND Prospects OF THE HA-
wAuAN ISLANDS, On this theme I venture to sub
NIT a few thoughts for your consideration although
of little value in themselves, yet if their expression
has the effect of calling your attention more fully to
the subject, some good result will be attained.
What are nor, and what are to be, our Ghiefsources
of national prosperity What means of Developing
orr M r within N roach opd nj va ovoi1
ing ourselves to the utmost of those means?
These are questions of deep significance to all who
have the welfare of Hawaii nei at heart. Can we
answer them satisfactorily
Let us look back to the period of the formation of
the Society, and review the history of the past seven
years. Have the bright hopes and prospects which
animated its! founders been realized? From the cir
cular which first called together this Association, L
quote the following
:. For years past, the agricultural interests of these
Islands have been insignificant, and their pursuit un-
profitable. With an uncertain and distant market,
with little or no encouragement or facilities given to
foreign tillers of the soil, without proper knowledge of
that soil, or sufficient capital to experiment upon it's
capabilities, most of the agricultural enterprises
here have languished or utterly failed, and with
the exception of a few sugar aud coffee plantations,
the proprietors of which have invested too much capt.
tai to be able to abandon them without heavy loss,
and which were still struggling on with doubtful
I tpeDtCt tIt NnDtC tblO0nt u Dcfd-
tons at these Islands, consisted in the raising of fruit
and vegetables for the feet of whaleships that semi
annually touched here for supplies.
.Within the last two years, however, a great and
sudden change has taken place in the prospects of
this group. The extension of the territory and gov
ernment of the United States to the borders of the
Pacific, the wonderful discoveries in California, and
the consequent almost instantaneous creation of a
mighty state on the western front of the American
Union,' has, as it were, with the wand of n magi-
clan, drawn this little group into the very focus of
civilization and prosperity. We find ourselves sud-
denly surrounded by intelligent, enterprising neigh
bors, who call loudly to us to furnish of our abund-
ance, and receive in exchange of theirs. Our coffee
and sugar no longer remain piled in our warehouses.
Our fruits and vegetables no longer decay on the spot
where they were grown. We are not even compelled
to seek for them a market, but clamorous purchasers
come to our very doors and carry off our supplies
with an eagerness that has caused us to feel a scarcity
ourselves and we are assured that not only for all
these, but for any other products of the soil that we
will raise. a ready and increasing demand may be
relied on from our enterprisng neighbors."
Such were the brilliant hopes and prospects which
animated US seven years ago. Does our history for
those seven years show their realization Has our
progress during that period been commensurate with
our expectations Have we made anu progress.
We cannot shut our eyes to the facts. They tell US
that while our exports of domestic produce in 1850
amounted to $3.50, 900, the average value of the ex-
ports. for the six subsequent years, has been only
S145, 900, or but little more than one-third of that
amount ; that even the average value of the supplies
furnished to whaling and other vessels, is not equal
to that Of 1850 that we have not exported, in any
one year, so much of our great staples, sugar, molas-
ses and coffee, as we did then that our coffee PLAN
tations have not increased in number, and that sew
eral of our sugar estates have gone out of cultiva-
ton /; that the raising of Irish potatoes for export,
which at that time was so important and profitable a
branch of industry, has entirely ceased, and that the
g ~clamorous purchasers VINO were then sometimes
waiting for weeks with their vessels for cargoes, and
almost fighting for priority, have become producers,
and are noU beginning to underseH us in our own
market Real estate has decreasedin value our
aboriginal population has been decimated, and though
the foreign element is increasing, it is at so slow a
rate as to be scarcely perceptible and We are still
almost wholly dependent for our means of support ON