Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 400, 1 March 1892 — OUR PRESENT SITUATION. [ARTICLE]

OUR PRESENT SITUATION.

{ComMunicat*d). £ditor Ka L»o; It eannoi be d#nied tfeat the great indu«trj of cmr ooantr]r haa betn and now ie thc enHWaiion of »ogar, bdt thia ind»atry !hm tbe verge of ruin anleaa aome help amm. Per hapa Bom6 do not onderatand why it ie on the ver|ee of min. It ia beeauae that the U nited Statea onee had heavy dutie« upon sugar. whieh made the prioe of sugar in the United Btatea from four to six eenia a pound. The duties, however, were remitted upon Hawaiian engara by the treaty. Thia enabled the augar induatry to grow up and to heooōiē verv proaperoua in the Hawaiian Islandp. Now the Americans have taken the duty from sugar and aa a reault the pnee of eugar ia now so low in the United Btatca that tbere are almoat no plantationa in the Bandwieh lalanda that eao miae sugar eheap enoogh to live. For inatanoe. if the great of augar plantationa makee it ooet 100 to raiae a ton of gugar and only $55 ean be reoeived afler the payment of freight and ether chargee, it ia very evident that aiieh a augi»r plantatkm muat atop weric, heeauee it would be rainoua to go on. I aak you, Mr. Edltor, if tbe sugar induatry goea to tbe wall and is ruined, aahaa btea tbe map !b aoeoe ocmetrie« tlnit «m nel aa* *isM aa w* bave beeo, tbea whai fWI tbe depend t A large f»rt of tbe Ux«a are paid by tbi a«pr ind«airy; larg« aaM>unta !n rent are paid by the pl«ntationa to nativea who own knlaanaa and landa wtiere the Mgar piaiitationa ara B»tuntwJ. Tbe nativee who are workiug on pUntationa are yet able | li» K,»nt«*thing from the pUn* talioI!» i'i tb»» vni»»» gi vr*n U» pr« f*tn r«.np tU»'\* ti;i»y..'r?*i«e. .:t.«l fn»n» |tbe tii,it i.ity ?uav <HH»HBi<»n«tiv taU contraeta io go p!owing and

otber work upon whicb, aa we koi>w, i they make a good deal of tnoney. but if all tbeae things are to be kot. tben wbat is u> eome next? No tnte Hawaiun widbei> to eee the oountry go haek to the ooodition in whioh it was bel«re 18®0 or hofare 1870, when we found Uiai tho nativee nootly liwd in gmas houaee and had ?ery HtUe fromone end of the year to the nther; and when they d& not have ;tho benofite and advtntegn vkhb |lhor now havein matovial ikii#. | 1$ h al»o a Mr. Bdiiof« thai m. !ffM>ni irt iliaoowtffntfn! i|Hh Um ' pnwni yirtttkal itate nf tht īilamH j Tho boiieve, wbetber rigbtor wvefig, that ilMQrde not have tho poUlioali rigbt, iho poaUeal powor, tbo poHtioal priTlkgaa whieh tbey ahouh) bavo. They feel thM tbe po)itioai oonUol of tbo oottntry whioh waa lafgety in tbo h*ndc of tbe native Hawaiian haa now been takon away. Tbe queatsoii tberefore arim by wbat meana ahail a ohaage he bfooght ahout wboroby we mny bave a return of general prospority and there may be a more perfect political equality. I ocnf«88 tbat as I suryey tbe political horison and turn over in my mind tbe variouB meens by whieh we ean receive a generul benefit, equai «like to hII the people, there BeemB to me bui dne course whieh iaopen aud by whieh we may obtaio thoee rights and tiiat proeperity whieh we know we mUBtnaveor ruin will eome tothetx>untry. This oourae iBfor us to aak our great neighbor the United States to admit Hawaii to the American Union aa ono ofita parts. I knnw that the naūve Hawaiian has in yean paased droadod and feared tbe iub> ject of annezation. Tbere has heen a dread and fear whieh lhey w<mld not eaplain, perhapB, but whioh ezi«ted in cpito of«U aipymontB and preBQntotion of faot But I have thoogbl that within a few years past ihia has somewhat decreased. Native Hawaiian have discos«ed the raatter with me and in m? presence and have seemed to feel that annexation nottonly irouki not be terrib)e, but would be of great advantage to this country. Suppoeing thnt Hawaii were to ask the American Kepuhhe for admis* sion as one of its members t this would not be conquest. Thie would not be a kms of our importanoe or of our power or dignity. On tbe contrary we wo*ild at onee assumo a position of dignity and power Whioh we never belore have exerI daed. In beoomins a memher of that great and powerful coun\ry wo should secure anJ retain the rw* ! pooi of the eountriee whieh now rogardui«withgoodniitur«loontempt Out position of natural importanoo in the m»ddle of tho ooaan wimtd thon havo its fhli significanoe and pM»; but perbapB what isofgroat«r importance touo is tbe fact that bv the Hberal ooctBtitotion of that graat countrywo shouid at oqs4 «o~ cure that eqtmlity before tbe law whieh many Hawaiiana feoi doeo noi ozist u»der oar preaent oonoUtution. All of tbo >poliuoal powor woukl tbon go lnto tbe hamk of peeiple and oapiul as aueh wou!d | nol be recQgiiiBed aa hoving a vnioo in the gi»vernmen*. The lahoeoontratt whieh i» now regattl- |«! hy many aa a plotand sta»n upon Hawaiie fair reourd, woukl be «t on«.<o and forevor ohlitorated. And wh*t is gri>at* cr, iniportanco inftho minds of

raai*. oor expemm woold *t onoa be 80 redaci*d th«t «h**tiōii woold be light «nd j4 tnooffb weaid main aiter mrn*% tbe saiari«B ol whftt few (Moem we sboQiid vtq«itre. to teivo a krge wmplm tor tkat ia* ternal imprormaMt whlei» go on or wo M1 inlo tbe dark agx of savag«ry And I wil) ne*t aHompl to exptain th«w sogimn#innn ' I; ;- ■ ■ gUiWUU.