Hawaii Holomua, Volume I, Number 35, 28 October 1893 Edition 02 — The Hawaiian Islands [ARTICLE]

The Hawaiian Islands

| 18 SEES Bī EŪEOPEAK ETES. | — Tho Famou5 Traveller Otto E. Ehijcr.< writes his Irnprossions of Hawaii aiul Hawaiian Matters to KolnUKe Ztitung. I write vou to-dai from Kilauea. tbe greates‘. active VoIcano of our PIaaet. All aroond dense volomes of snlpbur and water vaj>ors are belcbing fortb. Before my eyes is expandod an endless lavabed, a sea of potrified waves. in tbo middle of wbicb is tbo crater Halemaiuuau (the houso of everlasting fire). BIootlred liqoid masses of lava are snrging to and fro, while eolumna of firo, fountains of red bot lava are thrown up, now here now tbere often in ten or more 8|>cts at tbe same time ont of the boiling flnid. I spent tbo best part of last night in contemplating tbis unsurpassed wonder of the world, tnūng to comprre roy sorroundings witb what tbey must have been tbousands of years ago. I bave seen notbing in all my travels tbat will bear tbe faintest comparison witb this sea of fire. While I was standing on t*he edge, the wall snrroundiug the lake bursted and a stream of )ava ten feet wide welled fortb like a cataract of water. and in a few minutes spread itself like a serpent all ovor tbe Iavabed. so I and tbe guide bad to beat a basty retreat, and I eouUln'i help tbinking that I already had one foot in Hell and I was quite satisfied with tbis as a start. It would requiro a pen of Dante to describe tbe sensations, I experienced of the road to hell, whieh is said to be paved with good resolntions. Bnt the road to hell on the Island of Hawaii is paved witb a more costly material. Wiih tbe exception of the at present time vacant Throne everything stands pretty high in pnee; it beats all description. At first tbe stranger coming to this conntry tries to kiek against haviug bis pocket coniinnalIy. tapped. be demursagamst paying 25 eents for a glass of Sodawater. 75 cents for a bottle of American beer. or 15.00 for at ix>ttle of “Sec.” He tries to get ont of tbo way of people who are not satisfied with anythiug less than a handfoli of doliars «s their daily ineome. and wearied to death, he picks up his food tfae «ame way as the Iittle aqunel does. in any plaee and o( any material available. For yoor pienty of money yon hare in this country far leaa tban yoa have in other coantries, (or far less money. Tbe Americans and more eepecially the Amenean missionaries bave filled ihe eouniry and ita popolaiion with their woen ont bumbug akoai eqoality ltberty aad fraternity Even the Chinese eook who raceires 135 a month aeeow to ihink. “ What is good enoagh for me to eal mnst ai leaai be good enough for

my m*»t«r ’ K yo« happoa to let * hack-dnr«r wait * liHIe !ong«r ihan usnal 0QUide o( yoar Hot«i, whiie yoo *re t*kiug yoar dinner, you run the ri*k tbat be wiii sannter ap to your table and i( yoa shouM neijIoct to antioi}>ate him with aa invita> tion he will teil you th»t it is aboat timo that we havo a “drink. From the day o( yoor iandiug you are accostomed to have this class o( people refer toyou as **that (ellow.” Eveiybody treats you as bon oomrade and everybody standsou an eijnal (ooting with eaeh other. Minister and Bartender, Stablemen, and Cbamberlains. Barberboys and Officers all alike, If yoa ring the l»ell iu the Hotel (or the waiter, he wil! probably tpp>-ir after half an hour or so smoking a cigar or chewiug an apple, and let _VOU amlerstand that he is n nt tberefor yourspocialaccommotiation, he will a!so give you a hiut aboat the iroprorriety of jingling that l>ell too londl v and toooften. The Hawaiian lslands are verv ofton referml to as **The Paradise of the Pacific.’’ In truth tbat's what tbey re«lly mighl bo witbout the Ainerican.s, Americanize>l Earopeans aml Asiatic«, as it is they are now morely a paradise for Hackdrivers, StampCollectors and Missionaries. The Iatter reign here as nowhere else in tho world. In their possesaion is an overwhe]ming portion of the land and the stores, and they really carry on as if the coontry belonged lo them. That tbey have not asyet entire!y succeeded in destroying the natives, who still to a eeiiain degreo po<*sess an amount of naivity. politenoss, kindness and inditference to the filtby lucn> of this wor!d, is certainlv not the fault of tbe Missionarios. The last revointiou in Hono* lulu, whieh emied with the dctbroning of the Queen and establishing h provisional govermnent is more or Iess the work of the M issionariejHg| From the--uulst of their party is then conseqaently also the present government elected. That a monarchy has already for a Iong time been a thorn in tho eyes of these apost!es o( Fret - dom, is not to be wondered at. However, i( it bad not b«en (or theMcKinley Bill. whieh imposed an import duty on raw sugar (rom whieh heretofore only tfae Hawaiian Islands had been exempt, and at the same time the paymeut o( a bounty o( 2 eU». per poand (or sagar prodoced in the United States, tbe deposing o( the Qneen and khe cry (or annexation to tba States woa!d noi hare been brooght ahout so soon. Up to tbts time tbe Hawaiian Planters got (or bls sngar in the American market 2 j cents mo;e than (or eiample his European competitor who a!so had to pay 2i cents import daty besides, a pre(erence whieh bronght this iittie ls>and Kingdom with a popolaiioo o( only 904)00 inhahitants an ioeome annnally ol ♦5,000.000. After the McKinley

