Template:614-615 - Revision history

Jere Krischel at 09:22, 31 December 2005

2005-12-31T09:22:04Z

Ken Conklin at 19:53, 29 December 2005

2005-12-29T19:53:19Z

Jere Krischel at 18:53, 11 December 2005

2005-12-11T18:53:18Z

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614 HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
Mr. SPALDING. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. AS a resting place, coaling station—place for rest
ing ships ?
Mr. SPALDING. It has been a coaling station for the United States
for a number of years.
The CHAIRMAN. As a place I have described, is it resorted to by vessels
in numbers?
Mr. SPALDING. Do you mean Pearl River harbor?
The CHAIRMAN. Honolulu?
Mr. SPALDING. The Austrian war ship Donau came in there several
years ago with her steering apparatus gone. She had to spend a few
months there and thousands of dollars in temporary repairs. Vessels
are coming all the time for the same purpose. It is the only place that
I consider valuable in the North Pacific. The South Pacific is full of
islands; the North Pacific has no islands practically. There are a
few little spots in the North Pacific beside the Hawaiian group, but they
are hardly inhabitable.
The CHAIRMAN. Then your zeal as an annexationist is built on the
naval and commercial value of the islands to the United States.
Mr. SPALDING. If it is not desirable for the United States to hold
Pearl Elver, if it is not desirable for the United States to have that
country as an outpost, it is not worth while for them to have anything
to do with the country, because as an agricultural country, mineral
country, and mercantile and manufacturing country it is of small value.
Senator FRYE. HOW would the building of the Nicaragua canal
increase the importance of those islands to the United States?
Mr. SPALDING. It would make Honolulu just so much more important
as a stopping place in crossing the Pacific Oce;in.
Senator FRYE. If the Nicaraguan canal were built, what, in your
judgment, would be the result upon our country's interests to have the
Hawaiian Islands go into the hands of the English Government?
Mr. SPALDING. Since 1867 I have felt that it would be a very bad
thing for the islands to go into the hands of Great Britain with or without
the Nicaraguan canal. During thecivil war we had the privateers up
north among our whaling ships, and those privateers never could have
gotten up there if one of our war ships had rendezvoused at Honolulu.
The Hawaiian Islands are in a direct line between the British possessions
of North America and the British possessions of Australia.
The CHAIRMAN. Without the annexation of Hawaii in connection
with the Nicaraguan canal, but taking the conditions as they are, you
think the construction of a cable to the United States between San
Francisco and Honolulu would be of great importance?
Mr. SPALDING. Yes. I tried to bring it about some years ago. We
had a concession from the Hawaiian Government which we proposed to
turn over to any company that might be formed under the auspices of
the United States, but we could not get the aid of the United States
in building the cable, and, of course, there was not enough business
to attempt it without that.
The CHAIRMAN. What is the general character of the Portuguese
who occupy Hawaii?
Mr. SPALDING. The Portuguese who came there were mostly men
brought out from the Madeira Islands for laboring on the plantations.
So long as we paid them j>retty good prices for their labor, of course,
they remained. They were under agreement to remain with us for a
term of years, three years I think, and at the expiration of their agree-
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 6 If)
ment a good many of them went to California, thinking that they could
do better. They are not a people who are reliable as settlers; we can
not depend upon their settling in the community.
The CHAIRMAN. YOU mean, remaining in the community?
Mr. SPALDING. Kemaining. They move about. If they think they
can get a small addition in the way of wages they think it better for
them to go. I was instrumental in erecting a Catholic church on my
plantation, gave them the land and helped them put it up, because I
had quite a number working for me. But I find that most of them
have gone away after the expiration of their contracts.
The CHAIRMAN. As to their citizenship?
Mr. SPALDING. I do not think they are very advantageous people as
citizens.
The CHAIRMAN. Are they disadvantageous?
Mr. SPALDING. Not if you have them in small numbers. If you have
them in large numbers, yes; if you had too many of them, that would
be disadvantageous.
The CHAIRMAN. Are they turbulent?
Mr. SPALDING. They are apt to be quarrelsome, and not always reliable.
The CHAIRMAN. How do they got along with the native population?
Mr. SPALDING. I do not think they have any trouble with the native
population. They are a very saving people—in some respects a very
hard working people—especially where they are working for themselves.
Senator FRYE. They are pretty thrifty people?
Mr. SPALDING. Pretty thrifty.
The CHAIRMAN. HOW about the Japanese. What kind of citizens do
they become?
Mr. SPALDING. We have not had them long enough to say. We do
not expect citizens on the plantations to do as in the towns and cities.
The CHAIRMAN. But the Portuguese have the right as citizens to
vote?
Mr. SPALDING. Yes.
The CIIALRMAN. The Japanese have not the right?
Mr. SPALDING. The Japanese and Chinese. The Japanese Government
have claimed that right, but we have never allowed it. I say
we; I speak of the country. I was not an official.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chinese—how do they demean themselves in
that country?
Mr. SPALDING. Fairly well.
The CHAIRMAN. DO they intermarry with the natives?
Mr. SPALDING. They do not intermarry with the natives very much.
The CHAIRMAN. NOW, taking the Portuguese, the Europeans, the
Americans, and the Kanakas, with their present rights of suffrage
regulated by the constitution of 1887, and suppose yon were to continue
that and have your Government republican in form, under a written
constitution, would you consider that a safe form of government
for that country ?
Mr. SPALDING. NO; 1 should not consider that a republican form of
government, with the suffrage as we have had it since 1887 (which was
very liberal), a good form of government for that country, because
there is not enough to the country. The country is not valuable
enough; it is of no use to divide it up into small farms, because one
farmer would have to sell to another farmer. I have known but one

