The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-03-22
Annexation. Nc. by Junius.

net seem desirable that the subject Of annexation
s should receive It's qaietus from reasoning 50 false
sad 50 jiscreijtskle to Us, Is that Of article No i,
by d" Independence. =" published in the COMMERCIAL
ADVERTISER Of March LIST The asgumea, thereby se,
forth from the case Of san Domingo. 10 prove that
the United States would not aecede TO our anuexa-
ton. would be rejected by any one reading carefully
again the comments made by the Ame! lean press
upon that san Domingo project previous to the de-
livery Of the great speech Of Senator Sumner agains.
it, as well as that speech itself. Ii would thus be
seen that the scheme met with universal favor anu
was very nearly accomplished, when Sumuer showed
new reasons against it. Those reasons were not, rs
set forth by Independence" that it was imPoltic
for the United States 70 extend their territorial ac-
QUESTIONS beyond the continent, or that questions Of
Interna ional complication were involved. There
were no such questions; aud If there had been, the
United States were adequate for them. The objec-
tions were rather. that, the people of San Domingo
being degraded aud excessively superstitious were
unit for admission into the Great Republic; that
their ruler, then in power, in every respect a base
man, was a usurper, 50 that TO favor ham was 70
oppose popular freedom itself that the little nation
was merely bringing an immense national debt,
deceiifully magniied ia the interest Cf its rulers
above it's true amount 10 be pail by the United
States; and chief above all other objections, that the
honor of the United States was involved. inasmuch
as the government of that country had for n long
time kept war-ships at San Domingo, and had thereby
intImIdated the party opposed 10 annexation, and
had actually employed salared agents to labor and
TO give brides for procuring the cessicn of the coan-
try. Ii was argued, therefore, thar the whole matter
was of a piece with ancient barbarous wars of con-
quest, disgraceful 10 the United States aud also i'm
polite. None Of the above reasons exist in the case
of these islands. On the contrary the American
papers, foremost 10 oppose the annexation Of San
Domingo, have spoken favorably of the annexation
Of these islands, only suggesting, as it were from
remembrance of the San Domingo affair, that moth
ing be done to force us TO il.
Tho rasf of q Inlapap sa,na1S 81 arffeia IL faEpu m
with argument that the United States would reject
our islands, because they would not be pecuniarly
profitable TO them as though that country would
look at the project as a mere matter of dollars and
cents To prove this he has asserted that these ISL
ands have not a capacity of more than 1000 square
miles of arabic land for an influx Of population (;
that they never had a population of more than 154,-
500, and could not have more without being over
peopled, like Pitcairn's Island that the increase of
business and population caused by annexation would
soon subsIde and give place TO lethargy that il
would cost the United States immensely TO protect
the islands by very many fortresses and that the
islands could not be annexed as a state, but only as
a territory, and as such would yield "A very small
revenue reasons TO be rejected by any one with
Hawaiian pride.
Now respecting the capacity of this group for
population, it should be considered. how little cur
undeveloped resources have been investigated. Ex-
perienced sugar planters, who have Travelled over
Hawaii. have been surprised at the great stretch of
country, reaching from Kohala to beyond Waimea
and on to the slopes of the mountains, most admira-
bly, adapted TO the culture of sugar cane, and yet
untouched by the pillow. The only difficulty respect
ing this tract is the want of suitable harbors, a lack
which could be provided for by expedients similar TO
those adopted in many such parts Of the West Indies.
Room for very many new plantations may also be
found on each OF the other principal islands. Still
further n judcious construc ion of canals for irriga-
ton would greatly increase the present agricultural
area. On Kauai a large river could be led over oil
Walmea, as fertile a region as the islands possess.
Such enterprises would soon be started on every
hand on each of the islands. If we had an influx Of
the enterprise and capital that is making a vast
system of canals for irrigation over the whole inte-
rior of California. > The plain between Makawao and
Waikiki could by such a canal be made to give an
annual yield of sugar equal to the whole amount
now exported by US, and TO thus support n popula-
ton equal to our whole present population. But
sugar Is not our only agricultural resource. Coffee
OF n superior quality can be raised without injury
from the blight at high elevations above the sea, as
also oranges, lemons, and very probably the almond
and olive. This seems a consideration of some mo-
ment, when we remember that, in Southern Califor-
MIA, an orchard of ten acres of oranges, yielding
fruit much inferior to ours, is considered q fortune,
the income being about 81 900 per acre. Besides
these productions may be mentioned, ramie, the
Manlla-banana, cotton, arrOwroot, rice, and the
vegetables needed by the future growing population,
and also the fOcks and herds which would cover
nearly every square mile of uncultivated land and
with this is to be taken into account, the innumera-
BILE forms of industries that would be awakened by
increased agricultural prosperity.
Is 1t certain now, as Independence" knows 80
well, that islands of such capacity would he as over
peopled, as Pitcairn's Island, by the addition of only
lOo,OOO TO their present population? Is it so certain
that they never had more? that Captain Cook, intel
hgent as he was, and accustomed to estimating the
of the many groups he discovered, so
greatly overestimated the population, which for a
hundred years has been marvelously decreasing,
once one-tenth in a single Year, and that the yes
tlges of ancient babitations and tillage, extending
on Hawaii over scores of miles, now without On in
and likewise cOyprInU I'M mpnga TpUiano n I
the other islands indicate nothing more2 And are
to swallow the whole theory against our future
growth, because of the amusing inference of "Inde-
pendence,' that now for the coming civilized popu-
latIon a greater extent of territory will be needed,
than for an equal population, at the ancient barbar-
Gus times, as though savage countries were more
densely peOpled than civilized The Rev. Rufus An
derson of the A. b c. +. NJ, n man of too advanced
to be carried away by enthusiasm, and of mar
velous sagacity and intelligence and of forty years
Acquaintance with these islands, after a careful ex-
of them publicly stated at Honolulu that
they had capacity for n population Of n half a mil
lion. But to determine the matter by facts, lake the
case of the Island Of Mauritius of about the
OF Maui. having three ranges of mountains TO
Its agricultural area, and having so poor a
soil that sugar cane cannot be raised without con-
slant use of guanO. This island with only 676 square
miles. not the 5000 square miles Of these islands,
annually exports about $50, 900 tons of sugar, not
the 10000 tons only which we now export. and has
population of 23S, 1858, not the mere I54, 500 which
Independence knows are all our vastly larger
could ever support without being overpeopled
ike Pitcairn's Island. The value of the produce
imported into Great Britain from Mauritius in 1856
g officially stated to have been Sl2, 1876. 035. Would
any kind of reasonable estimate based on these facts
Indicate that these islands would be of no value to
he United Statesi
Regarding the expense Of f~ortifying this island
1t is enough 10 remark, that it is not neces-
according to modern military tactics, as " indie
.Dendence " seems to imagine, to build a Chinese wall
around it in order to protect il. The whole group
would be under the control Of any power that had
me fortified naval port at a strategic point. No
hostile force could invincibly eutrench themselves on
island nor gain control of the group, till they
;aptured that port. This is illustrated by England's
licences Of its colonies. aud by the fact that that
country seems to see no such objection to its acquisi-
ion of the FIJI Islands.
With reference to the commercial value Of this
yroup as q territory and not q state. IL shnnld be