Bill, thi<» a<lvant«ge for the Hanaiian PlanU-n fell »»*v, at the s.ime time tte sagar price« throoghoat the worid market fell. aud tberevitb the good days for Hawaii. seeme*l to have vanished forever. No wonder tben tbat tbe reisaii>oariea to whom beiongs a prent part of the sogar ioterest !ooke«l with Iongiog eye« towards the bounty, whieh their Americ*n brothers enjoyed and «igbed or longed to share it with there. A auiail revolution onder such circumstances eonhl easil%' bepat in action. They took advaut ge of the first thought!ess act of the to get nd of ber. and sent irnmediately a Comtnis8ion to W asbington. and offere<l to po| the whoie kingdom in the lap of l nele Sara. That they «lid not meet with the expecte«l enthua asm for annexation in the W hitc Hou»e is in my estimation an uudeserve«l inek for the Hawniian sngar planters. «»8 the a«loption of American Iabor-laws woahl l>e very disastroas to their in«lustry whieh are base«l opon 1 ihor furnished by contractlal>ort‘r8 bin«liug themselves for three vears. There has never yet arrive«l in Hnwaii a plauiulion laborer of free wili. The native people are thus prohibited from earuest work. aml bosides they dwindle away ia a frigbtful man nor. (Betweeu 18tU-1890 they hnve gone down from 40.014 to 34.430) and freo American laborers are not alone t'K> ex|>ensive. bnt neitber eouhl tbey stand the work re<]uire<l in a plantation fiehi. 8o withont the so calle«l contract laborors imported from Asia they could not exist. If Hawaii was aunexed todav the Japanese aml Ohinee* who work here aml who then woni«l enjov the s«me privileges in the United St>«tes «s their eounln inen there wouhl very likely use the first opportunity to break or eaneel their coutracts aml go to California wbere thev always eouhl earu more than $121 |»er month, (whieh is whut they receive ou the plantatious). Tbis threntening danger has dawned on the s e n s ib 1 e people aml their annexalion fever is. especi»lly nfter it seeros probal>Ie lbat the present democratic governraent in W*ghington will iake off the sugarbounty, considerabIy cooled off if not yet eome dowu to th«* freezing point. It is a r;ddle to me th«t their enthusiasm ever eouhl h»ve raised any bigher. Anyhow such a mixeil crowd as the ooe in Hooolulu, the oapiUl of the Hawaiian Islands, is difficull to UDderst«ud. Everyone that one meek» has a political programme of his own. aud dec!«ree that anybody else who is not of his ereed is 8Īmply a fooI. In favor of uoconditiou«l anne\ation are rea!ly oo!y the meuil*ers of the “Aaan* »tion Clob for the most part people wtio either b«ve nothing *o lo«e or who oxpect to get rew»rded with a fat goveroment olliee. Thcy make Ioud demon*Uati<ms with dispiay of Uie Ameneao fiag in ali eonceiv*ble plaeee aiul d i n g tnad at the (Jueen tbroogh their contemptible press in the coward!y manner. When il w»a the object to get tbe H«waiiaa ahip of 8Ute in the mud I ewerybody waa &hoving aad'

