davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
American Consular Affairs.

Among the telegraphic news which We gave
last week was reference to a bill introduced into
Congress by Senator Chandler of Michigan, in
tended to reform the Consular system, by abolish
ing many of the useless Consulates and increasing
the pay of the more important ones. That there
is need of reform has long been seen, but the fact
that the passage Of any new bill will abolish some
Offices and send the occupants, who are often
friends of the Senators, back to their homes, op-
crates to defeat it, and so the system, with all its
abuses, continues. A year ago, Senator Patter-
Bon of New Hampshire, introduced Il Consular
bill, but when its operation was learned by the
Senators, it was allowed to lie Enacted on.
The present bill is of the same nature, and
were it passed, and it's provisions carried out, it
would probably save to the National Treasury a
very considerable sum. 1t proposes to raise the
salaries of the principal or tirst-class Consulates
to $4,000, the second-class to So 900, third class
81 200, and 50 on. Some of the principal Con-
%sulates, such as those at Liverpool, Paris, Havana
and other places, have cost the Government from
ten to twenty and even thirty thousand dollars u
year, Notwithstanding all efforts to reduce the
expenses.
No one has been more active IN efforts to accom-
plish a reform in the American Consular system
than the present incumbent of the Honolulu Con-
sulate, THOS. ADAMSoN, Jr., Esq. The contrast
in the affairs of this Consulate now, which yields
a considerable annual revenue to the Home Gov
ernment, compared with the state of things five
or ten years ago, when the incumbents with u
lawful salary of 81 900, could retire, after three
or four years service, with a fortune of a hundred
thousand dollars, shows what q general reforma-
ton may accomplish. If the same reforms are
effected in other American Consulates, the saving
to the National Treasury will be hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
The Fill Islands.

The establishment of a fine of steamers on the
Pacific Ocean between the "antipodes' and
California, connecting with the overland railroad,
and thus bringing the ends of the earth together,
naturally sets one a thinking.
In point of prospective and agricultural i'm
portance, the group of islands known as the
Fijis are Just now attracting a good deal of atten-
ton. They occupy the central position of West
ern Polynesia, between latitude 10 c 30 and
10 go south, and longitude 177o east and
l7So west. The group consists of about 300
islands, large and small, of which about 100 are
inhabited. Two Only are really large, Viii Lew
and Vanua Lew. The first is about the size of
Hawaii, and has a circumference of about 800
miles, with an elevation at its highest point Of
some 5000 feet. Yanua Lew, the largest of the
group, is l25 miles long by % average width,
with a coast line of nearly 400 miles. The soil
of these islands is wonderfully rich, and they are
clothed with luxuriant tropical vegetation from
the mountain tops to the very sea beach, which
is lined with a dense thicket of mangrove.
Ar enthusiastic planter who has lived there
some seven or eight years past, makes a statement
in regard to the fertility of the soil that would
make a Southern man open his eyes. He says =
Il ave Will my Onn IdllOS pldutCu hlIluCJ-sCSu
cotton at seven o'clock one morning, and at seven
the following morning the plant was up, with
two full blown leaves and, incredible as this
may appear, it happens every day in FIJI. In
three months from the planting the cotton crop is
ready for picking and, by n little management
and care, three crops a year may easily be gath
cred from the same plants. The cotton is fine,
and has a long staple. Sugar-cane grows in the
same luxuriant manner. l have seen cane from
twelve to fifteen feet long, and from eight to ten
inches in circumference, and this is no uncommon
growth. Coffee also grows well, and gives a good
aroma. In fact, every tropical production can
be produced in quantity and quality per given
area equal to, if not surprising, the same area in
any other country"
The total population of the islands was esti-
mated twenty years ago at 2OO. 1000, but it has
since fallen off to about $50 900, as estimated by
the missionaries, the usual and apparently newt
able result of the contact of civilization with
barbarism.
The Fijians, at the time of their first discovery
by Tasman, the renowned Dutch eircumnavigator
in 1913, and even down to a very late period, were
known to be addicted to the most horrible practices
of heathenism. Cannibalism, infanticide, strang-
ling of widows, burying old people alive, and
incessant forays digniied by the name of WARS
these were established institutions among them.
In 1880, the Wesleyan missionaries gained a
footing upon the islands, and their. success in
their mission has been truly wonderful. fhak-
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16

