The Hawaiian gazette., 1891-08-18

- Pei CcIlt. may De claSSed as poor
grazing and waste land. This gives at
very low estimates 10000 acres of cane
land, $4,000 acres of coffee land and
o9O,OOO acres of good pasture land. A
large proportion of this pasture land is
suitable for farming, needing only fenc-
ing in some localities, and in others
fencing and irrigation. Estimating this
proportion at one-twentieth of the whole,
we have an aggregate Of $50, 900 acres of
agricultural land in the public domain,
OF which some 1000 acres have been laid
out as holdings under the Homestead
law. A large portion OF the balance is
leased in large parcels. This area of
10000 acres, more or less, probably
more, is suitable for the carrying out of
such land policy as is outlined above.
OF course such policy, which would
gradually destroy the opportunity OF OBJ
tanning lands in large parcels, both by
way Of lease and grant, would meet with
opposition from the class who hold and
desire TO hold large areas OF land for graz
ing and speculative purposes. 1t would
also, in all probability, be opposed by
the sovereign. A policy of this charac
ter could however hardly fail Of becom-
ing popular and of receiving the hearty
support Of the majority of the voters.
Besides these lands which l have
classed as public domain, there is q
large area owned by private individuals
and corporations, which includes much
OF the best lands of the kingdom. A
considerable part of these private
estates, including a great deal OF soil
suitable for farming, is held merely as
grazing and forest lands or as wild land
for speculative purposes. Much OF this
would undoubtedly come into the market
under the demand which would be
created by an intelligent development Of
the policy referred TO, and much more
could be forced into the market by a
wise modification OF our tax laws
whereby private parties would be COM
PEELED to improve their estates in accord
ance with the natural resources OF the
land, or suffer a penalty in the shape of
an increase in the rate of assessment
therefor.
As an instance OF the probable large
proportion OF arabic lands held by pri-
vate parties, will refer to the district of
Kona on the island of Hawaii. The
government has in this district, besides
1,745 acres laid out as homesteads,
about 1000 acres OF coffee land, and yet,
by estimates OF good authority, there are
at least % 900 acres Of coffee land, all of
which, outside of the 8, 745 acres already
noticed, is private and crown land.
In other parts Of the islands are large
estates lying waste or devoted to grazing
which need only the intelligent applica
ton of capital in the line OF the develop
ment of their resources OF water supply
for purposes of irrigation, something
after the proposed plans of the Oahu
Railway and Land Company, to have
their market value, and their capacity
for supporting inhabitants enhanced
many fold
AS to the necessary details of COM
prehensive land policy as outlined in
this paper, need say but little. The
experiences of other countries in this di-
rection are full of suggestion and infor-
nation for us in such an enterprise.
l am satisfied that our homestead law
is not comprehensive enough for this
work 1t has furnished the Government |
valuable experience, and has provided,
in its experimental stage, which the last |
biennial period may be called, 213 per-
sons with homesteads, which number is |
about equally divided between native |
HawaiianS and foreigners, the latter |
mainly Portuguese, and An
glo-Saxons in the proportion Of three to |
one.
The homestead law under the vigor- |
Gus administration of the last biennial |
period has been doing work OF meal |
culable value and seems to have been |
doing it well, and if no advance on its |
system is made, it will continue to be, if !
carried out, an important |
factor in the social problems of the fu-
ture. 1t, however, is limited to furnish |
ing farms OF not over twenty acres in ex-
tent in dry land and two acres in wet |
land, except in two districts on Maui and |
two on Hawaii, where the holdings may |
be 100 acres in extent. The opportunity |
Of acquiring possession to a twenty acre
farm in many parts of the islands would |
not be very strong inducement to an
man, especially one with
little capital, even If the soil was salts
factory; and 1t is desirable in such a
scheme as the one proposed to gain as
many settlers of this class as possible.
1t becomes therefore a serious question
whether it would be better to make the
new policy an enlargement of the one
treated by the Homestead act, and to
amend that act accordingly, or to let the
present law remain as it is, to continue
% do its benefcent work upon its some
what humble scale, and carry out the
new policy independently of it and by
separate laws.
My own impression is that the latter
plan would tend to some confusion, and
lnder it the carrying out OF the new
policy would eventually prejudice or
iestroy the present one; it might, how
,ver, in a natural way absorb it and do
is work without a loss of the advantages
llready gained under it. 1t seems, how
yer, that if comprehensive land
policy, such as is herein suggested,
hould be adopted, it should be insti-
uted as development of the system
by our present homestead
aw, in which case the work would in
lerit the momentum of the existing
ystem and be its natural outgrowth
With all of its good features preserved
nd It's defects approximately eradicated.
In this connection the land system of
lew Zealand may be referred to as be-
ne full of interest to us. 1t has been
heir policy to encourage the occupancy
their Crown lands, by settlers in small
arms, whereby an agricultural popula
ION has been rapidly acquired, placing
he country in the healthy political and J
economical condition of a community {
18th large proportion of its members
to a land-owning and cultivat-
lg class; how large this proportion is, l 1
annot say, but few figures will show s