Hawaii Holomua, Volume II, Number 54, 6 March 1894 Edition 02 — Page 4 Advertisements Column 2 [ADVERTISEMENT]

THE POPLJLATIOX Of THE HAWAIIAN ISLA3fDS n. XATIVE POPULATION. Truly. the npid decrease ef the H«v«iian Aborīgine* withīn the last bacdred years tas c«asetl it i- be takeu for granted that. like so m.\ny other UDcivilized races suddenly tbro»n ii-to ct ntact with the vhite civiI : ,sation. thĪ3 race •h»o vas con<)emneti to otter extinction in a very short lapse of time, an itlea repeated *s a positive fact bv maoy woald-be aatborities wbo oagbt to know better. in re«lity. to fonnuIate any sncb otT handetl opinion on tbe qaes.tii»n is merely a proof of presomption or prejndice. beci<ase the past decrea.se does not f .ta!lv warrant its eoniinaanee. no more th«u it did in tbe ca.se of the >iew-Zealar.d M:«ories. «ml bec«ose the qnej*tion is really « difficuit one. evea to tbe earnest stadeut. owing to tbe laek of positive. trustworthy ftat*stics. The Governmei:t Censoses. and dedactions thertfroro, have never l*een reliable, or at least onlv so as approximations. acd the on!y rational way of eheeking and «djnsting tho>e officiel figurcs,— m: bv comparing them with tbe retarn of arrivals aud departures. and of birth «nd deatbs,—is ntterly auavai!ab)e, ou accoant of the constant ev»sions of tho C’ustom and Sbipping regu!at oas, and of the very looso s\>tem of Reg ; stration or‘*Kt. t tCivil' kept here. Even m Honolnln, tbi • registn*tinu »s veiy imperfect; bot. iu the oul ' d es{»eci«lly in such »s are tb.uly popalnted wt! * d inh«bitan:s, it is merely uominal, au quite a un>nbor of dc«tfas, as w«.ll as of births, go absolutely uun> tieed unrecorded. However, there is « growing opinion among thiiikipg men, that tbe brond notion of tbe iiu f >eudiitg extinction of the Hawaiian K iee is, to s>»y tbe le«st, prem;>ture. Hevenil of the leading Natives do nol even hesit»te to say thHt, at the present time. the harptng on that erroneous idea, is only a bngl>eHr used for poliiieal pur{H>ses, by the small clique of Foreigners who want to override the N »tive eleiuenl. and conveniently jnst fy their despoiling policy. In other words, the St»:itiraent seeras to be cryst«lising th«t tbe decrease of the Aborigines has seen its lowest ebb and that the lide has beguu to tnrn, so that, owing to the very l>rolific natoro of their Half-castos, the Hawaiiaus eau no louger be exj>ected to disapjH»ar, if they are at all taken care of as a Nation. both sanitarily and po!itical!y. Au en<{uin* on this m«tter may therefore be interosting, stjirting from the varimis findings of the ollieial Censuses, but taking thera on»y for what they roay be worth. aml not going bowever furtber back tban that of 1823, the first attcmpt at a connt m»de by the missionaries. The previous figures, based on a loose estiru«te by Cap. Go<>k, are absolute!y devoid of ar>y sciontifio accaracy and value, and moreover various extraordinary causes, —bitter wars and the gre»t pestilence of 1805. (the “oku i." most cert »inlv the Asiatic Cholera ) —contr>buted to make the decrease quite exceptional between 177ī> and 1823. W'e shall thus obtaiu one Table, B, showing tbe ollieiul figures embraciug the pure N*.itive8 au»l tbe Hauaiians Half-castes taken together. as a wh-le N'ative N'atiou; aml anotlier one, C, differentiating tho two eloraents. as divided since 1860 only. Tabi.e B — Decrease of N’ativks. («) inelu.imi; t)w loWKiwn tbro on tb* l«U&.)«: mc!udim{ 3SB wh tc rbildicn «nd •V*S h*lf-»w*tc chi..)rrc. hct rx>C inelai'in»; )S' wh:t« *ith, ihe tot«l u( a»1alt F---mgiixn Uu>g rr«J!r 1,015; t f- Inc»u.ana ttw t’h>i»**e Uvinff io Honolaln; (d) 0*in|C U> the »e I- ntwWr o( n>«nbng tbr*ieChincw with tbr Nnnem. tbr p«teeatH|rrs of Uie tww penods «rv f*nlty, a«d l CDtKĪ>)er (fa-t ihr prrpvrtions woal<i he monr ne»r)r CMrrrct *t rerpect>Tcl* 6.8 u! 5.5. U'i 11.2 iot««d ol 12.4. Table 0. («1 1 eoainnie) thiT ia l# 4 * «ad *iBi uyu«t«is th«i it »rae enoeeuw» Had to iw»« 3e«a dbual I.IOO 1b a general w«y, the ab*»ve T*bles g*> lo *bow « total lVcraaae. in 67 years, of 107, 611 K«tiv««, —75 per eenl. of the whole amounl, —or Ukiog ioto «eoounl the incre«smg Hawmiian Half-cast»M, a loa* ol 101 4 S, ar <2 p**r «oL makiug an annnai mean d«ermm of 1514 poople. Argaiag on a Vimilar nte. after the Ceasos of 1850, tbe Mwioiuimi prophetised frora the palpil. the eomp)ete extinctioo of the Nativw wiihin the 40year» now j«srt elapeed (l). whil*t. on the contrary, the namber of X«tīve« still exi»tiag «o d«y uproiwmn as moeh «s one-h«lf of Ihe oamber reconbsl ia 1850. their' yearly rale of the deerea«e » comūderably le*eoed.aod th«re m • growing f«etor ol Half-e«atee whieh the MMŪooane» oot fatmae, thoogh aeemml of Ihem are ik» .1) »4 <4 UH ltM Ct th* ūm •y. <4 th»t V» the u-.h t««h»