The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1883-03-10
VIZ nave pleasure in publishing TO-DAY
some lengthy extracts from the first rs7o.t
naue by SSISss1u Gmnnhpe@@@~
". Macfarlane to

Board Of immigration, and feel regret
'that we cannot give space to the whole of
this able and exhaustive resume Of a subject
which is as intricate as it Is interesting to
all engaged in productive industry in this
country. Colonel Macfarlane makes it
clear that, In the matter of immigration
from the Azores, this country has been well
served by the contracting agents Of the
Board IN the past, and that the steps he had
decided to take in regard to the conduct of
such immigration IN the immediate future
have been well considered. and are worthy
of the approval Of all concerned. The busi-
ness itself is plainly one involving much
risk and requiring considerable outlay Of
capital The costly and f~ruitIess trip Of the
Hansa to the Tagus, and the wasted expen-
diture In collecting 4OO emigrants from
various parts of Portugal, not one of whom
made the voyage, form q very striking in
stance Of the risky character Of the business.
This incident occurred as a timely warning
to the Government Of this country not to
engage in a distant enterprise. over the con-
ditions and results Of which it could exer-
else no effective control. Colonel Macfar-
lane does not lay any stress upon it in his
report, but to our minds it Is one of the
most significant of the series of facts which
he summarizes.
Col. Macfarlane's mission has, however,
resulted in something more than the mere
clearing of our ideas upon a difficult sub
ject in relation to which the exact facts were
but imperfectly known or enormously in
terpreted. He claims, and the figures be
gives bear out his assertion, that the new
arrangements he has been successful in ini-
tiating represent a saving to this country, on
the single order for immigrants which he
4 took home with him, of no less than $50 900
7 "a very considerable percentage on the total
outlay. The major part of this money is,
directly, a saving to the employers of labor
themselves, and will be to them an accepta-
bic boon. Next to the difficulty of securing
enough Of the labor be requires, the main
trouble of the planter is its cost, and any
thing that m0derates this will be eminently
acceptable to him. We may therefore very
sincerely congratulate Colonel Macfarlane
and the country on this successful compile
tion of the arrangements of which his re-
port gives US information.
As to the cost of this emigration as COM
pared with what it would be if wholly con-
Quoted by the Board itself, it is not possible
to form an estimate. If il is to be continued
for a long series of years, it might be worth
while to send an agent Of the Beard to
the Azores, and to other Atlantic ISL
ands, to ascertain what arrangements would
be necessary in the event Of such a course
being taken, and what the probible
cost of the recruiting establishment would
be. But the whole business, even if kept
on foot for several years, hardly seems
likely to be large enough to induce the
Board to take such a step; and this the
more because the actual cost perhead, unGer
the new arrangement with Messrs. Ho&.
hung & Co.. seems to be reasonable. Ii
has always cost the Australian colonies
from S65 to S72 per statute adult for the
passage-money Of emigrants brought from
the mother country at Government expense
WQen 10 MS j duuGu ~ COSL VI III GS
tabIishments kept up in great Britain fol
the selection OF suitable emigrants the tota.
expense incurred by the Colonies per head
Of emigrauts brought in by sailing vessel:
will not fall far short Of that we are to pay
for Portuguese emigrants by steamer. Mean
while the voyage toHonolulu is longer than tc
Australia, and is made through regions of the
sea in which much less favorable winds are
experienced. The comparison seems rathe
to be in our favor, and if not, the difference
cannot but be slight. We are disposed
therefore, to think that Colonel Macfarlane':
contract with Nessrs. Hoffnung and Co. is
favorable one for this country, not only II
comparison with former ones, but positively
so in view of the actual moneys worth o
the work to be done.