The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-04-05

Il
| aTies?" After a moments hesitation,
| the reply came, "Well, there is that
w. l.. Green" He was then Minis
ter of Foreign Affairs, an English
man, man of the highest character
| and Of much ability, but whose reli-
gious views were such that no church
would have him.
In 184S the policy urged by the
American missionaries, some OF whom
| had left the mission and gone into the
service of the Government at the ear
| nest request of the chiefs and king,
regarding lands was at last put into
effect. Up to that time the king had
been the feudal lord. The chiefs held
under him with somewhat uncertain
tenure: the common people had moth
ing. They had no right which was
respected by the king or chiefs. They
belonged to the land and became re-
tainers of spch chiefs as from time TO
time inherited the property. After
great opposition the chiefs yielded TO
the king and gave up the great bulk
of their lands, who then retained cer-
tain lands as a royal domain for the
support of the head OF the Govern
ment, and then made over certain
other lands to the chiefs, and the
great remaining body was turned over
to the Government to constitute "Gov-
ernment lands" A land commission
was then created with orders to exam
inc all claims and award fee simple
titles, and especially to give lands In
fee TO such common people as could
show that they or their ancestors had
occupied certain parcels for a long
period. The result of this was that
even the king and chiefs had to come
before this commission to secure their
titles, and over 1000 awards were
made to the common people by which
they obtained their little homesteads
and farms. These ranged from one
half acre to several acres in extent and
aggregated 2S,650 acres. Al this time
the American Board, on behalf OF the
mission, received awards for the sites
of schools and churches, together with
the homesteads of the missionaries
and, in a few instances, additional
tracts for pasturing their domestic
animals. 1t must be borne in mind
that at that date the lands of the
country were of very small value and
that in some instances a hundred
acres could be bought at from ten To
twenty dollars. In pursuance of this
enlightened policy the Minister of Inte-
riOr offered the public lands for sale and
the common people bought immense
tracts at prices ranging from 25 cents
to SIS an acre. At this time very few
missionaries bought lands in the inn
mediate neIghborhood of their resi-
dences, in no instances aggregating
more than a few hundred acres in eX-
tent. They had families to support,
and / suppose, with ordinary fore
thought, believed that something
must be done for the future. Still, If
the somewhat peculiar and eXtraor-
dinary ideas of come people I'm the
United States, with regard to what
missionaries ought TO be, are correct,
then this foresight must have been
sin! One of these worldly-minded
and property-seeking missionaries
about 1861 or 1862 induced a mum Der Of
capitalists in Honolulu to join with
him in establishing a sugar plantation
into which he threw his own lands.
His purpose and object, as shown by
the records, was to furnish occupation,
labor and remuneration TO the people
of his district who were cursed with
idleness largely dependent on INSULT
cient employment. But the people of
the district prospered, their grass
more land and became property own
ers and built improved dwellings It
was many years-not, indeed, until
after the Reciprocity Treaty became a
fact-that this plantation paid any
thing at all, since which time 10 has
paid sometimes small sometimes large.
and / am sorry that the
truth compeis me to admit that this
self-same missionary stopped taking
any pay from the American Board
while he continued his missionary
work, and at the same time gave
large gifts, covering sometimes his
entire income, for the establishment
of schools, the building OF churches
and in gifts to the American Board.
While am tempted to be little sar-
castle, am sure that Mr.. Shearman
will be glad to know of these facts and
that the same are true with regard TO
one or two other missionaries, but
more particularly in the case of q con-
number of sons of mission
aries who have engaged in legitimate
trade or agriculture or commerce,
through whose generosity churches
and schools have been built and
are now maintained. Their gifts in
many instances cover a large portion
of their income. / wish that every
fact in this regard could be reduced To
writing and a contrast made, or com.
parison, with what is done by your
wealthy manufacturers, merchants
and railroad kings. But, Unfortunate
ly, these people don't seem to want
these things made public; but know
whereof l speak, because l am treas
urer or trustee in many Hawaiian
charitable organizations, and have re-
ceived these large gifts generally with
injunctions of secrecy.
Mr.. Shearman is in error with re-
gard to his figures and facts. In 1868,
upon the visit of DR.. Anderson to the
islands for the purpose of putting the
Hawaiian churches upon self-g
erning and independent basis, he was
opposed almost unanimously by the
missionaries who, while they ad-
admitted that the natives had
almost universally acquired the
rudiments of education-were quiet
and law abiding in outward things,
and generally had the manners aud
appearance of civilization-yet knew
them well enough to know that they
were not fit for self government, and
that carrying out DR.. Anderson's