The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-06-03
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Hf tha Ff0uf iha reputation ni h.Inf Il
"I.tHa lHrf ffHm which fN. HHflHItH
nnDa hhtlnr reached li sRrfi iHath ~
depart. hHd tht town has fffniHt1 t1
fhf present iiniD o. ftfy lHffe r.f cent
nf oid Inhabitants
Whsihef of not the Rrnrsrntn ~ for.
. fInn influence resulted IN ultimate ruud
ta the majority Hf the inhabitants d.
ult question a. BE- answered lightly.
True % BE- that enlightenment came
from across the sea, but sadly true az
we'll that thence came also the seeds
of death Those who laborei with
singlonrss Of purpose 90 teach the
ignorant natives the good way" ana
those who were their leaders In the
grossest forms Of dcbauchery aud
licentiousness. spoke the same lanEu-
age. Time shows that the weaker
people. having drunk 20 much more
deeply Of the poison than Of aught else
offered by the stronger, are rapidly go-
ing to their graves and leaving their
land to strangers.
Lnhaina's most prosperous period ex-
tended through the fortie. and ifuez,
In the early sixties there came
change. The roadstead of the port.
though ordinarily well sheltered. was
exposed during 'southerly blows"
oahu's excellent natural harbor drew
ship masters thither royalty built a
pretentious palace in the growing town
of Honolulu and Lahaina came to be
looked upon as place OF country resi-
dence. Then kerosene oil began to in
wade the territory Of whale oil and In
every advance IL made IL was victori-
Gus. The consequent reduction In the
price OF oil, added to the havoc the
confederate cruisers wrought upon
many Of the whalers at home Off New
Bedford during the war, disheartened
those toilers OF the sea. and Lahaina
watched with a sad heart her trade
disappear Then. as II to add insult to
injury. such whalers as did remain in
the Pacific chose Honolulu, and later
San Francisco. because OF the greater
amount Of amusement to be found in
these ports. as their stopping places
unless. indeed, they had made poor
catches, when they put in at Lahaina
where accommodations were less ex-
! pensive! BY 1870 the number calling
each year had dwindled to one or two,
and the last American Consul to La
haina was called home.
The departure OF the whalers was a
signal for the leading citizens of Laha-
]
of the district to other. pursuits. Ko-
hala and Makawao were succeeding in
the cultivation OF sugar cane; why
should not Lahaina, situated on an
| alluvial fan OF wonderfully rich soil
and watered. indeed not sufficiently by
rains, but by three never failing noun
tain streams, produce sugar cane? The
investment seemed favorable and in
the early sixties the "Lahaina Sugar
Company" began operations on local
and borrowed capital. Henry Dickin-
son, Sr., proprietor of the principal
general merchandise store of the town,
was president c. S. Barlow, post
master and collector of customs, was
secretary; and l.. II. Treadway the
sheriff of Maui, was treasurer. The
firm of Walker Il Allen were the Ho-
nolulu agents. The newly formed COM
} pany entered into n contract with a
MIR. Spencer, whose brother was man
aser of the plantation at Makawao, to
purchase and bring around the horn
good mill, which. contrary to their
: hopes, was destined to make a very
slow voyage. Meanwhile the first crop
OF cane was put in. The company did
not intend to farm much land itself,
but rather to encourage the planting
of the numerous idle plots which had
formerly been cultivated. chiefly by
} Ilawaiians, in vegetables for the
whalers In pursuance of this plan they
advanced money for the purpose of
purchase of seed cane. tools and the
) like, and as each kuleana had a water
!. right guaranteeing n good supply of
IL water, In the course OF year a con-
r siderable crop was in and the need of
> "a mi i,,r,
, the mill did not arrive.
Encouraged by the success of the
, Lahaina Sugar Company second, the
Pioneer Mill Co., was formed; two
local men, James Campbell and Harry
Turton, being the leaders in the move
. ment These men were one carpenter
, ana the other mason, though neither
at the time followed his trade, Harry
! Turton being the proprietor of a bill
lard hall and bowling alley, and James
+, Campbell, according to common report,
; making his money from the sale of
/ liquor in a prohibition town. The COM
= pany borrowed considerable money, a
I certain Mr.. Pitman, who had returned
, to the States from the islands quite
, wealthy, being "A heavy hacker of the
: enterprise. The Honolulu agents were
, those of the Lahaina Sugar Company,
, Walker Allen. The new company
r began the cultivation of considerable
, land itself and controlled much be-
Y sidesn the owners working il under
. contract for the plantation. This COM
l pany planned with much greater saga
city for its own interests than had the
e first company and accordingly ad-
= Nanced no money for the private cul-
tiNation OF cane except to land owners
I NNrh rh.a II.