pul!ing for that pnrpose bat when it comes to float tbe ship again everrone ū pulling his own way. Oae sayst ‘If we can t get annexat on, the best thing we ean do is lo bave the Qneen restored.** Anotber wants to have Kamiani rthe beir presumptive) on tbe tbrone. a tbird ooe, a sugar planter who b*« bec.3roe a mdlionaire manv times ovet th<nks th s is bis opj<ortumtv to fonud a government of his own. while number I four believes in a republic aft«r the A«uerican model. | In the ineantime the ProvisiGoveruioent is sqnandering the public money, and expends abont five times hs mneh as it cost to keep the royal eonii, in order to show off with a few kundred soldiers who were scraped to- | gether in a burry fn<m a Iot of i bnmmers of different national- ' ities, and w u o beaides board, lodgipg and dothing receive $40 a inonth (abont tbe «louhle what t secon«l lientenant withont bv>ard i*n«l clothing receives from us). They «moke cigars while on guard,and insnlt innocent people who are passing by. At the head of this openi boutfe show of soldiers i» placed a f«<rmer dealer in stationery with the rank of Colonel who reeeives a month!y sulary of $2ō0. Thi« st«te of things cannot last very l«<ng. The gorHl citizens who uader the monarchy were growling ai>out the high taxes realize now that tbey have dropped from the fr>'ing-pan into the fire aiul wisb iu tbeir hearts tbat the preseut governraent bag aml huniile were in tbo interior of Halemaumnu.” V.’hat then wouKl happen, \f the stranded ship of 8tate again could get on an even keel, the Gcm1s only know. No* body here kuows aml neither do i: Ono of those from whom I got the iinpression that sbe was looking at things m a eool aml s msil>Ie way is the depoeed Qneen Liliuokaluni herself. I had a long serions talk with Her Majes tv aml carried away the convictiou that the Qneen who now acknowledges ber mistakes onlv bas the welfare of her people at heart and is always ready to make any personal sacrifices to further the of her conntxy. Liliuokalani, who sncceeded her well known brother Kulakaua in 1891. is a woman of bUmeless manncrs and has adopted foreign ways throughont She is a fnllblooded Hawaiian abont 55 years oKl and bas as tbe greater part of her conntrvwomen a digniiied erect bearing a Iittle inclined to corpnlence. a bronzehned skin and beautifol expressive eyes. Sbe received me in her uopretentious furnished villa dressed in a plain black ailkdress with pearl trimmings after Europeao style withont any show of jewelry. lt wonid be saying too mncb. that she is a I handsome woman. but she pos- j sesses morr than beauty, she has ' somothing winuing about her. I such dignifietl yet kindly vays ; tbat cannot bnt captivate one s heart. Besi«les she possessess a Ulent for cooversation • tbat many a crowned bead in : £orope wonhl envy ber. She I talks faultlees EugU»h «nd everything sbe says. oarrics conviction of soond eeoee aod a good beart. 1 was snr|<rtsed to hear her expreeaing. ber opiaion «boot tbe ( political etate of tbe eountry in ■

soch an oj»en way. anei Uje eonfidence with vbicb sbe trusteii t*> the fatare. In a month and « half or tvo months. she said. 1 expect to see things restor«d īo their former state. If \oo shoa!d romaiu here tbat long or <hoa)d return. she said, I vill be *ble to receive you in a ditTerent manner than it is |>ossibie for me to do undor preseut circum.stanees. She inquired about the Oemoan Emperor and £uipress whom she got aequainted vith daring the jubily festivities in in l''?* and >bowe\l to rav sarj'rise that she was thorooghlv well postetl about eveiything at the Berliaer Coort. Shespoke aboot j the late Emperor Friederick as a man of remarkable beaut?. I must confess that her recepj tion uia*l- quite au impressiou upon me and I parted with her with the sincere wish that her ; expectations raight be realized in a not too distant future. The happiest solution of the ■ Hawaiian qnestion set-ms to me to be iu the restoration of the monarchy under Araerican pro(ectorate. Au aunexation either to America or any other |>ower outside of the privilege of a c«>aling station soems to me to be of litt!e advantage either to the annexing or the annexed countn - . In regard to a proteotorate only America wotild be in qaestion withont doubt. A pos.sibi!ihof a German protectorate, although there is a popnlalion of 1034 Germaus here has uot been thoaght of neither won!d it be desintble. In the samo way would it l>e either with Englaud with her 1344 subjects or Portugal with her 8002 subjects. Although Hawaii is a most beuutiful conntry, and has the most eveu and delicious elimaie that ean be imagined. I depart after a three weeks stay from this little country surronnded by tbe oeean without auy tiuttering of the beart. This Paradise in the Pacific is already too mueh Americanized, so that a son of the East does not feel comfortable here. Besidos in this eountry a man witli aa onlinan German medium thirst cunnot exist withont expending $*2 a dav. If one shonld not have the inek to be a Croesas it would turn him into a lawbreaker or—horrible thooght—into a temperance man. To get myself oot of this dilemma, I intend to leave for America bv first opportunitv. 1 ‘