Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1908-04-29
RIGHT OF PURCHASE LEASES.
Garden IslandD

| 'pdlutU lSldnu.D
Before his departure for the coast
Governor Frear in conjunction with
his cabinet formulated a set of condi.
lions to be attached and made part
of all public land sales in the future
| The Governors aim in doing this was
to force spectators in public land to
the wall and create ans.uttraCtion to
the bona fide settler.
Some of the conditions are good
and reasonable others again will oh.
! viously work in a direction opposite
to that intended by the Executive.
The first four sections relating to
the payment, rate of interest and SO
forth ought to prove attractive to set.
| lers.
The next condition stipulates that
the purchaser within year shall have
a habitable house worth 5000 on the
premises which Is also an easy term,
but this clause also fixes the acreage
which has to be brought under cult.
walton. A year after date of purchase
the buyer has to have fifteen per cent
under cultivation and an additional
fifteen per cent has to be cleared and
planted each year until at the end Of
the sixth seventy-flve per cent of the
total area is properly cultivated.
This condition will work beautifully
where former plantation leases are
offered for sale and the land thorough
" cleared by the former occupant.
But how about other parts OF the cOUn.
try. Land such as that of Olaa Kai.
wiki. Kaumana, etc. is heavily wooded
and 1t has in the past cost settlers all
the way from sixty to three hundred
dollars an acre to clear It. Let us
take Il fifty acres sale I'm such COun.
try as those above referred to with an
obligation for the purchaser to clear
and plant seven and Onp-half acres
per year at an average cost OF say
one hundred dollars per acre and can.
vas for q buyer. The idea Is not one
to attract the settler we absolutely
need IN this country, but one that
will incline him to look elsewhere for
"A location. 1t will take a good, long
purse, of size that not one in a thou
sand of those who have settled the
mainland states have commanded, to
pay for the clearing of such land, es.
tablishing a home and pay for living
expenses for himself and family until
such time as his purchase shall bring
him returns large enough for his sup
port.
The residence clause. which has
caused many a bona fide settler his
home, has been strengthened and
made more unreasonable than ever.
It stipulates that the purchaser shall
reside upon the land at least three
and one.half years out Of the first six,
and that on period less than six
months continuous residence shall be
counted as part of these 81 years
Here again Is condition that will
run up against the finances of the
average settler. Most of the crops
adaptable to this country take quite
a long period before they bring re.
turns, coffee, rubber, sisal etc. will
not show entries on the right side of
the ledger until the six year period is
over, altho such quick crops as cane,
pineapples and bananas may bring in
money at the end of eighteen months
In the early part of the game. after
the crops are we'll planted the prin-
cipal work of these crops consists in
wedding, job that in many instau-
ces could be attended to by the sctt-
lcr's family while he might help out
his finances by work on neiShborng
plantations. Now, this condition is
worse than the one included In the
old right-Of.purChasc leases, in which
the residence clause stipulated two
years maintenance of a home on the
premises. The settler cannot do Il
weeks work away from his lot under
penalty of breaking up his continue.
SEES residence" and thereby extend his
time Of bondage. II the intent of the
clause is to stop the practice now in
vogue among the plantations of hay
ing some of their employees buy de-
slrable land to be turned over when
the title to It Is obtained, II will be
found to work the other way. Men
supported by rich corporations will
wait n long time and with no pliva-
tions at all for patent while a man
with small capital to invest will take
another think before he undertakes to
comply with such terms.
Conditions such as these two may
not be intended AS obstacles to intend.
Ing settlers, but they certainly are
Just as they are levers for corpora.