The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-06-04
PORTUGUESE IMMIGRATION.

BUhlUGUESE lmmlGhA11UN.
The departure for the Pacific Coast of
a large party of Portuguese laborers and
their families by the Australia, raises a
question of more than passing interest to
these Islands. Our great want indus
trially is field labor. Skilled labor is
always at command, and may be OBJ
tanned in supply adequate to the occa-
sion with very slight delay or inconve-
nience. But field labor is an increasing
want as our agricultural interests de-
veIop The social, moral and economic
evils of Chinese immigration induced
the Government and planters to look to
Southern Europe for a supply of labor
that would stand the climate and take
kindly to the country and its institu-
tons The Portuguese were first choice,
and good choice it was, so far as faith
full labor and adaptability were con-
cerned. These people improved physi-
'cally and materially in this country,
and being prolific they gave promise OF
steady increase of population born upon
Hawaiian soil.
But somehow many of them became
unsettled and went to California, where
they certainly did not better their con-
dition Some of them drifted back to
the Islands of their own accord. Others
wrote to their old employers, and OBJ
tanning an advance of passage money,
came back and shipped upon terms sim
liar to their original contract. Never
theless, very large numbers of original
contracts are now expiring, and pretty
general disposition is still manifested by
the Portuguese to leave this country and
emigrate to America OF course, being
free agents they cannot be interfered
with in any way; but it does seem rather
hard upon the taxpayers of the King
dom TO pay the passages of Portuguese
families and obtain no advantage
in the future from their presence
and labor. The planters pay the
passages of the men and maintain
their families; but the passages of
the latter are betrayed by the Treasury
out of the public revenue. This is where
the shoe pinches, because although the
planters may be assumed to have re-
couped themselves for their expenditure,
the taxpayers receive no equivalent,
either direct or indirect, if these people
leave the country upon the expiration OF
their labor contracts.
One more Portuguese immigrant YES
sci is expected, but we cannot think
that Portuguese immigration will be
continued under the existing system.
We want permanent settlers of homo
geneous race, not a mere floating labor
population who avail themselves of the
liberality of the Kingdom to better their
condition at its expense. good
deal is said about the want of land for
settlement, but we have not heard of
any specific applications for land for
that purpose on account of the people
who left by the Australia for the Coast.
However that may be, the Government
should lose no time in segregating the
land in its possession, and offering it in
small farm sections for immediate Occu-
patton. If the Portuguese will not avail
themselves of this chance to make
homes and advance the prosperity of
the Kingdom, other people may. At
present, however, the excuse is I'M
answerabIe that the Portuguese can OBJ
tain no land upon which they may
settle permanently and bring up their
families after their labor contracts
have expired. Such a state of things
should not continue indefinitely; but
with a change in this direction there
should likewise come change in the
terms of the labor contract for immi
grants. Ii the planters advance is to be
worked out by the immigrant, so also
should the Government advance.