The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-01-15

! Mr.. Mcclellan. The Bishop Estate
is charitable trust, Senator.
The Chairman. Yes; l know ii is.
Senator Warner. How do the other
lorCe estates compare with the Bishop
Estatef
Governor Freor. There are a num-
Der of other tracts owned by single
! individuals or corporations or estates,
the largest of which. ! think, does not
exceed 100000 acres owned in fee sim
| pie. There is one property consisting
Of 100000 acres, but large portion
| of il is under lease, some from the
government and some from private par
ties.
The Chairman. Are those lands
under cultivation, practically
Governor Frear Not ms rule
Portions of them are under cultiva-
ton. Very large portions of them are
incapable of cultivation, being cover
ed with recent lava flows or being
above the line of possible vegetation
high upon the mountains--or cut up
by canyons with PERCEPTIONS sides.
The Chairman. Such lands as yon
now describe are of no value at all,
supposed
Governor Frear. Large portions OF
these large estates are of little value.
For instance, the Bishop estate consists
of 375,0 acres recent investigation
by an expert has resulted in finding
that only 5 per cent of it is arabic.
think myself it is an underestimate, but
still that was the report
Senator Flint. Can you give MS the
names of other large landholders and
hn Vt nf .NaA
that is cultivated or can be cultivated 7
Governor Frear. / can give you
names; / could not give you areas. The
Campbell estate owns 10000 acres. Mr..
Aubrey Robinson owns an entire island
/ would not want to say just what the
area is, but over 10000 acres. Mr..
Charles Gay owns an entire island of
about 100000 acres. Mr.. Samuel Nor.
ris owns a tract of $4,000 acres. A
firm known as Gay & Robinson owns a
large area; I could not state what the
area is. Mr.. H. p. Baldwin is another
owner of large areas. Certain corpora.
tons own large areas. the Haleakala
Ranch Company, for instance.
The Chairman. We're those large es.
tates acquired since annexation or be.
fore7
Governor Frear. Almost entirely be,
fore.
The Chairman. Has there been much
acquisition of land in Hawaii by Ameri
cans since anneXation2
Governor Frear. Not as much as
could be desired. In 1890 good many
Americans settled there. They went
into the coffee industry, which had @
boom then, but it did not pan out as was
l Il : h. !
throw up their holdings. More recently
we have, through private enterprise and
the work of the federal experiment sta
ton, the territorial bureau of agricul
ture and forestry, the planters expert
ment station, and other means. develop
ed other industries than sugar-indus
tries that are more suitable to the small
proprietor, such as the production OF
|; pineapples, rubber, sisal, tobacco, cot
ton, and so on, and these are giving
much promise of success in the settle
mcnt of lands by Americans, particular
ly the pineapple industry.
The Chairman. Do YOU produce tn;
same kind of cotton there that we pro
duce in our Southern Statess
! Governor Frear. / think not. w,
produce the sea-island cotton.
The Chairman. The other is Ions
staple.
Governor Frear. That industry il
only just beginning this year. 1t has
not gone very far.
The Chairman. There is not great
production of cotton there. About how
much coffee do you produce there now
Governor Frear. 1t varies greatly.
can not give it to you in pounds, bu
,,1, 4
to $250,000 worth n year.
The Chairman. And is that produc
ton increasing since annexation, or di
minishing9
Governor Frear. 1t remains about
.. stationary.
The Chairman. 1t is about standing
stilll
Governor Frcar. Yes.
The Chairman. As to sugar, how
much of that are you producing now a
compared with the period prior to an
, nexation?
: which was 10000 tons larger than an,
: precious crop, was $4,000 tons.
she Chairman. That is cane suga
altogether
. Governor Frear. Altogether.
, ms NHdlIllaH' lou nave no nee
i sugar'
Governor Frear. No beet sugar.
l The Chairman. Are these large es
= tates devoted to sugar or coffee'
Governor Frear. Some of them, o.
: the lower portions of the land, partic
ularly; the arabic parts are in larg
= measure leased to others.
The Chairman. What are lands tina
l are occupied there by small farmers
if that is what you call them-wortl
!, on an averageP What are the average
= farm lands worth?
u Governor Frear. They vary, but no
T infrequently if they should be put N
y at auction and sold without condition
+ of residence and cultivation they woul'
g bring 800 an acre-unirrigated land.
l. The Chairman. You refer now t
> these government landsl
Governor Frear. The government
Q lands.
+ The Chairman. One hundred dollar
: an acre?
I Governor Frear. And in some case
the price would probably go up to $50
o an acre, where the lands are alread