New-York tribune., 1873-04-12
THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
ANNExArIoN AGTATIoN.

IFRos THE SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF rHs TRIBUNE ]
HOSOLULU, March 15.-A few evenings ago
Mr. stephen n. Phillips the late Attorney General de-
vered an address here in favor OF the annexation Of
these Islands 20 the United states He spoke great
positveness a. = nnexati0nist I do Ia dis
cuss his speech. but mention it here only because 10
justihes remark hazarded In my last that when the
ns here become they apt become the
time annexationists. While Mr. Phillips Attorney
General under the late King IL IL tn he presumed
that he favored annexation. do not find fault with
him for changing hts mind and n Ia to be said for him
thar he is sugar planter and that the day before
he delivered his address be took the oath allegiance
to the United States in the Consus Office and ceased TO
be a Hawaiian subject. But the interest here
proposes TO push e1aton, may well give you
some facts bearing upon this question, which would be
important for well the islanders # it should
up in earnest.
The islands are entirely worthless for common farming
purposes or their 5000 square miles, probably more
than onehalf is lava, in the crevices OF which grow
ferns OF at the most pandaunus OF the remainder,
only very small proportion be counted agrcul-
tura land and this is so broken up and difficult OF
access that few OF the farm products could
be pruftabIy raised. would they bear the OF
transportation 10 a local market Wheat. barley
and oats now brought from California They cannot
be produced here successfully wheat crops have
been raised mere, but II found that the grain
subject TO the attacks OF the weevi and could be
kept There blight upon almost all other valuable
agricultural products Coffee bsde fair time, 70
become an important staple of these islands but
years ago IL attacked by an insect which has
bghed the leaves and destroyed the trees most OF
the plantations have been abandoned devoted the
cultivation Of sugar. The silk culture has failed partly
FOR the same reason have trees, but
they were half dead from the attacks Of scale insect
The orange grows and bears only very few favored
localities; and other useful plants which have been
tried pepper, pmento, and cinnamon, have not sue
ceeded, You can that. with such experience.
special agriculture does not promise well. The soil
indeed Is for the most part thin and infortile.
There is some. but not very much. grazing land but
the grasses are nutritious those for
OF California The ground is very much broken;
many tracts there water which however does not
seem 70 important But market for stock
Beef cattle shot skinned and boiled down and
the hides and tanoV sold. sheep farmer must de-
pend entirely his wool be cannot sell his sheep.
Market gardening small culture Of any KIND is hope
less because not only is transportation costly and di
cut but a very moderate supply OF anything OversOcks
the market The native people supply themselves the
foreigners are and must he. few IN number and scat
tered
There remains the sugar interest There are on all
tie Islands p sugar plantations owned ny, probably,
persons or companies These have. naturally, chosen
the hest situations; there still considerable land
capable Of bearing large crops OF probably enough
20 form hundred more such plantations. But, with
few happy exceptions. the plantations subject
natural Inconvenience and drawbacks Of very serious
kind Al the greater part OF them the cost and difficulty
OF shipping sugar are enormous. The sugar OF these
island. is almost universally 10 market in small
kegs which st tells you OF stormy laRdingplaces
and 0fhcult handling The shocks for these kegs
Brought all the way from Boston the islands having
useful timber and indeed, but little wood OF any kind
and that 80 difficult of access fuel Of the
planters serious difficulties. IN many
sOme-not all-of the sugar planters desire annexa-
ton and declare that they will be ruined unless the
Islands annexed They would not be genuine plant
ers they did not sincerely believe that their ruin
would involve the destruction OF the islands also.
ueve more than half the planters not making
money But II IL certain that some prosperous and
what IL odd Is that those who money, who at
tend 70 their own fields and mills. who have mastered
the business who sell their sugars for hat they
will bring IN Honolulu. without the Intervention OF fac
tors or agents and buy their supplies for cash.
sonaby prosperous. on the other hand where planter
has his mill heavily where
he has little capital ahead that he must advances
upon MS the field where he consIgns his pro
duet 70 an agent Honolulu, who ships IL 10 another
agent IN san Francisco, each charging the planter
two and a half per cent commission; and
where finally the planter also buys his supplies
of this gent on credit and has charged up
every three months with interest added al the rate OF
10 per cent per aunum-in such cases. which not
uncommon. the planter u rot making money; and /
doubt he would grow permanently rich, even II our
nsg fosted over him. Under such a system this 70
which must be added certain amount OF absenteeism
some owners living neutrality-suspicious. have IN the
last IS YEAR,, changed hands in such way as 70 ruin
good many estmaDle am told OF a plantation
which cost $4,000, ami winch sold by the Sheriff
for $4,000 which cost $4,000 and sold
for So 900: ana even with these shrnkages IN
capital Invested Of these estates assured, do
not paw their present owners. All the OF the
islands is shipped to Honolulu, and thence Fran
cisco or Australia. thus being handled twice before t
departs 10 a market and the lancfn1s more or the
estates are dicult tnat after the sugar kegs
drawn from the mill 70 the shore by heavy teams.
they are put ships boat, which pass through the
surf 70 the vessel anchored at a distance.
Under an the circumstances the planters. who aresn
the main an intelligent aud esumable body OF gentle
men. have doas wonders. Though the land may pro-
ducr two p' II or three tuns 0f sugar 20 the acre
itIsnot a sugar planter here and 10 Is a busi-
ness viii rainly does not tempt The sugar
uerintenden; those interested with them agents
planters &C. almost the only annexationists on the
islands: and il is unfair 90 that sugar should
lust now advance IN price their zeal would cool
There are few others Americans. who like 20 live here
and don't like 70 live under foreign flag; who be-
ueve I'm general that wherever there is piece OF land
living around loose hoist flag on IT, But
these are few IN number. Now. then an important
oneson 90 the Sandwich Islanders. though not 20 usl
ls Would the islands be ruined If annexation does
not take place Most certainly they would not. Though
the sugar planters complain the Of the people
as prosperous they desire 90 be- They live in their
own houses; they cultivate their own taro-patehes
they have enough cat and to and they support
their schools aud churches. though the whaling
feet has disappeared They horses and where the
roads admit of it They know how 70 read ana
write subscribe for over nve thousand copies OF
single weekly native paper. They were not ruined by
the loss Of the whaling neet and they would not be
ruined by the failure of all me sugar planters for while