The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-06-16
BISHOP RESTARICK-

I 1.-Whlle, as Is natural, feelings of
bitterness exist when old troubles are
! recalled, yet from conversation with
Hawa slams of all kinds, / can say that
they accept the changed conditions in
better spirit than one would expect
There is a feeling among many that
annexation was inevitable What they
would have preferred would have been
a protectorate.
2--You do not state what condi-
tions. 1t You mean as to government,
taea stability is q great gain Finan-
cf.fily. the taking away of sources of
revenue, such as customs duties and
sending them away from the islands.
this of course has made it difficult to
meet expenses and impossible to make
improvements without borrowing Hav-
ing the assurance that our sugar will
be admitted free of duty is of course
great gain. 1t certainly is not an i'm
provement to be deprived of the privi-
iege of going to San Francisco on any
but an American ship. Sometimes it
is great hardship. II is placing upon
colony, if you may call this so, navi-
cation laws such as the coIonists pro-
tested against in the years preceding
1876. l knew two ladies who came ON
a foreign steamer from San Francisco
and stopped off on their way to Japan
While here, they heard of the illness
of their sister. They went to
the steamship office 70 arrange for their
return. They We're astounded when
told that they could not return to San
Francisco unless they either went
on to Japan or pay a fine of two hum
dred dollars C$200.00l for coming here
from the mainland on ship not flying
the American flag To apply tbese.
coast navigation laws to isolated is
lands 200 miles out in the ocean is. in
my judgment. something against which
the great majority of Americans would
protest if they knew about it.
81 certainly do. because from our
isolation. we are in a different position
from that of any other Territory To
have these islands send. say one
million five hundred thousand ($1, 800
COO dollars to the Federal government
reminds me of the policy of England
before the Revolution in taxing her col
onies. The islands, losing so large a !
part of the revenue, their own before |
annexation, have had to borrow heavily |
nearly up to the limit allowed by law. |
that there are. say, twelve |
thousand white people in the islands |
one can readily judge that it is diff |
cult to see how We can raise money to |
make public improvements and to edu- |
cate the thousands OF Chinese. Japa- |
nese and Portuguese children who are
bern here, as well as TO care for a
thousand lepers Of other races.
4-Thare are openings for sisal and
rubber, but these require capital and
abor. There is an opening to a limit
I'd degree for pineapples. The raising
1f these does not require a large
AMOUNT OF capital. hut it is a business |
which could easily be overdone, as the
Iemand is limited for the canned ar
icle. After careful study and knOwl-
edge of American farming in many
states, I say, with regret, that L see
1trte nrosrect Of farming on small
scale by white men.
1t must be remembered that the
and capable Of cultivati tion consists Of
fringe of say a mile to three miles
vide around the coast and that noun
aims occuny the center of each island.
This tillabie fringe is by no means
continuous In few places the land
pens up into wider areas towards the
Interior but these areas are occupied.
n some u}acee the bare lava comes
oyvu to the ocean.
l<oo-~ shat excellent tobacco can be
aised here but the difficulties have
os rs z-et Noa~ overcome and the area
f land Suitable is not great
Coffee does well and at Kona many
and japanese are growing
CONTINUED on Page 2.)