The Portland daily press., 1879-11-13
Why the Polynesians are Becoming
Extinct.
Lpr. Titus Coan in Independent

LDr Titus Coan in INDEPENDENT
The per sistent destroying cause is infertility
The native families are, without exception.
small in spite of rewards offered by the govern
ment as in Hawaii to the parents of many chill
dren; and it may be added that the number Of
children under Is years of age is but2S per cent
of the whole population. In the United States
it is Al per cent. Mr.. Darwin points out thet
slight lessening of the fertility of any species,
whether of plant or animal, will often turn
the balance against it in the struggle for life,
and produce its speedy extinction. Precisely as
animals in captivity often become infertie, so
do the Poynesians often become infertile uu-
der their changed conditions of life and they
suffer the more certainly and profoundly, like
the Hawaiian, in proportion as that contact is
peaceably accepted, and therefore, the more
complete. And when to the loss from infer
tiity, which has shown itself thus far incura-
be, the high mortality Of children is added,
we see the sufficient cause why the Poiynesian
races are doomed to pass away. The biologic
doctrine on this point may be stated thus III
general terms a commdnty living under
uniform conditions as by climate, food, Gus
toms, government occupations, ideas-acquires
an approximately complete adjustment to
these conditions. Ii becomes adapted to its
environment" The life Of each individual
attains natural equilibrium between its own
internal forces and the external or incident
forces, to use Herbert Spencer's phrase; and
the community acquires great power of resist
ing the latter when they are injurious. But
let sudden change III these incident forces
take place; let new diseases, new customs,
IDEAS government, employment be introduced
to this well adjusted community tho shock is
mortal at once. individuals will be rapidly
destroyed before the needed power of resis-
tance is gained. Gained, indeed, it will even
tually be, should the community survive long
enough but the prospect is that in most of the
Polynesian groups the inhabitants viii be
'improved off the face of the earth." In Tas-
mania the aboriginal population has been en-
tirely destroyed or removed. In Samoa, or
the Navigator islands, formerly very populous,
there are now some 10000 only remaining. A
population oil 10000 was estimated in 1870. In
the Marquesas censuses have not been taken
but the people have diminished greatly though
holding their own better than some Of the
more tractable islanders. The Society islands
have lost probably half of their population
since Cooks time. The Hawaiian aborigines
decreased from 10000 i'll 1882 to 4i,OSS in De-
cember 1878; and this under the full influence
OF European civilization and missionary sue
cess. In several of the gronps, the natives
have song with this burden: "The hibicus
shall flourish; the forero (coraD shall spread
out its branches; but men shall PERISH
1t will now be asked; Is there no future
continuance for the Polynesians? Are eto
say not only with the natives themselves, but
with such an authority as Mr.. A. Il. Wallace,
that 1.-THE true Polynesians are, no doubt,
doomed to an early extinction This is prob
ably true of many communities Of Polyneslans.
Some, indeed, are extinct already. But 1t IS
erroneous to say, as is commonly said, that i'll
the Hawaiian islands, for instance, few
years more will finish the work. In that
group there were $4,000 aborigiles in 1915, and
but "A 900 in 1878. Supposing the diminution
to continue regularly at the rate of ten per
cent. for each period of six years, an aborigi-
nal population of over 700 would still remain
a hundred years hence. Their rate of decrease
however, grows slower of late years, and
though there seems no present means of stop
ping the decrease entirely, yet a certain pro-
portion of the pure Hawaiian blood may be
expected to remain for many generations, un-
mingled with the incoming currents from Asla
Europe and America.
At present the total population OF the Haw-,
allan group is increasing, and for the first
time since the visit Of Captain Cook in 117S,
The returns give total of 81, ,9S5 inhabitants III
1878 as against 1907 III 1872 gain of about
per cent. during six years These returns, made
100 years after Captain Cooks visit to the
islands, give the Hawaiians fit subject OF
congratulation for the centennial year of their
so-called discovery flor they were not only dis
covered, but chartered by Spanish explorers OF
the 18th century,