The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-04-22


from that instrument, the letter in
Bradstreet'S continues:
But the difficulty which stared those
charged with the administration of affairs
in the face was the labor problem. Money
could collect water in the mountains and
bring il on TO the valleys for irrigation, but
what was the good of spending money in
that direction without having suficiency
Of cheap and reliable labor? Because il must
not be forgotten that cheap labor is the
prime factor in sugar production all over
the world. The planters We're ready to do
their part, but immigra ton to be successful
must be made under Government control.
And by Successful" is meant system at
once fair to the employer and to the laborer
"a system that guarantees the former
| against the caprice of labor, and which
guarantees the latter against the caprice
and arbitrary exactions of capital. Natur-
ally all eyes turned to China the great sink
Of humanity as of silver, and the labor
hordes of China, once set in motion, soon
threatened to overwhelm the little ,insular
dominions of Hawaii They came without
wife or child, without moral or social check,
and without any clear perception either of
social or moral obligations, save those i'm
/ posed upon them by tho law of the land,
| which is at once benifcent aud impartially
administered.
| The evils of Chinese immigration soon be-
came apparent. Their intercourse with the
native population introduced a variety of
| diseases, the most repulsive, as we'll as the
most signally fatal, being leprosy. 1t fol-
| lows the Chinese race wherever they go.
! When it became engrafted on Hawaiian
| stock, it found all conditions favorable, and
the consequence is that in the present CEN
fury, in some form or other, this formidable
pesiilence, backed by vital decline, will have
swept of all but a mere handful of the
ancient people, whose discovery by Cooke,
and subsequent civilization, is one of the
most romantic and sad episodes in the
worlds history.
The planters began to realize the fact that
they would practically become dependents
upon the Chinese organiza tons, which could
and would dictate the price of labor, and
whose old-established mercantile houses
would in time control the commerce and
|
side of the question was not lost sight of,
more especially by the strong and influential
section of the community known as the
missionary party" The great disparity OF
the sexes, especially after Chinese immigra-
ton assumed large proportions, arrested
attention, and it was deemed absolutely es-
sential to the welfare of the Kingdom and
! he of hof
nese immigration should stop, and population
be drawn from homogeneous race. King
Kalakaua visited the United States, Europe
and Japan; his mission, like that of Dom
Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, on his recent
| tour, being that of an agent to promote emf
grafton to his dominions. Although the
expenditure for this tour of the world was
heavy, and has been characterized as ex-
travagant and unnecessary, it really turned
out to be good investment. A convention
with Portugal was concluded, which added
some 10000 to the population, the emigrant is
being chiefly from the Canary islands. Re-
Iations of close personal friendship were
formed between the Emperor of Japan and
the King Of Hawaii, which has resulted in
the arrival last month of 948 Japanese, com
prising res men and boys, and III women
and girls. They are an eminently desirable
! class, clearly and industrious, and the men
at once abandon their native costume for
our western style of garment--a thing which
Cinnamon, as a rule, on no pretense what
| ever will do. Another party of 1,400 or
1900 Japanese are expected in May next per
City of Toxic. The planters pay the pas
sages of the japanese, their wages ranging
from 50 to SIS, according to the sex, age
and capacity. About 1000 Portuguese have
also been introduced, the proportion of
women and children being satisfactory.
Those interested in the progress OF
Hawaii, and who have permanent
investments in these islands, should
feel gratified that an influential
American newspaper, which is quoted
as an authority on all questions on
which it touches by the English,
French and German press, should
devote SO much of its space to pre-
sentation of Hawaiian affairs.