ombau, now the supreme ruler of all the islands,
after long wavering at last in April, 1854, took
The decisive step Of protesting Christianity, and
the horrible custom of cannibalism has ceased.
He has abandoned polygamy, (he had at one time
two hundred wives,) was baptized, fully admitted
to the Christian church, and by all accounts
appears to have faithfully lived up to his obliga-
tiOns and set a good example TO his countrymen.
Recent missionary statistics exhibit the follow
ing gratifying results :-Chapels, 48l; other
preaching places, 1881 missionaries, ~ native
assistant missionaries, SO catechists, 591 day
school teachers, 1851 local preachers, 474 !;
church members, Il 1893; attendants on public
worship, 90,442, day schools, l,2l5; Sabbath
schools, $50.
Quite recently, q gentleman who has lived in
the Fills some ten years called on US on his way
to California. He has been engaged in sheep
husbandry and was quite enthusiastic regarding
the islands. He states that English settlers are
arriving in large numbers from Australia and
New Zealand to engage in the raising OF Sea ISL
and cotton. y petition, it is said, has been
forwarded to Washington, extensively signed by
the foreigners and natives, asking the United
States Government to assume n protectorate over
the entire group. The opinion expressed by our
informant-himself an En~glishman-was, that
either annexation to or protection by the United
States, was necessary to insure the rapid advance
ment Of the islands in agriculture and mmerce.
The American eagle appears to be in danger OF
being placed in a situation as embarrassing as
that of the old woman about whom we read IN
childhood
"TheIe was an old woman that lived in a shoe,
She had So many children, she didn't know what 10 do"
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16

The flowers Of all arc whitish, with a tinge of yellow,
or purple but the fruits are of various colors &C
cording TO the species. The native country of the
banana is tronical Asia and the Malaya Archipelago:
their cultivation by man extends far up in the highest
ANTIQUITY, as proved by the earliest Sanscrit writings.
1.-The name musq is a Latin transformation of the
Avicezza. The early Christians called it pomum
parGdisi, taking it to have been the fruit which led
to the fall of Eve. Some have thought the bananas
were the bunch of grapes which the i~sraelltes
brought back from the valley OF Eschoi, and which
it took two men to carry. -,
1.-THE young leaves of the banana form q good
detergent dressing for sores and wounds, and they
are used by the natives of the tropics as the cabbage
or ~plantain (plantago) leaf are in northern countries
I have for MANY wears been in the habit of prescrib-
inc them as a dressing to sores from blisters.'"
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
Bananas and PIantalnS.

1t is amusing to notice the misstatements which
some editors, who ought to know better, publish
as facts. Who would suppose that the Scientific
American would admit such an article as appears
in the number of January LIST, of the present
year, concerning "The Bananas and Plantains
of the Tropics?" The article has the show of
being very learned but the false and the true
are strangely mingled together. How the writer
draws upon his imagination i'll what he says as
to the propagation of the banana "The native
of the South plants a few grains taken from an
old tree, in a moist and sandy soil, along some
river, or lake; they develope with the greatest
rapidity, and at the end of ten months the first
crop may be gathered, though the cluster and
bananas are yet small but the following year
one cluster alone will weigh some sixty, or more
pounds. Even in the South they are always cut
down when green, as they lose much of their
flavor when left to ripen, or soften on the tree"
Now what better is all this than humbug?
The writer evidently knows nothing about the
banana tree, or the manner Of propagating it, or
the proper time to take in the fruit yet he could
not write with more assurance if he had spent
his life within the tropics. What does he mean
by {" grains taken from an old tree - grains of
what? Then he speaks of the tree as bearing
successive crops, like the peach tree, and the
apple tree, not knowing that the banana never
bears but once, and only one cluster. Then that
the bananas 81 are always cut down green, as they
lose much of their flavor when left to ripen on
the tree is not true, for the fruit is better if left
on the tree till it begins to ripen. But we will
not attempt to review the article, as the residents
at these Islands will not be slow to discover the
misstatements it contains.
Being in doubt about some of the statements,
a correspondent copied a few sentences and sent
them to DIR. Hillebrand, the best authority in these
parts for everything pertaining to botany. who
gave his Impressions from the quotations sent him
and also, some account Of the banana. The
following is part of his reply, which contains
facts not generally known:
"The Scientific american, Of January LIST. 1
have not been able to obtain yet but my astonish-
not q whit less than yours. The writer never was in
the tropics, and never saw the banana tree, or the
plantain nor had he ever read anything reliable on
the subject. 1 wonder how q periodical prefxing the
word scientific to its title can admit such trash TO its
pages.
tThe cultivated bananas, both musa Sa~ pisntiun,
nnd muSd pdTadisidcd (plantain) are never raised
from seed /; in fact, they never mature their seeds
like many other cultivated fruit trees and plants,
which through ages have been prOpagated exclusively
by suckers. Some wild species, as the nuSa f~ertiiiS,
musa simidTuP, musa uT0Hosc0Da, do produce and
ripen seeds but their fruit has no value 10 man.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
MI acknowledgements Entertainments

