The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1872-11-23

AN EDITORIAL article IN the san FEahcisco
Bulletin Of November LIST, directs attention to
these Islands under the heading of 81 Hardly 4
Prosperous Kingdom" The writer is evidently
a person tolerably well informed about that of
which he discourses, and in some respects he
c%riticises US fairly enough, especially when he
says
There is no special hostility TO the present form
Of Government. 1t does not infiet any great evils
upon the people. But IL is apparent enough that
there is a lack Of spring, energy, and Of that vitalized
enterprise which makes the most Of great natural
resources"
The lack Of enterprise in developing our great
natural resources has been and still is our ma
tional failing, to which we must attribute the
unprosperous condition which W. so keenly feel
at home. and which is attracting the attention of
our neighbors. Our heritage is truly a good one,
and.needs only an awakening of dormant energies
on our part, properly seconded by the Govern
ment. And we hold that if Government does
not take an active part in the work OF developing
the country, it fails in it's duty, and cannot
receive the confidence and support of the nation.
Ministers must take a broader view of the situa-
ton than is conveyed by the doctrine of letting
everything alone to ~develope itself. We are
vastly differently situated in this respect from
those countries already rich and prosperous,
where the maxim has justly obtained that q that
country is best governed which is governed the
least" Our rulers must have SOM higher aims
than the mere business of receiving our diminu-
tive income and paying it out to our large staff
of officials. The country wants q Government
policy, broad and enlightened and vigorously
expressed, looking to the attainment of that
degree of national prosperity which is our due.
That the public is awake to the necessity of the
enunciation Of such a policy on the part of the
Government is plainly enough evidenced by the
great interest manifested of late on the subject
which has given rise to the Hawaiian Immigra-
ton Society. This Kingdom, says the Bulletin
very correctly, has fallen short of a large pros
perity, IS not because of hostile influences from
without, but because the Government costs too
much and ~accomplishes so little in the way of
developing the rich natural resources of the
Islands,"
Speaking of our prospects, the writer goes on
to say
eff the Reciprocity Treaty had not failed it would
have stimulated the planting interest, especially
sugar production. A better reciprocity would be
that which admitted Hawaii on her own application
as a State into the Union. There would be an intro
dnction of new blood, new capital and enterprise"
7 We all know why the Reciprocity Treaty so
narrowly failed. 1t was because of the jealousy
Of sectional interests on the part Of some Aneri-
can politicians, the mean trickery of others, and
damaging misrepresentation sent from the Isl
ands-with other circumstances, to which allu-
sion is now unnecessary. That Reciprocity would
have vastly stimulated our prosperity there is
every reason to believe, and we believe moreover
that "a timely and indioiouS efi,rf u III vCt Secure it
The idea of the annexation of these Islands to
the American Union, is simply out of the ques-
ton, principally for the reason that whatever
advantages might result would be all on one side.
The United States have no possible need Of ac-
quiring these Islands. Not for our valuable
waste lands surely; and they have already ample
harbors for naval depots on the Pacific coast.
We should be a bill of expense TO the American
Government, absorbing, meantime, to our own
advantage, the aforementioned new blood,
new capital and enterprise"
Our critic refers to the whaling business IN the
following pertinent and generally sound observa-
tions
"The whaling interest, formerly one Of the chief
sources of prosperity, is decreasing, and it may not
be many years before Honolulu will cease to be the
rendezvous of whalers. 1t was predicted some time
ago that the whaling feet Of the North Pacific would
bring up at San Francisco. This transfer is gradu-
ally going on. But in the meantime the whaling
interest is diminishing, and it is not likely to recover
its old prominence in our time. The best whaling
grounds are still in the North Pacific and in the
Arctic Ocean, as is evident from the results of whal-
ing ventures during the last few years. More enter
prise and more capital would build up a large whaling
interest at Honolulu, and might retain a good share
of the business The native population make very
good sailors, although tropical men are unused to
hard work, and lack something of the stamina
needed for Arctic Ocean ventures. If with such a
favorable position for northern and southern whaling,
and with cheap supplies, Honolulu cannot retain the
whaling business, with a less tenacious grip on other
interests. the outlook for the Kingdom is not the
most cheerful one."