Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-01-07
Largest Circulation in the District
WASHINGTON CITY:
TUESDAY. ..............January =, ls73.
Something About the Sandwich Isl.
aud~

The death Of King kamehameha has attracted
public attention to the Sandw Islands and
the interest in that paradise for an indolept
man." as Mark Twain calls IL. il heightened bv
the annexation talk. Mark spent some months
IN these islands, i'm the center of the Pacific
ocean, two Thousand miles from any continent,
Six years ago, and has written to the New York
Tribune a characteristic letter about his expe-
riences, which has some interesting data mixed
with It's humorous sallies. 1t Is like his
late book, for which he apologies that
it contains considerable information. I'm
spite of all he could do to the contrary
or the Sandwich Island climate he saws IL is
simply dehciOus-never cold at the sea level and
never really too warm, for you are at the half
way house-that Is, twenty-degrees above the
equator. But then you may order your own eli
mate for this reason: the eight inhabited islands
are merely mountains that lift themselves out of
the sea-a group OF bells, if you please with some
tbutlnOt very much) flare" at their bases
Wei, you take a thermometer, and mark on it
where you want the want the mercury 10 stand
permanently forever with not more than Il
degrees variatiOn) winter and summer. IFS in
the shade is your figure with the privilege of
going down or up 3 or degrees at long inter-
vals). you build your house down on tho .'iare"
the sloping or level ground by the sea-shore-
and you have the deadest surest thing in the
world on that temperature. And such is the eli
mate Of Honolulu, the capital of the kingdom.
The natives of the island only number about
$1,000, and the whites about 900, chiefly Ameri-
cans According to Captain Cook, the natives
numbered 100 900 less than hundred years ago,
But, says Twain, the traders brought labor and
fancy diseases-in other words long, deliberate,
infsllible destruction. No doubt in fifty years
Kanaka will be a curiosity in his own land
They the simnleSt iu.a -haar fal A..
most unselfsh creatures that bear the image of
their Maker. Any native who has an income of
$50 q year can vote. The 5000 whites in the
island handle all the money and carry on all the
commerce and agriculture-and superintend the
religion Americans are largely in the majority
These whites are sugar-planters, merchants,
whale-ship officers, and missionaries The mis-
siOnaries, says Twain, are sorry the most of the
other whites are there and these latter are sorry
the missionaries don't migrate. The most of
the belt of slOping land that borders the sea and
Uses toward the bases OF the mountains is rich
and fertile. There are only 300 900 acres of this
productive soil, butt only think Of its capabilities,
In Louisiana, 10000 acres of sugar land would
only yield $1,000 tons of sugar per annum and
probably not 50 much; but in the Sandwich
Islands you could get at least 100000 tons.
Now if any one desires TO know why the planters
would probably like to be under our fag the
answer is simple: We make them pay, as duty,
four cents pound on refined sugars at
present; brokerage, freights, and handling 1.-TWO
o. three times,) costs three cents more; rearing
the cane, and making the sugar, Is an item of
i've cents more-total, II cents a pound or
within a cent of il, anyhow. And to-day refined
sugar is only worth about 12K cents (wholesaIe)
in our markets. Proft-none worth mentioning
But If we were to annex the islands and do away
with that crushing duly of four cents a pound,
some OF those heavy planters who can hardly
Keep their heads above water now would clear
$4,000 a year and upward Mark, in conclusion
wants to know why newspaper correspondents
30 calmly ignore the true heir to the Sandwich
Islands throne, as If he had no existence and no
chances; ''our staunch American sympathizer,
Prince William Lunalilo, descendant of eleven
generations of sceptered savages-a splendid
fellow, with talent, genius, education, gentle
manly manners, generous instincts, and an intel
lcct that shines as radiantly through foods of
whisky as il that fluid but fed a calcium
light in his head" 1t is these foods of whisky
no doubt that are spelling the chances of "Prince
Bill although he does stand '.next to the
throne"