Our citizens have been extremely fortunate in
having had q continuation of the admirable reel
tails given by this accomplished artist, including
those ON Saturday and Thursday evenings. The
variety of talent displayed by him in his various
entertainments, and the originality of many of
his representations rank him high in the scale of
actors. In his rendering of such tragedies as
Hamlet and Julius Caesar, he displays an origi-
nalitv and skill which few actors possess. But it
is as an elocutionist. that he undoubtedly sur
passes-in the rendering of such pieces as Hoods
{ bridge of Sighs,' Poe's L" Bells ,"or " The Ma
mac" One cannot listen to his rendering OIL
either of these exquisite poems without catching
something of the spirit which is supposed to have
inspired the authors, when composing them.
This talent of an accomplished elocutionist enables
him to impart to his entertainments a variety
which makes them doubly attractive to the pub
lie. Take, for instance, his rendering of Hoods
Ode to his son. Can any thing be more hte-like,
or better illustrate the difficulties under which
authors frequ ently labor? AS we have before
said, no one can listen to him without gaining
new ideas from the plays or poems which be re-
cites to his audiences. He leaves in the next
steamer for San Francisco, and doubtless all our
readers will unite with us in wishing him a pleas
ant voyage, and a successful tour through the
United States.
On Monday evening next, Prof. MONTGOMERY
will give an entertainment at the Court House IN
this city for charitable purposes, the proceeds OF
which will be divided between the American Re-
lief Fund and the St. Georges Benevolent Society.
Our citizens will then and there have IN opportu-
nifty to second his kindly efforts to leave behind
him a memorial of his good will toward the des-
titute among us who belong to the great brother
hood of mankind, and for whose relief our ears
should never be deaf. Let him have a full and a
generous response.
TTrue charity is truest thrift,
More than repaid by every gEt-
BY grateful prayers enrolled on high,
And its own hearts sweet eulogy,
Which, like the perfume giving rose,
Possesses still what it bestows."
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
PORT OF HONOLULU. H. I.
ARRIKAIS.

April g-Schr HOkuIsIe. DudOit- from Maui.
g-Am VIII bk J ID Thompson, Allen, so bbls sperm.
IAN ship Golden Fleece, Adams, II days from San
Francisco.
lO-Am wh bk Thos Dickinson, Lewis, from New Bed
lord, with loo bbIs sperm oil.
1G-Am baTkeHtine Victor, Walker, days from Port
Gamble.
II-Schr MauuOk4wai, MaEali. from Hawaii
II-Am VII bk Biz. Swift. Biiven. from KaF1ihae.
lam VII bk John Wells, Dean, from c. fiss.
I2-Schr Fairy Queen. smith, from Kauai.
I3-Schr Pauahi, BaIlsJieT, from Molokai.
l3-Schr Mary Ellen, Powers, from Maui.
I3-Schr Odd Fellow, Marchant. from Hawaii.
I4-Schr Active. NeTIsh. from Hawaii.
I4-SIoOP WaheIe, from NOlokai
I4-Schr Warwick. John Bull, from MOlOkaI.
l4-Schr Hattie. Nika. from Kauai.
I5-Am VIII bk Hercules, Mckenzie, from cruise, with
$50 bbls whale oil.
I5-Au VII bk C~oncordis, Jones, from cruise, with 10
10 bbls sperm,
l5-Schr Marnda. BerTiH, from Hawaii.
I5-Am stmr Idaho, Floyd, IL day from San Francisco.
16-SCIr Kinau, Wahia, from Maui.
16-Schr Kate Lee, BOrres, from Hawaii.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
ES.

