The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-09-05

Der of Chinese to Hawaii, for a linn
Ted time and for a limited purpose.
Following is the argument which he
will submit with it:
The objections of many citizens of
the United States to Chinese immigra-
ton is well understood, especially of
residents of some of the States and
Territories west of the Rocky noun
tains, yet in the face of these obiec-
tons the writer. who believes in the
fairness of Americans to listen to rea-
son, would dare make a proposition for
the enactment of law permitting a
limited Chinese immigration to the
Territory of Hawaii. AS Congress has
already made special legislation where
by the Chinese of the Territory are
prohibited from going to the mainland
it has the same power to make special
legislation permitting Chinese to come
to Hawaii and such coming could in
nowise conflict with the laboring ele-
ment on the mainland.
The Territory of Hawaii has a locus
and history peculiar to itself and diff
fers in every respect from that of the
States and Territories carved out of
the part of the Union west of the
Mississippi. An isolated group of ISL
ands, 1000 miles remote from the main
land and lying wholly within the trop-
les and one too in which the aboriginal
inhabitants have steadily diminished
from the time of its discovery by Capt.
Cook in 1776, it has indeed its peculiar
necessities in regard to desirable popu-
lation to develop it's resources.
In olden time, when the Islands were
densely inhabited and much land was
needed to supply foodstuffs and other
necessities of human life there was
still much land which was valueless to
the people in that it was marsh or salty
soil. Gradually as the aborigines dimi-
nished in number more land was aban-
doned. The introduction of cattle from
the mainland, while opening a new in
dustry, had the effect of killing off the
forests and destroying the natural
rainfall causing the area of irrigated
arabic land to farther shrink.
The whaling industry and the Cali
fornia excitement of 40 had the dou-
BILE effect of taking off many of the
male Hawaiians and drawing the pop-
ulation into centers. Thus, much of
the land lay idle and the aboriginal
population, through epidemics and 9TH
CT CduScS, Idu lSdllQllS
In the first two decades of the cast
century a trade with China had been
established and a few Chinese came
on the returning Hawaiian vessels.
These recognized the adaDtability of
the climate and soil for rice culture and
on reporting the conditions to their
countrymen more followed. Finally,
when the sugar industry SUPERSEDED
"a WHALING trade and GRADUALLY c.
sumed such proportions that a suffi-
cheney of native labor was not obtain
able the Chinaman volunteered to take
his place, to the great advantage of
| those who had invested their capital
in sugar. In the meanwhile he had re-
claimed much land from the sea, had
converted marshy land into rice
patches, and had utilized much of the
abandoned taro land and rendered all
productive, and, rent and tax produc-
ing.
OTHER IMMIGRANTS.
Thus we find that the Chinaman had
been a very useful factor in maintain
ing and developing the resources of
the country. He was not however the
ideal immigrant in that no Chinaman
ever left Cathay with the intention of
| making his permanent home in a for
eign land, at least such a Chinaman
| would be a rara avis.
To supply the place of the defunct
aborigine, as political factors, it be-
came necessary to look to other lands
for recruits and the late Hawaiian
government spent much money and
solicitude in vain attempts to obtain
| true immigrants from many parts of
ha &c 70
recite the attempts to secure South Sea
Islanders, Portuguese, Norwegians,
Germans, negroes from the South, Por-
to Ricans, etc. which have proven as
| expensive as abortive. To secure la
borers for the development of the coun-
try it appeared equally difficult until
treaty with Japan was established,
| the result Of which proved the undoing
of Hawaii. Owing to British laws,
which prohibited the departing of Chi
nese from Hongkong or any port IN
China, within two Hundred miles there
of, in British bottoms, under contract,
laborers from China were unobtainable.
Thus, the japanese began to flood the
country in such numbers that it was
feared they might attempt to convert
Hawaii into a colony of the empire of
Japan. AT this time an arrangement
was made whereby Chinese laborers
might come, without contract, and as
an Offset over seven thousand China
men were introduced These however
were not immigrants in one sense in
that they were all males and were m
der agreement to depart in three years,
whereas a proportion of the japanese
consisted of families. This fear or
jealousy of the possible intent of the
Japanese was the prime cause of the
tender by the government of annex
alton of Hawaii to the United States
and which tender was ultimately ac-
cepted. 1t was the determination ot
the Caucasian residents that if Hawaii
must lose it's independence it should
not become a vassal OF any nation but
the one, America, which had done so
much towards civilizing, Christianiz-
ing and making Hawaii one of the ma
tons of the globe. Thus the ATTEMPT
of the government to repopulate the
Islands was the cause of the loss of her
independence, or rather her gain in be-
coming one of that great family of
States and Territories denominated tile
United States Of America.
On account of the tropical position of
the Islands, and the concomitant
solar heat to which the field hand is
exposed, it is believed it will never be
|