The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1881-10-19

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 1e, 1881.
SIR I'm the Fdikylriea of the 18th inst is pub
lished a letter from Andreas Landegren, dated
Honolulu, Aug. 26th, 1881, wherein this gentleman
complains, that emigrant on the ship
MHsea, he had been sold by the Hawaiian Govern
ment STARE; further that the Swedish and
Norwegian emi2rants per Muscd were Kept d0I7a
(sHPpTeSsed) ON the plantations by negroes and
natives, appointed as overseers over them; fur
theT that husband and wife were separated from
each other, and that girl, who wished to marry,
had been bought free by her intended husband"
If any one should take these and other charges
made as true, he would be greatly in error. The
undersigned, who is well acquainted with the state
of affairsson the Sandwich Islands during resi-
dence of many years there, takes the liberty to
give briefly some information on this matter
On the arrival of the emigrant vessel lhHsed at
Honolulu was il town, and being DESTROYS to
gage some house servants, | went with my wife to
the place set aside by the Government for the
temporary stay of the said emigrants. We were
surprised at finding here several hundred, princi
pally young people with rosy cheeks and of
healthy northern Ihysiognomy.
Permission had been given to families IN want
of servants go and converse with the emigrants,
and when the parties liked each other and an uu
derstanding was arrived at as to the particular
work to be done, no objection was made by the
Government to the transfer OF their contracts with
the emigrants to the parties that the emigrants
themselves had chosen to serve. Thus l engaged
people, women and men, and paid the ex-
penses connected with their passage out to the
lsldnus, Iuat IOr eaCn person amounted 10 ~
dollars. 1t was a matter of course that husband
and wife followed each other, and am perfectly
sure, that not IN single case married woman
was separated from her husband. Such barbar-
Gus proceedings not known on the Sandwich
Islands. Should young girl, under contract to
work, wish to marry, her contract may be an
nulled, by her paying her master not to exceed 80
dollars; in such case the master not the girl
suffers loss. 1t wouli seem fair, that, as the
girl may please herself about marrying her
master, that has paid 10 dollars for her passage
out from home, should have part of his loss
made good. This matter was perfectly under
stood by the emigrants previous to leaving home
as well as all other points, touching their con-
tracts.
That the emigrants are kept down (suppressed)
by negroes and kanakas, that, according to An
dreas Landegren, are used as overseers on plan
tations, is not true. During the 20 years past
have been acquainted with many plantations, but
as yet have never seen negro as overseer over
whites or as overseer on any plantation. That
the natives found competent to be overseers, are
employed as such, nobody has any right to object
to. The islands belong to them, and among peo-
pie, possessing intelligence sufficient to act as
Judges, lawyers and excellent mechanics, II IS not
at all singular or strange to tnd good plantation
overseers- Nevertheless do not believe, that Rny
planter would appoint native overseers over Euro
peans; but If such was the case, cannot see the
reason, why white contract aborer should COM
plain about that il is impossible to find people of
a mllder character than the natives of the Sand
wich Islands. There Is no reason whatever to say
that the Swedish and Norwegian emigrants are in
any way oppressed. 1t is clear, that your Homo
lulu correspondent Is dissatisfied with his position
principally because he does not get the same
wages, that ara paid people who have resided for
some time on the islands, but for that reason he
ought not to make false statements about the
state of affairs the islands. lie might consider,
that there are no sugar plantations in the world
where the laborers receive higher wages than they
do on the Sandwich Islands; and he will find that
if he shows little aptness IN doing mechanics,
work, his wages viii be raised; and if otherwise he
conducts himself properly he will find, that when
his years contract expires, he Will be In position
to better himself far more, than if he had stayed
at home on Svea's rocky ground. Please therefore
allow Gustav Adolf and Charles the 18th to rest in
peace. Their time has as yet not come.
Respectfully, A. UNA,
Planter on the island Of Maui, Sandwich Islands.