The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-12-07
Editorial Correspondence to +
Loans and City Bonds.)

~
Loans and City Bonds.)
In ACQUIRING as United States terri
tory the group of islands in the Pacific,
discovered in 1873 by Captain Cook
and named by him in honor of his
patron. the Sandwich Islands, but which
are more generally known by corrup-
ton of the original native name OF Ha-
wall. the government has taken over
and absorbed number of islands whose
combined area is small, it is true, but
| which possess within their limited space
remarkable Importance strategetlcally, to
the nation, as well as agricultural and
| horticultural possibilities, that, when
fully developed along practical lines, may
tropical and sub-tropical products be-
yond the limits of its own jurisdiction
Take a map of the Pacific Ocean, locate
| the Hawaiian Islands, and then with a
ruler draw straight lines from any ship
ping point on the Pacific Coast, from
Puget Sound TO Panama, to the principal
cities of Japan, China and Australia.
of Hawaii, and the metropolis, Honolulu
will appear in the vicinity of these lines
will appear in the vicinity of these lines.
This fact establishes the importance of
Hawaii, not only at the present time,
but to even greater extent, when the
new Panama Canal will afford an easy
passage for hundreds of thousands of
tons of shipping that now reach the
Orient by means of the Suez Canal
The commerce of Hawaii will increase
many fold, and the importance of Homo
lulu as port of call to discharge and
receive island freight, and to coal and
provision vessels, as well as to receive
cabled instructions, cannot be overesti
mated. Even today Honolulu, with
population of 10000, of which, perhaps,
there are only 5000 OF unmiXed white
blood. ENJOYS a volume of business I'M
equalled bv any other city of its size
and circumstance in the world. There
is no bank clearing house in the city,
and consequently absolutely accurate
statistics are impossible to obtain, but
the total bank transactions in 1908 were
something in excess of $50, 100000 divi-
ded among four banks While the sugar
industrv is of course largely responsible
for this great showing, we do not know
where anything like this can be dup1i-
Gated elsewhere under similar conditions.
These results. it must be remembered
are obtained under a more or less err
ratio ocean transportation service. What,
then, may be reasonably expected of
Honolulu when steamships and sailing
vessels literally crowd her harbor at
the end of another decade. when the
Panama Canal is an established fact ?
The Territory of Hawaii is composed
of eight islands and few unimportant
fslets, with total area of 6,44o square
miles, or about 100000 acres, and with
total population in 1900 of but $4,000
souls. Of these the island of Hawaii
is larger than all the rest of the group
combined, and contains 100000 acres.
A certain proportion of these 1000, 900
acres is unfit for any useful purpose,
being covered with powders and lava
fields, as all of the islands are of vol
canic origin, and these volcanic tracts
must ever remain unproductlve, and
therefore, are entirely eliminated from
any consideration of future development
The arabic lands of the islands, how
ever, easily supported native popula-
ton of over 100000 a hundred and ten
years ago, when the island empire build
er, Kamehameha l., consolidated the
different and warning factions under
one general government, of which he
was the head AS a result of his sunrem-
dSIJ lilC was dill
autocracy, under which the natives
labored for the sovereign, as in old
Peru, and under which system the latter
afforded the natives protection to life
and person. The lands titled for the
king were termed crown lands, and
which were later absorbed by the United
States IN their own government lands,
in addition to such unoccupied lands as
existed at the time of annexation in
1893. With the arrival of the white
missionaries IN 1922, and owing to their
influence with the kings, various changes
IN land conditions were effected, and
natives and others were allowed to own
real property in fee simple by royal
act in 1876, so that ~the crown lands of
1893 do not represent the same s-eas
as existed in 1900. But during the past
eighty wears almost all of the fertile
districts have been acquired by large
holders, and these lands have never been
sold except in rare instances, but have
been disposed of by long time leases at
various rentals. and IN consequence a !
large part of sugar and other land is
today being operated under these leases /
in Hawaii. Many of the so-caIled crown I
lands have been similarly leased. which
leases the government is obliged to re-
spect until they expire by limitation. !
When the policy mas been to throw them /
open to settlement under conditions I
alike to our homestead laws, and only .
varying from them in such particulars
as conditions on the islands demand {
1t may be roughly estimated that the {
government controls at present, inelud-
ing leases that are expiring. and yet to \
expire, something over 100000 acres
OF fertile land. In order to dispose of (
this land on an equitable basis to all I
qualified applicants, the Republic of Ha-
waii enacted law in 1906. which has
since been continued in force by our
own government. Without considering
the classification of government land.
which information may be obtained by
application to the Commissioner OF {
Public Lands. in Honolulu. it may be
stated that the act provides three methods
for the acouirement OF public lands. TN
der systems known as ID Homestead
Lease. co Right of Purchase Lease.