Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-06-23

Following a very misleading line of
argument, already fully exposed and its
falsity demonstrated, the Morning News,
In an editorial favoring the annexation
of Hawaii, Gays: ''Had it not been for
the Amsrican policy Of annexation
California, the great Northwest and the
Louisiana possessions, to say nothing
Of Florida, would now be under tho
flags of other nations.
This argument is very fallacions.
Florida, Louisiana, Texas, California
and the Northwest were all practically
part of the territory of the United
States. They lay upon our borders aud
we're necessary to our geographical COM
plsteness. 1t would have been danger
Gus to permit them to remain under the
ownership and control of foreign aud
perhaps hostile country.
But with Hawaii it is different. The
Islands are out in the middle OF the
Pacific. two thousand miles away and
they afford nothing that would prove
advantageous to the United States.
Annexation would bring into American
citizenship mass Of people who would
prove anything but cungenial, and we
have sufficient incongruous elements al
home, without reaching out thousands
of miles for mors.
The returns Of the Hawaiian census of
1896, recently issued by the Department
OF Public Instruction at Honolulu, con.
stitute very opportune publication,
for they contain ampla evidence OF the
ever-increasing preponderancy of the
foreign over the native elements 10 the
islands. The total population is set
down at 100, 020, but of these only
3l,0l9 are pure Hawaiians. another
s,4S5 being part Hawaiians-i. g., of
Hawaiian parentage on one side only.
The foreign born population amounts
to 90, 1888, to which may be added IL, 1873
born of foreign parents in Hawaii. The
native population, including even the
part Hawaiians, does not, therefore,
amount to 40 per cent of the total non
ulation. From ths language generally
used in the American press one would
assume that the American community
was immensely superior in point of
numbers as in every other respect to
the other foreign communities, but this
is far from being the case. Ths Ameri-
cans, including those born 10 Hawaii,
only amount to 3.0s6, or barely q auar-
ter more than the British subjects, who
number $3.50, and rather more than
twice the number of the German sub
ject, set down at 1,432. Tho bulk OF
the foreign population consists Of
Japanese. "A, 407; Chinese, 81, GIG; and
Portuguese, is, 19l. The JAPANESE,
therefore. alone form nearly one quarter
OF the total population, and this is GER
tainly sufficient to explain the interest
which Japan takes in the international
position OF the islands. The majority
OF the Japanese population are en-
ployed as laborers, but the proportion
of Japanese immigrants O, higher
class seems to be rapidly increasing
viz, from per cent in 1890 to 20 per
cent in 1896. The General Superintend.
ent OF the Census states, in his report,
that IF il were possible to know what
the relative wealth employed in trading
was. the figures would be overwheIm-
ingly in favor Of the Americana. f." But
he produces no facts or figures in sun
port OF this contention, and in the only
table which might throw some light on
the point-that of real estate owners
"other nationalities" are so lumped
together that no conclusions can b.
drawn from it, The most striking
feature displayed in these returns ia the
continuous decrease of the native nopu-
lation. When Captain Cook first visited
the islands in 1778. he estimated tina
population at 400, and though this
was doubtless an erroneous estimate.
there were 100, 600 inhabitants when the
first American missionaries appeared in
1920. In 1880 the census showed only
"a, 436 pure Hawaiians, and within the
next six years there was n further
diminution of over 10 per cent.