The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-12-24

( ishness which have used il for evil.
Beyond question. many OF those
who voted q White Australia failed 10
grasp the practical issues of their vote.
They certainly did not realize that this
was 10 be worked for the SUbordinat.on
. of all things to labor influence. and 10
. the ruin of an Important Queensland in
! dustry. The lesson Of the position
Is not the reversal of our federative ac-
/ ton. but the reversal at the earliest op-
/ portun.ty OF our fatal choice of Federal
! representatives. The thing 10 ~,
. done is TO put the government right The
thing to be done is the election at the
next opportunity of Representatives who
I. shall make il impossible TO treat the
. State they represent as Mr. Barton's
government has treated Queensland.
These are weiEhty and telling argU-
mentS. and their perusal is apt 10 give
pause 10 the thoughtful Honolulan be
fore he rashly condemns those who do
not consider the annexation Of Hawaii
with all its undeniabIe advantages. as
an absolutely unmiXed blessing.
The South Sea Islanders constitute
the only source Of field labor left the
. North Queensland cane grower, and the
recruiting is carried on under strict su-
pervision by government agents accom-
! panying each vessel The blacks are
! employed by the struggling "cockatoo
! farmer" as we'll as by the big estates
and a most paternaI government
/ watches their treatment as to food and
. hospital care. Every one of them is
scrupuluusly accounted for and at the
end OF his service is landed upon his
native beach. They are as happy as
children the Iive-long day. anu that
they in any way compete with the
white man is the purest of fiction. Yet
is T,f. -t,Nr
be sacrificed TO propitiate the Great
Moloch, yclept the Labor party. I
would state here inter ALA. that the to-
tai number of Kanakas in Queensland.
according to official data, is at the
present time only little over 5000. This
in country with an area Of Cos 497
square miles. i. e, equal To more than
5l2 times the area of the United King
dom or one hundred times that OF the
Territory of HawaiiD To show the
temper Of the Queensland people in this
matter l quote another article. written
in lighter vein:
The Kanaka labor problem can he
solved in one act. There is plainly no
hope from the Federal government. the
w hite Australian politicians are in
overwhelming majority in the Federal
House. 1t is averred that white men
will not do the work LET Us MAKE
THEM Do IT AS a PUNISHMENT.
Queenslands gaols are fun of men and
women, the labor of whose hands com
petes most successfully with honest out
side labor, in so much that periodical
protests reach headquarters from sad
dlers bookbinders. etc. The labor is ad-
mittedly severe, and would be a fitting
punishment for offenders against the
law. The judge of the future might put
on his black cap and say: YOU ARE
SENTENCED TO PENAL SERVITUDE
IN THE CANE FIELDS FOR LIFE.
AND MAY THE LORD HAVE MERCY
ON YOUR SOUL" Smaller offenders
might he given shorter terms. common
surate with the gravity of their sin.
Thus, the common assaulter would get
three months in the cane fields the com
mon thieves would get six months while
the garden drunk would get tired of the
dry field life in a fortnight. Let ;he gov
eminent undertake to provide prison la
Dor TO replace the kanaka There is
plenty Of material to draw from. The
result would be the salvation OF the
Queensland sugar industry. And trades
that are now struggling against the com
petition Of prison labor would revive
under the benisnant influences of fair
competition. and an untrammelled field.
What the prisoners themselves would
think about the matter IS of no impor-
lance. But the government would soon
wipe off all deficits, and peace and pros
perity would continue.
Mr. r. w McCulIoch. local govern
ment Inspector and valuator. who has
just returned to Brisbane from an Off
cial tour through the sugar districts,
although disinclined to speak as To the
exact position of the industry in the
light of Federal legislation. lest he
should expose himself t. an accusation
of craftsmanship by those to whom the
conviction borne Of his observations
might prove disagreeable, nevertheless
expressed himself as follows in reply TO
the question:
/ What about labor for the next sea-
SOM"
/ Next season. if Mr.. Barton's bin
comes in operation, with the proportion
of KanakaS that vii have TO be returned,
the situation viii become acute.
Private mill owners Will not be able TO
hold out under the new conditions. They
state their intention to make as much
as they can during the next five years
and then shut down. With the exception
of the big min owners. who might hang
out bit longer. that is the outlook.
Too much emphasis cannot he laid
on the harvesting difficulty. You can
imagine the plight of a man with his
crop ready for the mill and no labor to
take il off available. Unlike cereal
crop. sugar deteriorates rapidly No 9th
err industry is on tine same footing with
it. Yes. everything points to a record
crop mex. year. and a short labor sup
ply
is that the feeling Of the North"
absolutely White labor has been
tried and failed. There have been coutin-
uouS efforts year n er year to get white
men to do the work in gangs.
fln1F
the white man won't tackle the WORK
from choice. Offer him a high wage for
cane cutting and a reasonable one for
saw milling work, say. mining, or
aavvying What is the result? The les I.
ser wage and white mems work, This !
is the result of conversations with hun !
drcdS of white workingmen during the
last two or three years. From the very /.
nature of my duties. 1 must see a great /
deal more than people who stay al