The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1875-07-10
Letter frcn a Planter.


To he Eiiior Of ne Pacific Comme-eial Adrer;iser
SIR IL beg leave TO offer = few remarks anen'
your late article on The extension q ire Island trade,
and the advantages Of a liue of ships Of cur oWp
Before We get = line Of ships We want cargoes 90 pu'
into them. To raise the cargoes We must have more
labor than is now to be had. Here Is the great eo@-
/ merciAl question Of the day on these lslsuds No
treaty. no ships, can bring up the trade Of the Isl
ands from its present depressed condition tl the
labor difficulty is got over.
Sugar is our great product Bat however great
the sivsntages Of the treaty, however cheap aud er-
tensive the transport. We can sead no more sugar 70
market than a; present. for the simple reason that
we eanno, extend the plantations. | have noE lnnd
that 1 would gladly bring at once under cultivation
the sol is suitable, water Is handy. Bot 10 must
lie idle. The men / have are 5aly numerous enough
for their present work, and I can get no more. -Four
sources Of additional labor may be discussed
l. The natives working in larger numbers on the
plantations. This plan Is inpretcablc. The race
is lessening in numbers. and the present workers do
not like the work. and viii rarely engage themselves
unless they are pinched for money and need the adj
vance.
2. The Importation Of laborers from Europe. This
suggestion is, I believe, only made by those who do
not know the conditions under which European labor
ers e~migrate. When the English or German laborer
leaves his home it Is to better his condition. He is
weary of being a labOrer and wants to have his own
land, and be, on however humble a scale. bis own
master. America and the English colonies lie open
to him. He will not come here TO be a field laborer.
In the agricultural parts of these Islands a small
farmer class is scarcely possible. On the sugar
plantations there can only be the white manager and
superintendents. and the laborers. With one excep-
tion-White men might grow rice, and do the work
themselves. And this is done bat the white men
are said to suffer in health, and the possible rice
lands are limited. Could a remedy or preventive for
the coffee blight be found, there would be a further
field for the small planter. But even then the chief
industry, sugar-making, remains unrelieved.
3. 1t is an interesting question whether q treaty
could be made with England, under which the excess
of population in India could be relieved, and cheap
and abundant labor obtained thence, Such q plan
would I think be excellent. L know not IL il be pos
sible. The island of Mauritius, about the size Of
Maui, has over 200 sugar plantations, and 100000
inhabitants, mostly imported from India.
A. The greatly extended importation of Chinese
and japanese laborers. This plan is probably the
most practicable. 1t is only the extension of a system
already begun, but hitherto carried out in n very
imperfect and d~esultory way. The Messrs. Chulan
have lately imported a lot Of men but they pay SI2
a month with board. Now such wages are for us
prohibitive. If our government is good for anything,
let US ask Of them q thorough and statesmanlike
measure for a systematic immigration Of Chinese and
Japanese, with, nota 6sna, their wives.
When we only get labor. we shall have no difficult
Is in getting rid of our prOduc,l To provide ships
ahd warehouses before raising the cargoes, is putting
the cart before the horse. SUGAR PLANTER.