The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1892-04-05
SUGAR IN QUEENSLAND.

Sir Samuel Griffith, with the frank
ness which strong man alone has
the courage TO exhibit, owns in the /
manifesto he has published on the |
Polynesian labor question that he was
too precipitate in bringing Polyuesian
immigration to close. The white
labor that he expected would come
forward and take its place is not
forthcoming. "Ihe opinion has been
propagated," he says, chat field
labor in tropical agriculture is de-
grading, and the employment Of
white labor has been denounced, eX-
cept at rates which the industry can
not pay" Queensland workmen
evil neither engage in the work
themselves nor, so far as they can
prevail, allow anyone else to do so"
Sir Samuel Grillith's plans for intro
ducing immigrants from the south of
| Europe have miscarried, and sugar
growing along the tropical seaboard,
where soil and climate are specially
suited for sugar-growing, threatens
to come to an end. The opponents
of Polyneslan labor may not care two
straws about the collapse of the
sugar industry, but the Premier holds
that we call depend for our livelihood
on the products of the land" and it
is not good for the colony that an
important industry should cease. He
was opposed to Polynesian labor be-
cause he did not like the idea of men
working IN gangs on large estates,
and because he believed that white
labor would answer quite as well as
colored. He clings to the latter idea
still, but there is no white labor Of
fering, and the growing of sugar is
steadily passing into the hands of
small cultivators, who can make the
cultivation of cane pay if they have
labor. ''We are then in this posi-
tion," he says: ''On the one hand
it is proved that the sugar industry
offers field for the settlement of
numberless families upon the land,
where they can live and bring up
their families in comfort. The dan
ger of the aggregation of large es-
tates is past, and it is shown that
, Europeans can engage in the industry
with success, when certain prelimi-
nary work has been done. On the
other hand, in many places that pre-
liminary work has not yet been done,
and where it has been done, the
necessary European labor is not
here, and cannot at present non
for some time be brought here
and before it can be brought here
under the existing conditions, there
is great danger that this means Of
employment for it will to great ex
tent have disappeared" What
then, is to be done? Sir Samue
Grifliths comes to the point at once
He proposes to resume Polynesiar
immigration under effective super
vision for ten years. "By that time
| have no doubt such further devel
opments will have taken place as vii
enable the sugar industry TO be car
r ried on without fear of our revertins
to the former system with its danger
Gus incidents and consequences, ant
meantime | believe valuable inpe
tus will be given to the producin!
industries of the colony" TIL
; future can be left to take care of it
self. We make bold to say, how
ever, that we see no prospect of cul
tivation being carried on in tn
steaming air of the coast lands b.
white men, and it is absurd to sup
pose that some of the most fruitful
soil in the world is going to be allow
ed to remain in the condition of jun
gle for all time, because the Brsban
Trade Council chooses to enter II
J CdUeUt.