The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1908-12-29

e8N 49, 49, $500 -
into the possibilities of Hawaii from a
refiner's point of view. At that time,
his son, John ID. Spreckels, was living
in Honolulu, a clerk with Hackfeld &
Co., and he was able to inform his
father of the chances for profitable in
vestment in Hawaii. In 1876, Mr..
Spreckels came to Honolulu for bust
ness. He became close friend of the
King, negotiated with the Hawaiian
planters for securing control of their
product and made arrangements to be-
come planter himself on a grand
scale.
Becoming aware of the fact that the
Legislature of 1862, in legislating in
settlement of the personal claims of the
aliis against the crown lands, had omit
ted to provide for the Princess Ruth,
a half-sister of Kamehameha ", he
purchased from her for ten thousand
dollars her claim against the govern
ment Pressing this Slaim he was
awarded the lands of Waikiki, and on
this grant was established the planta-
tion of the Hawaiian Commercial and
Sugar Company. He secured the SER
vices of Herman Schussler, celebrated
engineer, who planned the great irri.
cation system installed at cost of
half million dollars. This canal, near.
ly thirty miles long, carried through
thirty tunnels cut in the solid rock,
still brings the water to the plantation
laterals.
His holdings rapidly increased until
Spreckels became the undisputed Sugar
King of Hawaii. With his power as
planter came also power politically. In
financial ways he made himself of such
service to the King and government
that for years he stood as the power
behind the throne, making and unmak
ing Cabinets. Spreckels, Kalakaua and
Gibson, in the order of power named,
were the triumvirate governing the
kingdom for years. 1t was through the
refusal of the then Attorney General
Hartwell and the Minister of the In
terror Mott-Smith to grant the Haiku
water rights to Spreckels that their res.
ignations were called for and the Viii
der ministry appointed, fact which
illustrates the influence exercised By the
Sugar King over the King of the land,
while the selection of the late 8. G.
Wilder at the claimed instance of Mr..
Spreckels, is an indication that while he
desired those in power to be his friends
he at the same time used his influence
in the appointing of able men, Mr.. Will
der being judged by the Hawaiian his.
torian as the ablest administrator the
kingdom ever had.
In many ways Mr.. Spreckels was
identified with the political movements
during the reign of Kalakaua. 1t was
he who supplied the bullion for the first
Kalakaua coinage, while at his personal
remonstrance with the King the bill
intending to grant charter to Lousi-
ana lottery concern was withdrawn af-
ter the second reading in the Legisla-
ture of 1884.
| In 1886 the friendship between the
| King and Mr.. Spreckels came to an
: end, and during the session of the
Legislature in that year there were
two parties struggling for control-the
Spreckels party, led by the Ministry,
and the Kings party, which favored
the floating of ten-million-d dollar loan
on the London market. At that time
the government was indebted to
Spreckels for 100000. The Ministry
was defeated and the Sugar King left
the Islands in disgust. The debt to
Spreckels was paid off the following
year.
During the period of the Provision.
al Government, Mr.. Spreckels worked
/ consistently in opposition to the an
nexation sentiment and was strongly
opposed to the final consummation of
! the negotiations between the Republic
of Hawaii and the United States. His
belief was that for the interests Of
! the sugar planters the right to regu-
late their own immigration laws and
! the right to contract labor was Of
greater Importance than the certainty
of the free market of the United
| States, although it seemed at that time
that the reciprocity treaty which had
! existed in force since 1876 would be
abrogated by the United States SEN
ate. He endeavored to secure the
united effort of the planters against
annexation, but in this was not sue
cessful. To embarrass the govern
ment, he issued demand in May,
1899, for the immediate repayment Of
some $4,000 due the Spreckels Bank
by the government. This political
move was met by the prompt raising
of the money, the repayment of the
loan and the political check causing
| the Sugar King to again leave Hawaii
in anger, stating that he would never
return to the Islands until Queen Ii.
| liuokalani was again seated on the
throne. He had been warm partisan
of the deposed ruler, and in that time
of great political excitement, when
feeling ran high, it is stated that
threats against his life had also been
made here.
The Deserted spreckeis Mansion,
In leaving Honolulu as he did, Mr..
Spreckels demonstrated his own faith
in the belief that the condition he
named for his return might be some