The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1877-02-10
THE PACIFIC
SATURDAY. FEBRUARY 10.

THE subject of Immigration is one Of great
Importance to every person interested in the
affairs of the Kingdom but to the native Ha-
waiian it presents aspects which do not interest
the foreigner, unless he happens to be of a states
manlike or philanthropic mind. An immigra-
ton solely for the purpose Of supplying labor
for large estates Is the least desirable, if indeed
at all desirable. ANY immigration Of q labor
ing class sOlely-till more Of the employer
class and especially Of small farmers are here
established-Only goes to swell the large estates,
which in French and English colonies have been
found difficult TO govern and full Of evils TO the
colonies.
As we understand the plans of the present
administration,-so far as at present formulated.
it Is their wish 10 try and increase the num-
Der of employers, especially Of small holders, SO
that the competition which would naturally en-
sue would give to the laborer a fairer chance
when brought here and so soon as practicable
such negotiations will be entered into as may be
necessary to make a trial of East Indian immi-
grants, especially women. 1t is believed that
they will i~ntermarry with the native Hawaiians,
and thus it is hoped serve to increase and pre-
serve the race. That such an idea is not wholly
chimerical, we think is shown by the reports of
the Immigration Commissioners OF Great Britain:
:" In April, 1871, a census was taken of the
population of Mauritius. The result was to
show a considerable decrease during ten years
in what may be called the native population, i. e.
the population of European. African and Creole
descent, but an increase in the Indian popuIa-
ton. That increase however was almost xclu-
Sivalu m tho pur,bo. oE c-.oIo, IT,
reznIt is to raise the proportion of females from
SO in 100 in 1861, to So in 100 in 1871.
Thus in'25 years the Indian population had in
creased from IS to more than 68 per cent, of the
whole"
This was the result of encouragement to immi-
grafton, where the incentives to labor and thrift
are not what they are here, and where no special
effort was made to retain the immigrants as q
permanent population.
One sentence from the report on the island of
Trinidad will exhibit the result of East Indian
immigration there
1.-The number of strong healthy men who
would inevitably have persisted from famine in
their WI country, the number Of women who
have been rescued from q life of degradation
worse than death, and turned into industrious
wives and mothers of children, the troops Of
healthy and intelligent children springing up to
furnish a valuable addition to the labor supply
of the next generation are living instances of the
beneficial results of tho system of immigration"
This report also shows that 1915 children born
of Indian parents during the preceding ten years
were numbered in the census. Now when we
add to the motive OF providing a labor supply
the pressing duty to recuperate and save the
aboriginal race of the land,-was not the memo
rial of March last right, which declared that
something must be done? A period may come,
and not very far off, when, if nothing is done
for the recuperation of the race, all hope of
its preservation will have passed away. !