The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-12-27

EVERY OH whose home is on these Islands;
whose material interests are here; who desires
the independence and stability OF the Government
and the prosperity and preservation Of the native
race; in short, all who feel and appreciate the
necessity ut this time Of j]udicious and careful leg
~islation these owe It as a duty to themselves
and 70 the country 70 actively use their influence
and personal efforts 70 secure the election 70 the
coming Legislature Of the best and most suitable
men. If, however, the intelligent and conserva-
tive portion Of the community shall remain
a~pathetic and inactive, whereby the approaching
elections shall 20 by default, resulting in the re-
turn Of incompetent OF designing men 10 control
the next Legislature then, when the conse-
quences Of this Indifference and apathy shall have
come home to everybody personal experience, it
cannot be said that THE PRESS sounded no warn
ing note.
Is THE SUPPLEMENT accompanying to-day's pa
per will be found an account Of one Of the most
interesting and valuable Of recent Congresses,-
that Of land and forest cultiyators held at
Vienna. Representatives were present from
Italy, Holland, Germany, Belgium, France, Hun
gary and the United States. Some four hundred
members constituted the Congress, the chief
point Of discussion in which was the preservation
Of forests as 4 protection Of water supply-a sub
jet in which our islands are deeply interested.
During the Legislative session Of 1872 n bill was
prepared by us and introduced by n Representa-
tive, having for its object the initiation Of meas
ures for the protection Of the forest on the noun
tains on either side Of the Nuuanu valley. One
Of the then Ministry seriously argued that for
ests had nothing whatever TO DO with the amount
or the conservation Of the water supply of a
country, and through the Ignorance or apathy of
members the bill was thrown out. Since then
the subject has very forcibly presented itself to
public attention, and will be brought up in the
coming Legislature as one of paramount impor-
lance. 1t is in this view that the striking facts
presented at the Vienna Congress are here repro
duced.
Many rivers in various parts Of the world par
ticularized at the Congress, have entirely disap-
peared owing to the destruction of the forests, or
are shrunken to little streams. In Palestine, the
springs are dry, and the river Jordan is four feet
lower than in former days. Greece has suffered
severely from the fall Of the forests. In Hungary
AAO hAOuhub - ICLlOAACdl. CiIlllld duu kOlCuJ
have from this cause lost their ancient fruitful
ness. To show the change brought about by tree
planting, it is stated that there were formerly
but five or six days of rain during the year in
the Delta of lower Egypt, but since Mehemet Ali
planted some 90, ZOO, 900 of trees, the number of
rainy days is some f~orty-ive or f~orty-six. Near
Trieste, on the Mediterranean, a finely wooded
region was desolated by the Venetians, and
twenty-five years ago rain had ceased to fall.
But to save the country from total abandonment,
the Austrian Government planted several million
of olive trees. The very soil was conveyed in
baskets, but with care the trees took root and
thrived. 1t is stated also that the conversion of
the desert of Utah into a blooming country by
the MOrmons, has raised the Salt Lake seven feet
above its old level. Such facts as these, collected
from every country,-facts of forest destruction
and the cOincident decline of the water supply,
with the further fact that rivers are independent
of national lines-haye suggested the wisdom of
international action. The resolutions adopted by
the Congress declare that only by such interna-
tional action can the increasing devastation of
the forests in Europe, with all its serious conse-
quences, be stayed; that it is the duty of civil
80 1NA-N ~ lAN1N~N1 NNANAAAy NAI lAAAL
are of vital Importance to the land, such as those
at the sources and along the courses of rivers,
upon sea-coasts and steep mountain-sIdes and
that international principles should be laid down,
to which the owners of such guardian forests
should be subject. The importance of the Vienna
Congress is that it commands attention to a sub
ject which has hitherto had no associated and i'm
posing presentation.
With us at these islands the time has undoubt-
odly arrived when Legislative action must be
taken for the preservation of the forests, which
are being devastated with such reckless ignor-
ance. Under all the peculiar circumstances of
the country, the task of legislating properly and
effectively on the subject will unquestionably be
an arduous one; but let us begin with the pos
tulate that stock-raisers have a co-equal obliga-
ton to prevent trespass as the cultivator to de-
fend.
To the Editor of The Pacific Commercial AdUertiSer: