The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-07-06
NOT LANDS
FOR SETTLERS

"The Land Office has its own prob
lens" said Land Commissioner Pratt
yesterday. when his attention was call
ed to the letter printed in the Adver-
tiser OF July 4. in which criticism was
made OF the Land Department for offer
ing a thousand acres of land in one
body.
Now, as a matter Of fact, that letter
written by American contains great
many statements that are altogether
misleading" said Mr.. Pratt. The land
land OF Olowalu- Ukumehame, but about
the only accurate statement that is
made concerning 1t is as to the price
for which 1t is to be sold. The land is
not good, tillabIe, agricultural land, and
IL has not fair share of water flow
ing through it. on the contrary OF the
entire tract, the only land to which
the government has water right, is
a piece containing 4.3 acres. That is
an old crown right.
This land consists of a number of
remnants. the lots running in size from
ll0.S acres, which is the largest, down
to lot containing one-tenth OF an acre.
Even at that the lots are broken up
within their own boundaries. Here is
the map OF the land: Take this piece
containing s6.15 acres. That is the sec
ond largest piece. the next in size con-
tanning thirty-five acres. That lot is
i hrnkap n hN O
kuleanas that run down into 1t.
| There are $40 acres offered for sale
all told and, as has been said, this is
not all in one piece but is a series OF
remnants OF land. OF this, AIS acres Is
agricultural land, although much of this
is of the kind that is called 'Kipikua
lands that is to say of the kind that
has to be planted with a pickax. The
lands run for about four miles along
the Maui beach, and can only be sup
piled with water pumped by the plan
tation company
A LOT OF REMNANTS.
IF these lands were offered to set
tiers, they would have to get rights OF
way to conduct to their holdings TIL,
water they might buy and would have
to get the plantation to haul their cane
off-or haul it off themselves over Tho
government road. The lands In fact
are of kind that could not be worked
and developed without the aid of CAPT
tai.
| You can see that the surveyor has
marked the quality of the lands on the
map. Here he says that the land is
salt, here 1t is salt marsh. here it is
| rpalyN nd hnrn II iG Gn1t AGAIN The
people who are willing to buy the lands
will take the bad with the good, and
the government will be the gamer
whereas by offering the lands in small
holdings the waste lands would still
be on our hands and would be abso.
lutely worthless for any purpose.
I'm Offering these lands, The govern,
ment has reserved one hundred fee
lalong the ocean shore for the use o.
fishermen or whoever may want to 60
in there, 1t has reserved a strip fifty
feet wide for a road, and 1t has reserv-
ed the landing and the approaches t.
il, and sites for schools and churches
In fact the government has reserved
everything that is needed to conserv,
the public interest. The government 4
getting about $S5 an acre FOR the goo,
land. and four dollars an acre for tn
waste.
Another point that American trie
for and fails to make" went on Nj
Pratt. Settlers are not compelled L
. pay for land in advance. We have tw
methods of Offering public lands 70
sale. The FIRST of these is by the plal
known as the 'twenty-one year RICH
r of purchase lease The settler buyin
, his land In this way does not put up
5 cent. At the end of three years, u
any time thereafter, he can pay for II
although he cannot pay before the en-
, of the third year. And If he does no
- wish to do it, he is not required to pa
l for his land for twenty-one years. II
, pays rent, however at the rate O
| eight per cent of the purchase price pc
lyear. l do not know Of any arrange
ment by any government more liberia
than that.
r VERY LIBERAL TERMS.
Our second method of Offering Ian
is by cash freehold system. A buyer
by this plan, pays 20 per cent of tn
purchase price of his land at the dat
OF sale, twenty-five per cent in on
. year, another fourth in two years an
, the balance at the end OF the thir
year, with interest at six per dent
"Thc government is not Offering an
p has not offered any large bodies O
: superior agricultural lands for sale "A
q a whole. on the contrary, it is nov
selling lands in the Hakalau home
, steads, good lands in large bodies, an
elsewhere on Hawaii, as well as o
Maui ind Kauai, in tracts for home
$ steads, and will throw open more land
of this class to settlers as the lease
fall in"
2 This last is a statement of fact sue
Offerings being In accord with the gov
y ernment policy OF putting the settler
. ON the lands. And the map OF the land
/ OF whose sale American evidcntl
complains bears out the representation
q made by Commissioner Pratt The ma
may be seen by any one, hanging In N
I Land Office. II shows that the tra6
= lonoIod at Olowalu- Ukumehame cor
q sists Of lot OF remnants OF land goo'
bad and Indifferent, broken up by ku
louuis ana gulchos, ana salt mlrsl
aud strips OF sand, ana that there
no water ON d whatever save tina
witch attaches by crown right a. SON
4 tulvan1s. The water that is Their
iuthsrU iso. comes from "a we'll"