The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1873-11-26
HAWAIIANGAZETTE
The Sandwich Islands.
the RVclrreelty Trrsty With the Sandwich Isl
ana. rs Measure 81 STATE and
Natieaal PerfEy.


. - LAA NEt-A1EEAls " NN1A-AA@A-NN-AA
The Sandwich Islands lie of the Coast
Of Lower California Their united area i:
about 5000 square miles, Of which one.
eighth. or $4,000 acres, is represented as
lit for grazing snd tillage. They posses
s climate sslubrious for Europeans and
citizens Of the United States, fine harbogs
and sheltered anehOrages; in fact, all the
requisites for 5 Naval depot, reftting and
victualiag ststioa for a first-class Power,
combined with considerable internal pro
dncsive capacity.
II.
They arc owned and occupied BY shout
5000 nstive Hawaiiaus and halt castles,
and about :, 900 Europeans and Americans.
The nztive population IS rapidly deereas-
INC. and in all human probability viii dur
ing the present century either become ex-
tinct or lose entirely its indigenous char
acter, By adInixture with foreigu races.
In 1852, when the first offieial census was
taken, their population numbered lSO. SIS.
In subsequent census takiugs the numbers
rad los, 900, $4,000. TS,O00, $1,000.
Ill
The soil Is in the hands, mainly, Of ma
tive chiefs The Government is monarchi-
eal-mOalded partly on that of England.
TIE sympathies Of the native population
lean to that form Of Government. The
preferences Of the King are understood to
be American, while those Of the royal
family incline towards England, at the
Court Of which nation, from time to time,
It's various members have been entertained
".
England, France and the United States
coyet the possession Of these Islands aud
have each made, in past years. both covert
and open attempts to obtain them They
are the object Of 5 tripartite treaty exist
ing at present between those Powers, in
which each pledges itself not to SEIZE
them; but alnost inuumerable have been
the secret negotiations, couspiracies and
diplomatic bargaiuings by each Power to
get their possession without seizure. Some
Of these attempts would have long ago
been successful, were it not that each
Power has vigiIantly watched and coun-
terplotted against the others.
V.
The reasons forthis anxiety are obvious.
Solong ago as 1s4I, James Jackson Jarye<,
Of Boston, in his work on the Islands,
says: Should any Of the great Powers
seize upon them, it might be considered as
holding the Key to the North Pacific; for
no trade could prosper, or ersa exist, while
= hostile Power, possessing IN active and
powerful marine, should send forth its
cruisers to prey on commerce Speaking
OF the Islands for defence, he says: "A
military colony once fairly established on
them might put At defiance any means of
stack which could be brought to bear
againSt them
Since the time Mr.. JarTes wrote, the
progress ofevents has to the United States
added ten fold force to these facts. What
was evident in 1s4I, is in 1851 of para
mount importance. Since that time the
whole Pacific Coast, from the frigid zone
to the edge Of the tropics Except British
Columbia,) has become the seaboard of
the United States. The third capital of
commerce in the Union has arisen on this
Bay; railroad Is being made to unite
New York with China, ria San Francisco:
steam lines, connecting, branch out from
this point to China, Japan and the Eastern
Indies and Archipelago to the vest of Us;
to Oregon and British Columbia to the
north to the south, Mexico, Chile, Peru
and Australasia Our merchant marine,
our coasters and our whaling feet swarm
everywhere IN the Northern Pacific
Opposite the very portals Of this com
meree, and directly IN It's track, lay these
Islands, keeping, as It were, watch and
ward over Us and over this entire coast
and It's commerce Plant an active enemy /
On them, and let him f0rtify himself there,
f he were the smallest of the marine |
powers, he would probably aunihiIate this
commerce; a Power with 4 feet consist !
iug Of only the FZ0ridz and the AL15aH7a 1
would, entrenched in these marine fortress
Is, harass all profit ont Of It. In the hands |
Of France Or England, the effect would be I
to enable either Of those Powers to shut
Is out Of the great highway Of the Paei-
&c, and lock rs up, 50 far IS commerce Is
concerned, within our own mountain
ranges, absolutely at rs pleasure The I
United States, By keeping up an enormous /
naval armament on this coast, could carry 1
her flag with her floating batteries in def
suce Of such Powers and their mid-ocean