The Hawaiian gazette., 1900-01-02
MATTERS
Dr. H, Hayes Reports
from Washington.
Correspondence lnyolyed--Stalemenl
in Writing Made al the Sugges
ton Of Secretary Porter

The following pa land matters. taken
from The mo Tribune u December 80.
1899. comprises he CORES pondencc
which has pas9Ad thereon between Dr.
~. Hayes and ] 4. Porte secretary
90 President Mckinley.
Washington .. c.. Nov. so 1899.
AT W. "a. Smith. Editor Hilo Tribune
llilo. Hawaii
Dear Sir I feel that the people oi
lilo should know VIVA. steps have
been taken thus far In the matter OF
the Government lands. and what the
prospects are, When ! reached Wash
ington 10 seemed necessary that the
matter should be laid before the Pres
ident vt once, in order that he might
incorporate In his annual message 20
Congress any recommendation he
might think proper to make in the
premises. As the memorial has not
yet reached me ! had TO act. and act
quickly, in M private capacity; so
saw Secretary Porter, showed him a
copy OF the memorial, and stated the
case as plainly, as briefly and as strong
ly as l could. He said the President
was too busy on his message to Con-
gress, working day and night, to see
me personally. but he suggested that
| make a brief statement in writing
of what had said to him and he would
submit it to the President. SO | wrote
| the following:
"1752 Oregon Avenue.
Washington, n. c., Nov 25, 1899.
To the President
| have tthe honor to submit the fol-
| lowing facts, which came under my
personal notice while / was residing in
the town of Hiio, Island of Hawaii. re-
garding conditions in the Hawaiian ISL
ands occasioned by Executive Order of
September II, 1899.
list. The enforcement of this order
has already greatly disturbed business
by the uncertainties it has created, and
will block several important enter
| prises on the Island of Hawaii, such as
the building of two railroads, and the
development OF coffee and sugar planta-
tionS.
I'd. About nine-tenths of the Hawai-
ian government lands affected by this
order are on this island, and conse-
quently the people there are especially
| interested in the matter, and very de-
sirous that something be done promptly
to ameliCTate tie present unSatisfac-
| tory conditions.
| Sd. Nearly all of these lands were
taken up in perfect good faith under
the Hawaiian land laws, as homesteads
and plantations, and not for purposes
OF speculation, and practically all of
them have been improved and devel-
oped, as required by the grants. Most
of them We're taken up under the Land
Act of 1895, and the lessees had not
time TO comply with all the conditions
precedent to title Zone OF which is three
Years reSidence) before the islands
were annexed to the United States.
Other settlers coming after annex
alton. took up lands granted them by
the Hawaiian Government under Ha-
waian laws. which had been continued
in power and force by the Government
of the United States. The United
States Government has succeeded to
all the obligations of the Hawaiian
Government. one of which is to OBJ
serve the terms of the contracts made
with the le5sees of these lands, and
to grant them fee simple titles thereto
4th. These lessees have spent both
time and money in the development of
their lands, in costly experiments in
coffee culture, and in the erection of
homes and buildings. For these ex-
penditures no reimbursenents would
probably be made. and the refunding of
the purchase price of the land would
not begin to compensate them for their
losses and outlay. Many of these les
sees have also given up positions in
the United States and severed all their
connections there, and have gone to
Hawaii 70 take up these claims.
5th. a memorial reciting these facts
was being circulated on the Island of
Hawaii ar the time I left (OctOher
25th), and had already received the
signatures of nearly all of the higher
officials and of many of the merchants,
professional men and planters of the
island, and will probably be presented
to You in few weeks
! have, therefore. the honor to re
specially suggest, in the interests of
the people of Hawaii, that you will
recommend to Congress such legisla-
ton as will remedy the present unset
tied condition OF the land question and
confirm in their titles all those who in |
good faith have taken up lands in the
Hawaiian Islands in accordance with |
the laws of the Republic OF Hawaii,
have the honor TO be, with high !
respect,
Very truly yours,
HENRY HAYES"
With this | sent letter to Mr.. Por
ter semi-offlcial in character, which he
could show to the President, but en-
bodying statements that need not go
on record. The letter follows:
Washington, d. c., Nov. %, 1899.
My dear Mr.. Porter:-I enclose a
brief statement of the facts regarding
public lands in Hawaii which /