The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-08-18
MADEIRA ISLANDERS REFUSE TO
COME HERE.
Trouble Made by United States Consul
Jones-Letter of Falsehoods Referred
to Hawaiian Government.

There is a big row in Madeira over
the Portuguese laborers ordered by the
Planters Labor and Supply Company
from that country.
Consul Jones, head of the United Stat
es Consulates in the group, started the
muss. At the time 1000 laborers had
booked for Honolulu. So big and i'm
portant was the trouble that many
backed out some deserted before sail
ing and only 200 people actually got
away.
When the labOrers were getting ready
to sail, Consul Jones went to them and
told them they were going to American
territory, and that their contracts were
not worth the paper they were written
on. He warned them not to ship. The
laborers flew to the agency enlisting
them. No explanations would suffice
and many of them demanded that the
matter be referred to the Government
at Lisbon.
Consul Jones himself wrote to the
American Minister at Lisbon, the mat
ter went before the Portuguese Govern
ment and the position of the consul was
there sustained. Most of the immi-
grants Immediately backed out
| Immediately after this Consul Jones
wrote to the Washington Government
giving in detail all that had taken
place. The State Department correct
| ed him in several points One statement
was that Hawaii was fully under Am
erican territorial laws and about the
! contracts. The department stated that
! the contracts were in full force and
/ would so remain until Congress had
extended American laws to the Islands,
| Consul Jones' letter was forwarded to
| Special Agent Sewall with instructions
| that he refer it to the Hawaiian Gov
ernment. The points upon which the
| Washington Government had corrected
| Consul Jones were marked. Mr.. Sew
all delivered the letter yesterday and
it was before the Cabinet this morning
President Dole remarked that the letter
| bristleS with misstatements.
The evident intention of Consul Jones
was to prevent if possible the depart
ure of the Portuguese from Madeira
| What his motives were are of course
not known. In his letter to the Wash
| ington Government he states that the
immigrants are anarchists and cut
thrOats, and urges the department tC
take every precautiOn to keep them
from landing on American soil, for they
would be the worst sort of citizens.
This statement will not go far here
and seems to indicate some mean mo-
| tive e~behind the whole proceeding, Nea"
ly all the Portuguese in the Hawaiian
Islands come from the neighborhoOd o
Funchal and St Michaels and are the
same class as Consul Jones calls "andr
chists and cut-throats." Many of thost
booked for the Islands at this time are
probably relatives of the Portuguese
here.
Little attention will be paid by tn,
Government to the correspond anct
save to further correct the letter q
Consul Jones and return it to Washing
ton. To correct it, however, will be 4
practically rewrite it. for there are YER!
few words of actual fact in it.
The incident is important because i
shuts off number of laborers the plan
ters had calculated upon for the neX
quarter. Moreover, it will doubtless in
tercept any further shipments tha
might be attempted. In fact Madeira
as a labor market may in future be re
garded as closed. -