The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1893-01-25
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
Some Reasons Why the United
States Should Possess Them.

w 90 SpONio1lJ otLl oStCN W bCWO lIOlu
Washington in your Tuesday morn
ing issue, concerning the Hawaiian
Islands. Having spent the months
of May and June last in Honolulu
and the island Of Hawaii, having
been present at the opening of the
present legislature in Honolulu and
met and conversed with many of It's
members, and also with a great num-
Der of the leading subjects and citi-
zens of the kingdom, l may speak, it
seems to me, with some assurance of
the condition of things there, and of
the future of that most interesting
and beautiful cluster of Pacific ISL
ands.
Geographically, these islands are
nearer to the United States (the Pa
cific COAST than to any other coun-
try, being 2100 miles from San
Francisco, while they are more than
1000 miles removed from South
America, and from Australia and
New Zealand, from China, Japan,
and the British South Sea and In
dian possessions. They are the only
available land, as a stopping place
for ships north of the equator, mid
way, as it were, in the great Pacific
ocean, in all voyages east, west, north
and south. They therefore consti-
tute, as must be obvious, a world
strategic point of the very first i'm
portance, and in this respect, as
seems also clear, their existence and
proprietorship one of greater con-
cern both in peace and war to the
United States than to any other
earthly power.
Historically, the natives of these
islands, as first found by the Span
ish, English and American navi-
gators, were barbarous, heather
people "a prehistoric migration,
or branch of a migration,
probably of the great Turanian or
Mongolian race from Asia and the
North, and identical with the Sa-
means, Gilbert islanders aud Maoris
of New Zealand. They were, when
first found, quite numerous-sup
posed 300,O00-and of heroic type
and warlike habit; but they remain
ed barbarous and uncivilized until
1919, when permanent white Chris
tian missions were established among
them in each of the five larger isl
ands by the Congregationalist
Church of Massachusetts.
To these missions, in the main
they owe their civilization and their
Christianity. Other foreign churches
and educational influences have, in
later time, been established there, as
the Church of England, the italian
or Roman Catholic Church, and
others; but none have taken the
hold upon them, or 50 left their i'm
press in all religious and social Gus
toms, in civil, political and econo
mical ideas, as the New England
American Congregationalists. The
government, it is true, is nominally
and formally a kingdom; result
which naturally came about from
the supreme chieftaincy Of Kameha
meha /, the great warrior and con
queror of all the islands, who was in
power when the missionaries landed
from Boston; and this accident
favored British pretensions to med
die in the islands. by opening
the door for them TO give in
structions to the native chiefs about
the proper majesty and state of 6
king, etc. But in spite of this mon
archical form, / everywhere foun6
the sentiment, both among the ma
tives and foreigners, to be strongly
democratic, and above all things
American. From the first, Amer
leans were more largely settled
among them than any other whit.
| foreigners; and these in the main
were of the best and most Intelligent
class of Americans, who have largely
intermarried with the natives, ant
have been chiefly instrumental il
civilizing them, and in organizing
their social and civil institutions, ant
IN the development of the resource
of the country. Three generation
of white and mixed American blood
have been born in the Islands; ant
they very largely hold the civi
offices, occupy the Government posi-
tions, teach the schools (which is tn
American public school system, ant
in which both Hawaiian and Euglisl
are taught), conduct the churches
and control the business and socia
interests of the kingdom in all th'
islands. The prevailing church il
all the islands is the American Con
gregationalist, although none is sup
ported by the State, and the leadin!
natives and most of their kings AM
queens have been members of it.
To all intents and purposes, tn
Hawaiian Islands are an outlyin;
colony and extension Of New Eng
land speaking very largely the Eng
lish language, and permeated throug
and through with American senti
ment. A most striking exemplitics
tion of this is observable everywhere
not only in the universal social, rel
gious and educational institution
and customs of the Islands, but i
the public anniversaries and holiday:
On the 4th of July and on Decora
tion Day" it is easy to imagine your
self to be in a state or territory c
the Union. Theoretically the govern
ment is native and the language
Hawaiian, but practically it is Angle
Saxon rule. The coin, the bushes
methods and exchanges, the demon
nation of things and all the gret
leading interests are Californian an
American.
The natives, as a matter of fact, L
doubt, are jealous of their rights an
of the autonomy of their governmer
/ and country, and they are the nor