The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1906-08-07
ATKINSON ON
PORTUGUESE
From Saturdays Advertiser,

scendants have a record here of which
any people may well be proud,' said
Secretary Atkinson, head of the Board
Of Immigration which is now moving TO
get more of these same people from the
Azores, yesterday.
eff remember correctly, there were
1l,400 Portuguese brought to this couD-
try to labor in the cane fields. These
figures included men, women and chill
dren. The Portuguese are essentially a
family people. We have in the country
now $4,000 Portuguese, some Of these
same people and their descendants, and
that despite the fact that a great many
have gone away. OF those who are here,
/ understand that there are 1000 today
at work on the plantations.
''That this large proportion of the
original immigration and the descend
ants of the original immigrants have
staid on the land is proof enough, to my
mind, that if we had continued to en-.
courage the Portuguese to come We
would have had class of laborers
working the plantations who would
have staid on the land-white men, a
class of very valuable citizens. Those
who have staid on the plantations. I'M
derstand me. are not all field laborers
They have gone into other and better
classes of work, improving Themselves
and raising their families. But, they
have staid. That is the vital point.
We need citizen laborers who will stay
on the land.
A GREAT RECORD.
"Certainly, the Portuguese in Hawaii
have record to be proud of. Some of
the best men that we have are of Portu-
guese birth or descent. Let us take
few instances of men that we all know.
There is my good friend Frank An
drade. He was an immigrant baby,
brought to this country by his parents.
He has worked his own way, saved
money and gone to college. He is a
self-educated man, if there ever was
one, and he stands high in this com
munity as lawyer and citizen, and has
tors the Territory has ever had. M. A.
Gonsalvcs came here as an immigrant,
and has made himself a substantial and
valued citizen. Another Portuguese
who stands high in the community is p.
a. Dias. formerly in the employ of
Hackfeld G. Co., and there is J. G. Ser
rao and j. Canario, of Hilo.
81 Alfonso, also of Hilo, holds gov
eminent position and is the editor of a
Portuguese and English paper which he
conducts very ably. j. A. Osorio has in
terested himself largely in homestead
matters on the Big Island, putting upon
public lands settlers of Portuguese
blood who will develop them. Indeed,
most of the successful homcsteaders in
the Territory are Portuguese. They go
on the land to stay, to make their homes
and to rear their families.
KEEPERS OF STORES. II
CAN through the Territory there are
stores kept by Portuguese, and these
are men of worth and in
egrity. Such man is Silva, who keeps
he store at Eleele, A. Borba of Wal
uku and Antonio Fernandez who runs
he hotel at Paia, Maui. Then, in an
ther line, there is Joe Mendez, luna at
iailua, and M. Arruda, who has been l
lead luna at Kahuku for good many
ears, ever since he came to the coun-
ry, and who has amassed a comfortable
1t is Portuguese charac-
eristic to be thrifty-and they are all
AYERS. a
"Then there is the family Of NJ. R. q
ieira, who came from Madeira. Some g
the sons of the family are silver 9
niths, and one is a Protestant minister IL
Hilo. The schools have many teach 81
rs of Portuguese blood, and these have N
,ne good work. The Portuguese in Ha- 81
ali have become blacksmiths and ear u
enters, and have actually developed
lie stone-cutting industry here and are
i'll the best stone-cutters We have.
81. p. Rodriguez is frst-class tailor
no owns his own home on Punchbowl, mr.
ID M. Souza, the Kakaako store
eper, is representative citizen. Dur
g my last trip to Washington ! met ..
ere two boys, sons of a Portuguese ha
mily in Honolulu, who are putting Ice
emselves through college. The Portu-
Csc in this Territory have 100000 in M'
0 savings banks, and there never was !
t one man of Portuguese blood ar uf.
,ted here on charge of murder. ms
at arrest took place very lately. e
1.-THE Portuguese are law-abiding, o.. o.
fifty, prosperous, and make good citi- ina
10. In my opinion We could not get fur
tier men to come here to conserve the A
EFF interest of the Territory, and at . sas
, same time to insure the develop roa
mt of the land by citizens. sar
Are we to get any morei" repeated S
Secretary in answer to a question. 10