The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-12-19
THE PACIFIC
( Commercial Advertiser.
SATURDAY. DECEMBER 70.
Isn.ImdarIc- ana CommI..Ioner-.

I IL 10 To- such q MANNER tiat they can always and
ever after be a. accurately identified. j. a problem
which, however simple il may appear To one who
has examined tie theoretical elements VI land
surveying. j.. neyertLciezs. ia practice q difficult
matter u dispose Of satisfactory u al parties.
In our i-iind- the subject stands encountered
with many difficulties and complications. Tie
transition IN the Owncrship o.! land from the feu-
dal system 70 the title IN fee simple involved great
change. Tire transition from the mighEmakcs-
right -tate 81 thing 70 the state where Laws makes
right was a vital change. The transition from
natural. traditional. and sometimes merely ideal
boundaries to the cxactitude secured even by the
ordinary compass AMI chain, involved various en-
Engagements. The introduction Of new industries
and new U.s. for landed property calls up new
dispute IN many sections. where estates, useless
before. become 50 valuable n To- give rise 10 legal
questions a. 10 ownership.
The ancient Hawaiian had three grand needs,
food from the cultiyable lands, fish from the
sea and rocks on the beach, and timber and
fbrOus banks from the forests. His necessary
range then was from the woods 10 the -ca, and
hence the division Of land in strips extending
from the shore to the mountain. The typical
map Of All island would be an infinite number Of
- EANA ~ HtaA-f1 f'@sNAEAN5
to the centre. This was especially the case
on tire i=lands Of Hawaii and Maui; Oahu
being more characterized by separate and rounder
patches Of domain, different pieces belonging, like
the former microscopic States Of Germany, to one
territory. In this latter case 4 piece of reef, a
patch Of Ealo land, and a division Of kuEa for
sweet potatoes, all being under one name and
title. With Kauai we are not familiar, but pre-
sumo the -anr l. true there.
The more fertile the land, the finer generally
the subdivision, and the narrower the strips, cx-
ccpt in the case Of large valleys. One element
Of great irregulnrity. however, came in. The
stronger chiefs claimed. and obtained for their
lands the rights ut the sea. and over tire wood
land, demanding tribute for tire product Of those
two departments Of real estate. The middle
ground, cultivable. 1puld remain in possession Of
the occupants. 30, OF twenty adjacent strips Of
land, each Of which had It's proper maine, It's
chief and its elan, perhaps two would own the
whole seicOast, or ut least tire whole fishery right
away from lOw-tidc mark, and the whole noun
tain land. We drop the mention of the fishery
domain, as having nothing in particular to do
with the present subject.
The ownership OF the mountain land depended
on or simply consisted in the right TO some par
ticular product or products thereof. IL might be
the OL0aa, = shrub furnishing bark for Irvine. In
that case all Of Il certain district who gathered
obHG paid over a share to the lord of the one
land that owned tho right. The territory where
OiOHa grew then was said To belong, without per-
haps any fixed boundaries, to that land. The
article might be Dtanaii for the material for kappa.
1t might be the koa tree for canoes, only one land
out of Il dozen contiguous having the right TO
over one half or two thirds Of the canoes it's PEI
pie hewed out. So Of the birds that Furnished
and other birds for food. OF the lords
of n collection of agricultural tracts, only ono
have the right to snare ployer on the large
tract adjoining. This might consti-
tutc the sole title to that tract of country, in case
it was valuable for nothing else to the inhabitants
Of that time. Nearly the whole of Mauna Kca,
above a certain altitude, belongs to a land which
is very Insignificant near the sea, by virtue of the
right TO hunt and take the uG'u, n bird much cs-
tccmed as an article Of food.
Thus land which was Of no particular value
had no well defined boundaries. y thousand
acres, more or less might lie between, two differ
emit domains, and claimed really by neither be-
cause there was nothing to claim. Such land ut
the present day often becomes valuable az pasture
and, and in most cases becomes matter Of dis
pute. The last case that the lamentcd Judge
Robertson decided before his death, was ono Of
these.
The more cnterprising landowners would gen.
orally, a few years since, secure the services or n
surveyor to define the boundaries of their lands.
IN many eases such persons would have the guides
rom both the land surveyed and the ones adj)in-
ng. This however was often not the case, only
mo Ega8ooJU0 Eafur euuul.v-I 70 mint ont hound
30 that even though boundaries were
,ften settled in this way,-an award being soon
procured from the Land Commission, and though
IN intelligent knd-survcyor understanding the
anguage Of the people might often be rs compe-
ent rs any other person To- determine the merits
# the case, stilI dissatisfaction often remained,
md was often times wcll-foundcd.
Ii Is easy u see that out Of all the circumstan-
Is mentioned above more or less dispute, litiga-
and trouble might arise at the present time.
t is also 4 great drawback to the prosperity of
NY locality that the title to any great portion Of
and should DC in dispute. Moreover, an immense
Of work WAS thrown upon the land Com
Mission during it, useful existence, ncccssitating &,
deal Of imperfection in the matter Of surveying
nd describing boundaries. Different surveyors q
,llOwcd each other over the same tract of coun- 4
~ some uH4cE-tiHIlu-N anu some not some
understanding the language. and some not some i
one system Of measurements and mcridians, y
,me ON another. Probably the work a. n v whole 7
as done rs well A. it is in the early history Of i
country, a. it was in the United States n J
years ago., AMI Is in some PARTS even now, e
ut there j. Il large amount OF confusion some v
to be cleared away. h
The subject divides itself. or rather the law has b
.yidcd it into two distinct divisions. The adjust f
Of boundaries which have been surveyed Il
nd described in awards. and royal patent, is re- c
irdcd a. entirely distinct from the settlement Of I
ie boundaries Of those which have been awarded h
IMPLY ~ title and ancient boundaries, a. has Il
zen the case in many instances. q
1. should be distinctly borne in mind that the f