The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-03-01
GAIT GIVES TESTIMONY,
(Continued from Page ID

| long leases. running about fifty years
They probably have now from twent!
to twenty-five or thirty years to run
roughly speaking.
The Chairman. The reason for those
long leases or one of the reasons was
the difficulty of breaking up the grounc
and preparing it for the growth OF
sugar, was it not? Was not that one
of the reasons?
Mr.. Gait. I was just going to touch
on that very point. Reference was
made day before yesterday by one of
the committee to Governor Carter s
| report of 1904, in which on page Al it
| shows that out Of 424. 422 acres of gov
eminent lands leased the total revenue
| derived by the Territorial government
is 5000. or an everage of less than 2
cents per acre.
| l would like 70 call attention to
| statement made by the Governor just
/ before those figures in his report,
which is a 5 follows:
| The Crown-land leases in many cases
We're evidently used for political o.
! other purposes. Large tracts of valu-
bic land We're and are today under
lease at mere nominal rentals such as
no sane person would accept as the
actual rental OF the land. As an ex-
ample, 500 acres of land in and ad-
joining the city of Honolulu is under
lease to expire in 1902. The Crown re-
CeiveG and the government now re-
ceives for this land the sum of 500 per
annum. The lessee sublets the land at
an annual net profit of about $12 600
per annun. There are $500 acres on
Kauai for which the government re-
lessee $4,000 per annum net This man
is q nonresident and su0ieases Many
other instances of like kind exist
On the following page the Governor
states in his report:
The unfortunate part to the present
generation, of this matter is that
large majority of these leases are still
in existence and have many years to
run. The Republic of Hawaii by it's
laws merged the Crown and Govern
ment lands under the head and title OF
public lands and placed their control
in the hands of a commission of three
These leases were made years ago
by the Crown, when there existed a
monarchical form of government Those
Crown lands We're supposed to be the
private property, or at least the rev.
enrles from them We're for the personal
Use Of the Crown, and the reigning |
monarch bad perfect right to lease |
those lands at any rental he or she |
saw fit. 1t was in those days that |
those long leases were made which |
have still many years to run, and /
which have been inherited by the pres |
ent government: and they can not be |
altered until such time as the leases |
expire.
Mr.. Lloyd of the committee. Would
it bother you if I interrupt you?
Mr. Calf. Not at all.
Mr.. Lloyd. [ notice that the Gov
ernor in his reports, both in 1904 and
III the present report, recommends that !
the lease period be extended from five
to twelve years
Mr.. Gait. Yes. sir; and I will be
very glad to recommend the same
thing; and I had in mind touching
upon that in just minute or two
would be glad TO answer it now if you
desire. Do you wish to know the rea-
son why that is recommended?
Mr.. Lloyd. I understand the reason |
the Governor gives. But [ want to |
know what you have to say about it.
Mr.. Gait. AS these old leases expire
of course, the most valuable of those
idIuS are IdIuS that can De cultivated
FOR sugar. Under the organic act. as
it now exists the government can not
make q lease of any of those agricui-
tural lands for a period of longer than
five years. The sugar corporation, fac
ing the large expenditures which it has
to make in order to produce the sugar,
and facing the fact that it takes elg.is-
cen months to two years to secure a
,rop of sugar, can not be expected to
give high prices for those lands for
period of five years. at the end of
which time they have not the faintest
dea as to whether they are going to ,
get renewal of the lease even on the
- me terms as before, if at all.
Mr.. Webb. Do you know what is ;
about the average future life of these
Crown leases? Some expire in five,
some in ten, some in thirty years?
Mr.. Calf. l do not know. 1 should ,
say as a guess, that they run up in ,
he neighborhood of twenty years ,
he most valuable Crown leases.
Mr.. Webb. Do you thing after that
you will get sufficient money to run
he government all right?
Mr.. Gait. 1t seems to me that the
evenues from those old leases as they
xpire will make a big difference in
ne financial condition.
Mr. Webb. You will lease the land e
t a higher price and thus get more L
evenue?
Mr.. Gait. Undoubtedly. Y
Mr. w. O. Smith. The policy is that Il
s these government lands come in, :
s the leases expire, they do not wish T
o rent the lands to the present en- U
erprises, but so far as they can they =
fish to have them divided up into -
mailer holdings for immigrants. 1t =
ill be taken up on low valuations, =
ut on the conditions of residence and =
That will not add to the =
evenue except through taxation and the :
enerally improved conditions; and .
lille we will get more rents as
ne new leases are made number OF y
lings initiate against it.
Mr. Lloyd. [ remember distinctly L
hat when the organic act was framed Il
ne purpose then was to have the hold q