The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-09-28

but should act on paternal principles
The auction clause gives an advantage
to the rich man. / would like to SEE
the principal of ''first come first serv
ed" adopted, as was done in Minnesota
few weeks ago. I can speak for ter
or twelve settlers at Olaa, who have
no objection whatever to the lease witt
right of purchase. In reply to the
chairman, he said that the ballot prin
ciple of allotting lands would be all
right. He added that in what he haG
said about the time of non compulsory
residence, he referred to land with tim
Der or underground on it. recurring
clearing. If the land was ready fol-
cultivation, occupation could be insisted
upon from the time of taking posses
sion, that is, one year after taking
it up.
G. HI. Wears Gives His Views.
&. IL. Wears, as secretary to the Hilc
Board of Trade, attended in response to
invitation of the Commission, and stat
ed that in 1904 the Board of Trade was
asked to give its opinion on the land
laws OF the Territory. There had been
some question of the Interpretation OF
the terms of the right of purchase lease
Circular letters were sent out to the
homesteaders, and a number of ques.
tlons were asked relating to the home.
stead law. A committee of the Board
of Trade, which comprised DIR. HAYES
and I. E. Ray, compiled the report.
He had pleasure in handing in the
original report and in giving the Com
mission the privilege of making a copy
of it.
Being asked to give his opinion of
the law, Mr.. Wears said one thing that
impressed him more than anything else
was that the residence clause of the
homestead law was not half strict
enough. The object of this law was
to get farmers on the soil and make
1t produce something of value. He did
not think it was intended that clerks
and others in town should be able to
take up country land and speculate
with it. The only way to prevent such
speculation is to make the residence
clauses more strict than they are. PEG
pie in Hilo have been able to home
stead on lands seven or eight miles
away. They live continuously in Hio,
and only visit the land on Sundays and
holidays. A. number of them, after
they have got their patent, turn it over
to a corporation.
The Chairman: Would you allow
resident of town to take up land and
hold it without residence conditions for
three years, and then make continuous
residence compulsory all the time, or
for six months of the years
Wears: That would not bring any
more white farmers to the Territory.
would have the residence clause
stricter than that. I think it would BE-
well for the government to give lands
to settlers, and charge no rent or inter
EST for few years. IF not that, then
5he settlers should be charged only a
1ominal sum for the first two years.
J. Fl. williams States Facts and Opin.
ions.
G. Fl. Williams prefaeed his remarks
by saying that he presumed that the
1esire was to do away with speculation
n government lands. In his opinion,
he mainstay of speculation is allowing
man to homestead, without living ON
he land. If You allow man to take
I'D more than one homestead, you are
'obbing posterity. Some people have
'epeated four or FIVE times.
Mr.. Williams gave illustrations of the
Methods of repeaters. He went on to
ay that the question of appraisement
s rather a complicated one; the lands
yary so much in quality that no fixed
.ule can apply. He considered that the
aw as to settlement associations was
he most un-American of the land laws. |
rhe associations choose their own land, |
md neither the government nor the
land Commissioner has any say in the |
natter. After the land has been hand |
N over. the association takes no re- |
whatever for the fulfilling |
# the conditions. Some of the settlers
nav comply with their agreements, but
,thers do not even begin, and the gov
,rnment is powerless to compel them
IT TO cancel the association. 1t can |
,nIv cancel individual agreements. He
houoht it unfair that six persons
,hould have the power to pick out land,
While single individuals have no such
,ower. The association system was al
10 liable to lead to bribery. Usually
me man drums up and collects a Zee.
Those who contribute certain sum are
aiken in. while those who do not are
eft out.
The Chairman: What is your Judg-
nent. from your experience as Land
Commissioner, regarding the leasing
Mr. Williams said it was necessary
IN Hawaii that the settler should be
allowed one wear before he was com
neUed to reside on his lot. He thought
The residence clause should be elastic,
as under Governor Frear's new agree
ment.
Mr.. Williams was the last one to be
hoard nv the Commission at Hilo.
A Setta's Gibe.
Having chosen to meet on a day
when hundreds of people would be sure
not to be there Governor Frear's land
advisory commission, or rather three
seventies of it which is less than a
quorum. held forth in Hilo last week,
A Setta, the Hilo Portu-
guese organ. There appeared before 1t
some half a dozen well intentioned citi-
zens. The Commission viii now an
nounce that it met everybody interest
ed and that none of then appeared to
know what they wanted.
COMMISSIONERS ON MAUI.
\ L.