The daily herald. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1886-1887, 1886-11-22
Postage additional.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER. "a, 1886
LAND SETTLEMENT.

The Government will come very far
short of its duty if it does not give the
most earnest and assiduous attention
possible to the subject of land settle
ment. So far as settlers are concerned
the matter is ripe for the execution OF
scheme of no small dimensions. A
great deal may be accomplished, thous-
ands of acres occupied and cultivated,
before the Government will have to look
abroad for people to come and take up
land. Given the land there are thous
ands of waiting settlers in the country
to develop It's resources and add to
national wealth. There is a good deal
of available land in the hands of the
Government and private owners, which
only requires the application Of money
10 make it suitable for farms. Capital
for irrigation is really the only thing
lacking to convert thousands of acres
of now barren and uninhabited wastes
into fruitful and populous regions
Some facts from original sources of
information will show that the above
remarks are not mere empty talk. A
gentleman Of Honolulu owned tract
I3o acres not far from the city, which
he conceived it would be good specu-
lation to put on the market in small
homesteads. He put an advertisement
in the Portuguese paper offering the
land in that way AS the result he
was speedily overwhelmed with appli
cations, that in the aggregate called for
about thousand acres. On examin-
ing the conditions, however, he found
that he had not sufficient means at his
command to irrigate the whole tract at
once, and had therefore to let the pro
ject remain in abeyance for the time.
These Portuguese applicants for land
were ready with money in hand, to
accept the offer for one-third cash
down, the remainder to be secured by
mortgage. Another fact is that very
large proportion of the first lot of Jap
anese immigrants under the recent
arrangement, whose contracts will ex-
pire in about year, are desirous of
settling in this country provided suita-
BILE lands are made available to them.
With the percentage of their wages
placed in deposit under terms of the
convention, together with their savings
from what has been paid them direct,
these Japanese would be able to avail
themselves of a reasonable offer of
lands for settlement. Many of the
Japanese laborers now working on our
plantations are so we'll pleased with the
country that they have determined on
sending for their wives and children.
A remarkable spirit of progress and
enlightenment is at present observed
by the world to be animating the Jap
anese race, so that people belonging
thereto in this Kingdom should be wei
coined without serious misgivings as
permanent settlers in these Islands.
From the facts above given it may
safely be determined that only land
and means of irrigation are required to
be forthcoming, for an immediate
accretion of large numbers to the per-
manent population of this Kingdom.
They would be numbers, moreover,
regarding either race mentioned, in
whom the sentiment of domesticity
and love of family life are deeply i'm
planted Such additions to our indus
trial population would undoubtedly
prove effective barriers against that un-
due proportion Of Chinese males which