April 9-Am ship Golden fleece, Adams, for Hongkons.
o-Am VIII bk Emily Morgan, Dexter, TO cruise.
9-Iiaw VIII bk PaieI, Newbury, to cruise
liam VIII bk EIiZ. swift. Bhyen. TO cruise
U-SchT Moi keiki, Nape, for Maui.
1I-Schr OUana. Makanahelehcle. for Molokai.
4I-SchT Jenny, Lambert, for Kauai.
1l-Schr HOkuiele. Dudoit, for Maui
liam VII bk John Wells, Dean, 10 cruise
12-Am ship GeutOO, Freeman, for Bakers Island.
12-Aaw VIII brig Onward, Norton, to cruise.
12-schr ManuOkawai Makahi, for Maui
I2-Schr Nette Merrill, Quincy, for Maui
lj-Am bk Legal Tender, HOigkins, 10 cruise.
I4-Schr Hattie, Nika. for Kauai
14-Schr Pauahi, Balastier. for MOiokai.
15-SchT Mary Ellen, Powers, for Maui.
l5-Schr Warwick, John Bull, Tor MoIOkai.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
Australian Commerce.

We referred briefly last week to the remarks OF
Mr.. j. w. Stow before the San Francisco Cham
Der of Commerce, when urging that body to take
action to induce the American Government to
subsidize the new steam line. y later arrival
brings us the figures presented by him to the
Chamber, which will surprise many.
(, The population Of the Australian colonies in
1865 1.-THE date of the last census) was, 2,O19 1929,
which has probably increased in 1870 to 9 800 900.
The imports for 1863 were $lsO, 205 81, and
the exports $175 1874 ,571, making the total for
eign ommerc of the colonies 1856 Gao, 142 !!
This trade is now mostly with England, Europe
and India.
The gold exports from 1857 to 1868 amounted
to 1886, 253 ounces, in value not far from
500, OOO, 600.
The number of foreign vessels in 1868 was
1870. of 1866 ,246 tons burthen.
The number of foreign passengers from 1848 to
1869 inclusive was S56, 0l9, or an annual average
Of nearly 80 200.
The number Of passengers arriving at San
Francisco from the colonies in 1869 was only 928
against l7S leaving for them. But the following
table will show the large passenger traffic be-
tween the colonies and England, a part of which
IL Is Thought Will DC uIfeTlcu ~ ECtl EEunClSCO,
after steamers are established between that port
and Sydney:
1869. Actual Passage Freight.
Between Australia and San Francisco. SAP, 500 S543,208
Between Honolulu and san Francisco. 1920 l23,O6S
Between Australia and FIJI 49, $4,000 63,sOS
Between Society Islands aud San Fran
Cabin and sieerage passengers between
England and Australia. 5,5l4,OO0 24.552,46O
s5.s59,267 s~25,345y3O4
These statistics. collated from the Sydney pa
pers, give more weight to the arguments in favor
of the proposed steam line than anything yet
presented. If Il portion Of this large trade of
1851 900 900 and S3l 900 900 freight and pas
sage money can be secured to the new route, it
will be seen what a business the steam line is
likely to secure. And we who lie on the highway
to be opened, should not fail to secure, by a lib
eral policy, a fair share of the advantages which
we may reap from the trade and travel. We can
secure it by promptly voting a subsidy of twenty
five or thirty thousand dollars a year, for mail
service to San Francisco and the colonies.
We are glad to learn by the LdahO that a bill
has passed the American Senate, to subsidize a
line OF steamers of not less than 9 ZOO tons burthen
between San Francisco and Sydney, and that the
bill was pending before the House at the latest
adyices.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
Ships AInIIa.

