The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1888-08-28

nsmed Chesterfield or Bsmpton,
which in 1878 were taken possession
of bv France for their guano, IN
spite of protests from Sir Hercules
Robinson. Lastly, some 1000 miles
west-north-west from Panama, and
lust on the equator, is Chpperton
I Island, & sort Of double rock which
is claimed by France, and which
French writer's think ought to be
| looked after and effectively occupied,
provided with lighthouses, and foru-
ned with guns, preparatory TO the
opening OF the canal, as 1t might be-
come s sistion Of csll of the first i'm
portsnce. Thst is possible, and no
one need grudge the counuymen OF
NJ. de LeSseps any success they may
schieve in this direction.
Such. then. Is at present the extent
Of French possessions in the Pacific.
But France is not satisfied. She
feels the growing Importance OF this
part Of the world. and complains
thst in her New Caledonia possession
she is hampered snd circumScribed.
The recent apparent solution Of the
/ New Hebrides difficulty Is no final
settlement Of the question There
can be little doubt that France will
never be satisfied until she can call
the New Hebrides her Own. and viii
/ bide her time until the present agree
ment loses its hold, as did that OF
1 IS4T with reference TO the Wlndward
Islands Of the Tahitisn group. The
land of the New Hebrides is rapidly
getting into French hands, and nearly
/ the whole Of the trade is now in
/ French vessels. The islands would
be valuable possession TO any ma
ton that could deyelop.their re-
sources.
Germany. under the guidance of
/ Prince Bismark. slways knows her
mind. and goes straight at the &C
eomplishment of her object. 1t is
I thus thst she hss been able within
/ the last few years to create colonial
empire in the Pacific much larger
than thst of France. who began
about 50 years sgO. New Guinea,
7 New Britain. the solomon and the
/ Marshal Islands. with land ares OF
shout 10000 square miles. give Ger
msry s stake in the Pscihc far more
important than that Of France, both
from sTategical and commercial
point OF view. OF course these pos
sessions can never be much more
| than colonies of exploitation; but
/ the New Britain and Solomon Islands
/ sre among the finest in the Pacific,
snd as far as the exploration IF Ger
man New Guinea has gone. il pro
misses to afford & fine field for the
establishment Of plantations for var
! ious cultures. while it has several ex-
I celIent harbOrs. The Marshall Is
/ lands, though small. are numerous
and cover 3 considerable area Their
1 people ara great traders. and the Is
lands may become Of increased i'm
( portance SIS the trans-P Pacific trade
develops.
The CONSERVATION OF Spain when
/ Germany threatened 70 take posses
sion OF the Carolines. to the west Of
I the Marshall group. VIII be remem-
/ bered. These and the Marianne Is
lands and the Pelews Spain has long
claimed. but she has done nothing to
develop them. These form the bulk
I Of Micronesis. where Spain may be
considered supreme; France has the
lions share in Polynesis. If we eI
cIude Hawaii: England rules in Aus
/ ualia. while Melanesia Is divided
among the three great Powers, Ger
1 many 50 far having the largest stake
| OF the Islands which remain unat-
( tached. besides the New Hebrides,
/ the most important are the Tonga
/ and Samoan groups. 10 the east and
/ northeast Of FIJI. and the Ellice and
/ the Gilbert groups between EI!l and
l the Marshall Islands There can be
10 doubt that II spite OF existing
agreements. Germany has her eye on
/ the two former groups, both OF them
/ very desirable for their commercial
and strategicsl importance, as well
IS on account Of the character OF the
natives. The annexation OF Tonga
! BIZ Germany would certainly not be
reIished either by the Fiiisns or the
Australians Yet there can be no
doubt that the famous Hamburg
house Of Godefroi and their success
sors hsTe had intimate relations with
both groups for many years, as. IN
deed. they have had over nearly the
whole Of the Pacific The little e.
ice group. with their pleasant inhab-
itsnts- ethnologieally should go with
Samoa and Il 50 Germany might
wish to appEopriste the Gilbert
group. and form one continuous pro
tectoTa.e iron the Marshall Islands
southeast st the same tine II
should Be noted that German! has
distinctly recognized English inter
ests II both these groups Among
the Gilbert Islands are two which
OF German maps are marked AmeH-
can. Lying between French Poly
Des-s and Hawaii s1e multitude Of
islets and reefs. many OF them unsp-
prOpristed. and probably not worth
snneEng The very existence OF
S.7-ra 0f than. ju6--d. ! doubtful