The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-08-26

ID
sent his message to Congress. Tn,
oattIe that Is on promises to- be tn
most bitter on record Cleveland /.
waving the administration whip fol
unconditional repeal of the Sherman
bill and Is being abetted 10y tht
eastern democrats, Speaker Crisl
and others. The western and south
ern democrats have largely declared
against the administration. The adj
ministration Is hopeless OF securing
unconditional repeal. Numerou:
bills are already up in the house
and the talk has begun.
Cholera and Yellow Fever.
| Cholera has again appeared at the
gates Of the United States. 1t was
brought by the Anchor line steamer
Karamania which arrived at New
York from Naples on August Sd with
Ala Storage passengers.
! Three passengers died on the yoy-
age and Health Officer jenkins at
once pnt the vessel in quarantine.
The cholera soon appeared and sew
eral people died in quarantine at
Swinburne Island, New York. In
all nineteen cases appeared. Never
/ theless the disease never got ashore.
The karamania was not dOcksd
/ until the l4th.
1t Is now known that European
| governments, notably the italian
| have been cOncealing the existence
| of cholera IN Naples and elsewhere.
| Cholera is known TO exist and to be
widely spread In Germany, Austria,
Russia, Turkey, Italy and France.
Yellow fever has broken ont at
Pensacola, Fla, and there has been
g wild exodus from the place.
Annexed by Great Britain
Fred W. Job, of the law firm of
McMurdy x job, has gone to Wash
ington to intercede with the govern
ment on behalf of Henry j. Moore. of
Samoa, for the possession of two isl
auds in the South Pacific, now
claimed by England. They are the
islands OF Sophia and Nassau, and
contain rich deposits OF guano.
Nassau island was discovered in
1874 by Captain John Ellicott, an
American trader who touched there
and planted cocoanuts. He went to
Apia and told the United States con-
sui there what he had done and got
permission to hoist the American
flag. Captain Ellicott owned the ISL
and from the time of his discovery
until 1890, during which time he
spent $4,000 in improving it. In
1890 he sold it to Moore, an Ameri
can. His title had never been dis
puted in the sixteen years he owned
the island. Mr.. Moore bought the
island of Sophia at about the same
time, it having first been purchased
of the natives by MIR. Williams in
1887.
About year ago, after Mr.. Moore
had begun to make money off the isl
ands, Cap. Gibson, of an English man
of-war, which was cruising in those
waters, touched at Nassau island,
raised the cross of St. George and
proclaimed the island to be under
the protection of the crown. Then !
he steamed over to Sophia island and |
went through the same process there. |
Mr.. Moore, being a good Ameri |
/
In talking OF the matter today, he
said:
"The two islands are about 1000 |!
miles apart Nassau island is about |
ten degrees south of the equator, and !
contains $50 acres, covered with !
cocoanut trees, fruit trees, and has |
several valuable deposits of guano. |
1t is entirely detached from all other |
islands, and sits out in the rolling !
ocean, a triangular block of land, |
reaching to an average height of |
thirty feet above the water. When |
1 took possession Mr.. Ellicott's fore
man was there with some fifteen ma
tives. found among the effects an |
American flag that used to be hoisted |
every time vessel of any sort came |
within sight of the island.
Zone day word reached me at |
Apia, Samoa, that an English man
OF war, commanded by Captain Glib /
son had landed, taken possession of /
the island in the name of the queen |
and hoisted the British flag. L did |
not believe il at the time, but few /
days later at a dinner given by
Robert Louis Stevenson l met Cap |
Laln OlD5OD, WHO WIS one Oh the !
guests, and he there informed me |
that acting under orders from the
British Admiralty to annex Nassau, |
he had planted the Union Jack Ia 1
my door yard. However, he did not
dispute my ownership. I immedi
ately made a report of the matter to
Mr. Blackjack, then acting consul
for the United States at Apia. He
transmitted my report to both the
American and British governments,
bat nothing has been done yet, so
far as know, In the way of an in
vestigation.
Sophia Island contains $50 acres
and lies In mid ocean 1000 miles
west of Nassau. It is oval in shape
and rich In guano deposits of an ex-
cellent quality. 1 have expended a
great deal of money on the island in
including machinery /.
for carrying on the work OF gather
ing and shipping guano. My pro
tests are in and [ propose to fight /
for my rights. In possession Of the /
government the value Of the |
two islands are reduced fully one /