Evening star., 1897-03-27
HAWAII and THE united STATES
Ex-Secretary Foster Declares Annexa
tion the Plain Duty of
Our Country.

rapid increase of the Japanese navy and
mercantile marine, new and disturbing
elements are recognized in these waters
General Grant writing from Picking In
1879. spoke of the wonderful shrewdness,
industry and commercial spirit of the Chi
nese foresaw the influences which would
eventually overcome their conservatism,
and made the prediction that lin less than
a half century Europe will be complaining
of the too rapid advance of China me
remaining factor to be noticed in the
changed condition of the Pacific is the not
able development of the Russian posses
sions on the North Asiatic coast. With an
open-water port and fortified naval station
on Chinese territory. and q trans-Asiat1c
railway reaching back to military lopula-
ton of 1O0.O0b.OOO, we must reckon win
another important element In the polt'cai
and commercial concerns of the Pacific. In
view of these events, so briefly noted we
may well admire the foresight of Mr.. Sew
ard. who. half century ago, uttered these
prophetic words: The Pacific ocean, its
shores its islands and the vast regions be-
yond, will become the chief theater of
events in the worlds great hereafter. II
the prophecy of this great statesman is to
be fully realized, there may be those in my
hearing who will live to the present
predomnating interests OF our Atlantic
seaboard sink into insignifcance before the
great and far-reaching commerce of cur
Pacific coast
The Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaiian Islands. the subjec1 OF this
evening lecture. are SltudtSu just WltblH
the northern tropic (between IS degrees 81
minutes and % degrees 10 minutes north
latitude), and 2OSO miles southwest of San
Francisco between 154 degrees 80 minutes
and 100 degrees 30 minutes longitude west
from Greenwich They are substantially
the same distance from the other important
island group in the Pacific. They thus
occupy an isolated and unique position In
that broad ocean. This. with the othe. fact
that they were out of the track of the early
commerce of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, is the reason why they were SO
late in being brought to the knowledge of
the rest of the world. They We're dis
covered by that daring and successful Eng
| lish navigator, Captain Cook, In 1lIS. on
! his third and last voyage into the Pacific,
| and received from him the name of the
| Sandwich Islands, in honor OF the first lord
of the admiralty. under whose auspices his
| voyages were made. By this name the is
| lands were for long time best known In
| Europe and America, but even IN these
| continents it has been supplanted by the
| proper title. the Hawaiian Islands. derived
| from the largest of the group, and after
| which the people take their name.
| 1t is claimed that these islands We're vis-
| tied by the Spaniards at a much earlier
| period than Cooks discovery. and there is
some evidence to sustain that claim but
| if such was the their existence was
| carefully concealed from the rest of the
world. II Is an accepted fact that several
! centuries before these islands were known
/ 10 europeans tNtli "cAC az
| customed to make voyages of thousands
| of miles to Samoa and other distant In
| habited islands of Polynesia. In the folk
| lcre of the Hawaiians are found many
| songs and narratives of these daring
| voyages, made apparently in large canoes
| built up of planks and decked over, with a
| capacity for carrying considerable crew,
! with stores and live stock sufficient for
such extended voyages. This intercourse
! seems to have ceased some time before the
visit of Europeans; but even then the IN
! habitants were daring mariners, and trips
! were made, with only the sun and s-ars
as guides in their large canoes on the
open ocean between the two extreme MS
| lands a distance of over three hundred
miles.
| The Native Population.
| Capt Cooks estimate Of the population
100000, in his day, may have been exagger-
ated, but the first census, taken In 1882
after terrible plaques and ravages of dis
ease showed population of 10000. II
four years the census marked a decrease
10 1py50D: in 1850 the inhabitants haG
diminished to $4,000; in 1853 to 1900; II
1860 TO 6s,OOO and in 1872 to 5000. Soor
after this latter date the government
under the stimulus of the increased suga
production began the importation of for
| egn laborers in large numbers, and IN,
| population rapidly increased, but the ma
tive race continued to steadily decrease
and in 1880 1t reduced to 1000 par
Hawaiians and 5000 half castes. The cen
, sus for 1896 has not yet been published II
detail but it shows total of 10000 ant
:;G9J1 Hawaians 1t thus appears that tn
native race has fallen to "a per cent O
| the population of 1890, and only represent
Is per cent of the total population of tn
islands. With the continued rapid increas
of imported labor and the steady decline O
the native race, 1t ma! readily he see
that, unless checked by some cause no
now to be anticipated, the early extinc ito
= of the Hawaiians must inevitably occur
l AS another dication 1t may be note! tha
! the families of the great chiefs. whom III
e common people had been accustomed 70
! / ages past TO look to as their natural lead