The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1882-07-12

| ton: il he is ever to be in the position of
Tantalus; IL, when the refreshing tide of
freedom from liabilities just touches his
lips, it is to be dashed aside by lack Of
bone and sinew to plant and gather the
crops. This labor question is one of i'm
mense importance. and in common with
other subjects of like character, it seems
to be put aside for discussion till late in
the session. or in fact till the session is
over.
Some time ago when the need of labor
ers was agitated here, there were some
who said. well, why should the Govern
ment do so much for the planterf the
planter does nothing to help himself: the
planter should try to get his laborers in
his own way and at his own risk: he should
not be asking for government aid, he should
plank down his own dollars This was
talked and written about not only by out
siders, but by the planters themselves and
finally an effort, at united action by the
planters was made. In April last a large
number, in fact majority of those actu-
ally engaged in cane planting or otherwise
interested in that industry came together
in Honolulu. These gentlemen, to be
| present In the city at that time, had to
make considerable sacrifices, but so i'm
pOrtant was the matter deemed, that the
sacrifices were made. The details of that
conference of planters are well known to
all our readers, full reports of the pro
ceedings having been given in these
columns The labor question was con
sidered as by far one of the most import
ant before the planters, and an Incorporated
association was formed,styled the Planters
Labor and Supply Company. This com
pany has capital of S250,000, and its OBJ
ject was and is to get labor for the plan
tations Many people were grileless
enough to consider that the Gordian knot
was cut: that with active men at the head
of this company. men thoroughly CONVEX
SAINT with the needs of the various planta-
tions. the labor question was in a fair way
to be solved 1t is not solved: we seem as
far away from solution as we were five
months ago.
The Planters Labor and Supply Com
pany. or rather the trustees who have
been elected to carry on the business for
wear. at once set about their work, they
wrote TO the various plantations request
ing to know if certain kinds of labor which
they proposed to try to get, would be ac-
ceptable. Acting on the favorable reply
it was proposed to send an agent to Japan,
to see If anything could be done there:
from the remarks of Mr.. Nagasah it ap-
peared as if the Japanese Government
would not be averse to allowing some of
its subjects TO come here as laborers. Mr..
S. T. Alexander was chosen as the agent
of the company: but in order to give him
a proper standing with the japanese Gov
ernment, ii was necessary that lie should
be accredited by our own. Credentials
were asked for. and were refused, the Ha
waiian Government preferred picking its
own man, rather than taking the nominee
of the planters: block No. l. Nothing
has since been done in this direction: the
planters were willing TO pay all expenses,
but have been prevented from acting, be-
cause the Cabinet will not grant the neces-
sary credentials.
-
A small tide of immigration has set in
from Portugal, it is not large, but it is
something. What does one of the present
Ministers of the Crown do. almost as soon
as he gets into office? We are inform
ed that he telegraphs forward that there
must be no further immigration, that
the importation of Portuguese must
come to a dad stop. Dissatisfaction
with regard to the expense of intro
ducing these people has been expressed
and the matter needs investigation: why
we have not had the matter properly sifted
does not seem very clear But between
investigating and cutting short off the
supply there is a wide difference.
1t seems almost incredible that Min
lister. upon such matter, should have
,,-f4hnfrF
the men whose interests were most con
cerned. The officers of the Planters La
Dor and Supply Company were accessible;
why were they not consulted when 1t was
proposed to cut off this source OF labor
supply?
it has been deemed advisable to send an |
agent TO the South Pacific, in order to see |
what could be done towards getting few |
New Hebrides Islanders, and here again |
the Company were blocked, and it was |
only after using considerable pressure |
that commission for Capt. Tierny was |
granted by the Government.
China. as a field for labor, Is now closed |
to us, and we have yet to learn that any
effort has been made towards bringing |
about proper understanding with that
government.
What can we gather from these facts
does it not follow either that the present
Cabinet are culpably negligent over most
vital matter, or are trying to block the ac
ton of the Planters Labor and Supply
Company with view of paralyzing its
force! For that company IS force and
the longer it remains in existence the
stronger it will be. Is the present Cabi
net afraid that if the company bring in
the labor. without the assistance of Gov
ernment funds. that body may become
popular, and the planters become too
unitedi These are questions to ponder
over.
The need of labor is pressing, the fall
of the year is nearly upon us, and many
contracts will then be out: where are our
planters going to get their laborers from
in order to supply the gaps that will then
be made2 There is not a moment to lose,
and yet the present Cabinet have allowed
more than FIVE weeks to slip away without
making a single effort; indeed they have
done what requires sharp criticism, if not
severe condemnation, they have succeeded
in paralyzing the efforts of those who
were willing to work.
This condition of things cannot last;
the planter cannot sit still and allow his
chances to slip through his fingers or be
frittered awayiby official incapacity. vanity
OF folly: he will speak some of these days,
and when he does it Will be in no uncer
tain tone Anglo-Saxons are a hard peo-
pie to rouse, they will stand good deal
Of treading on the toes. but when the
squeeze comes on the pocket look ont for
squalls. To be practically without labor
at the end of the year, will be a hard