FoR San FR ANCIscO-Per Idaho. April 21st.
FOR LAHAINA-Per Nettie Merrill, Monday or Tuesday.
For HLO-Per Kate Lee, next week
For EONN-PcrO Odd Fellow. Monday.
FOR kkUAI-Per Jennie Monday or Tuesday
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16

SOUTH CAROnNA's INCREAsE.-A census of South
Carolina just completed shows a net increase of
population since 1860 of but 2.3I4. The white
male population has declined $3.50; black males,
IL 1872 total decline of males, 1862. The white
females have gained 9.S06 black. 9.46O; total
increase of females, 1926. Charleston and the
seaeoast counties show an increase of population,
while the hill country has diminished.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16

- Z" Maratl Jesus Christ was an angel but
thou vast n god,' exclaimed 4 crazy enthusiast of
the French Revolution, after the assassination by
Charlotte Corday of that blOOdthirsty wretch.
1t was with mingled feelings Of disgust and
commiseration at its blasphemy and insanity that
we read an argument, by comparison, between
the holy estate of matrimony, whose sanctity and
purity is the very cornerstone of Christian So
ciety and of real progress and civilization, and the
relation of Master and Servant as it is contracted
in the majority Of cases among us, entered into by
fraud and deception, and advantage taken Of
necessity, continued and made obligatory in the
very teeth of the Constitution, and in its ultimate
effects killing the life of enterprise and depopula-
ting the country as effectually as its halt brother
slavery ever did.
We need no better evidence of the barbarizing
effects of this abOminable system than is here
offered to us by a person who so c~onfuses all dis
%tinction, and is SO mentally and morally blind, as
to attempt to institute a comparison between a
sacrament of the Christian church and something
which in It's real character has all the worst effects
Of slavery and is indeed it in disguise and has been
condemned by the overwhelming verdict of Christ
endOm.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
Dissolution OF Partnership.

FENHE PAR1 SERSHIP ETOFOR r
a existing between C N SPENCER and n. c. HALEY
carrying on business al Kau, Island OF Hawaii, under the styIs
oil SPENCER 4 H4LEf,W was dissolved on the 3lst day of
March last-
All claims against the late firm must be presented to n. C.
HALEY, or to his Attorney in fact, W. L GREEN, at Homo
iuin- e. N SPENCER,
y. G. HALEY.
Honolulu, s prl IS, 1870. 725
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
DIED.

suurH-At KeaLakekua, Hawaii, March Both, of disease Of
the heart, DIR. ALEX. Smith, aged &c years, belonging 10
Hrudshire, Scotland.
RzI-Ia Honolulu, on Monday. April lIth. Mrs. BASsAH
Bill wife Of Mr.. Geo Bel, aged &c years
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
MEMORANDA.

IL The steamer Idaho, Floyd, Commander, left Honolulu
March 10th at 40 p VI, and arrived Al San Francisco March
18th at 40 p D. Returning. left san Francisco Monday.
April 4th, al +6 p N, and arrived at Honolulu April 18th At
2.50 p VI.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16

FOR PETRoPAULsKI-Per Paiea, April Go F s Pratt.
FRON SAE FRANcIsCO-Per Idaho. April I5-E Perkins.
DR. G w Wood, U s ~, Miss J A Mccormick, Miss NJ X Hun
tingT0u, Miss Carrie G BiTdsaI, Mrs G e A Birdsau, William
Smith, ID p Peterson, Z Wells Peterson, ii BOluan, Charles
Weber. G F Pigott, W s Akana, T Cary. Geo Menzel p Dunn,
Fred Evans, r NOTthTuP, Henry Wilson, James Dodd-2O.
The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-04-16
NOTICE,

nURING MY TEMPORARY ABSENCE
IL from this Kingdom, WILLIAM C. PARKR Eso. Of
Honolulu. and I. W. EVERETT. Esq. OF waikapu, Island Of
Maui, VIII act as my Agents, under Power Of Attorney, for their
respective Islands, and any debts contracted without their a %
proval aud consent, will be conscientiousIy repudiated by
20 en- p. II. TREADNAY.