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{p|614}}
-Mr. SPALDING. Yes.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} Yes.
-The CHAIRMAN. As a resting place, coaling station—place for resting ships?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} As a resting place, coaling station—place for resting ships?
-Mr. SPALDING. It has been a coaling station for the United States for a number of years.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} It has been a coaling station for the United States for a number of years.
-The CHAIRMAN. As a place I have described, is it resorted to by vessels in numbers?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} As a place I have described, is it resorted to by vessels in numbers?
-Mr. SPALDING. Do you mean Pearl River harbor?
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} Do you mean Pearl River harbor?
-The CHAIRMAN. Honolulu?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} Honolulu?
-Mr. SPALDING. The Austrian war ship ''Donau'' came in there several years ago with her steering apparatus gone. She had to spend a few months there and thousands of dollars in temporary repairs. Vessels are coming all the time for the same purpose. It is the only place that I consider valuable in the North Pacific. The South Pacific is full of islands; the North Pacific has no islands practically. There are a few little spots in the North Pacific beside the Hawaiian group, but they are hardly inhabitable.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} The Austrian war ship ''Donau'' came in there several years ago with her steering apparatus gone. She had to spend a few months there and thousands of dollars in temporary repairs. Vessels are coming all the time for the same purpose. It is the only place that I consider valuable in the North Pacific. The South Pacific is full of islands; the North Pacific has no islands practically. There are a few little spots in the North Pacific beside the Hawaiian group, but they are hardly inhabitable.
-The CHAIRMAN. Then your zeal as an annexationist is built on the naval and commercial value of the islands to the United States.
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} Then your zeal as an annexationist is built on the naval and commercial value of the islands to the United States.
-Mr. SPALDING. If it is not desirable for the United States to hold Pearl River, if it is not desirable for the United States to have that country as an outpost, it is not worth while for them to have anything to do with the country, because as an agricultural country, mineral country, and mercantile and manufacturing country it is of small value.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} If it is not desirable for the United States to hold Pearl River, if it is not desirable for the United States to have that country as an outpost, it is not worth while for them to have anything to do with the country, because as an agricultural country, mineral country, and mercantile and manufacturing country it is of small value.
-Senator FRYE. How would the building of the Nicaragua canal increase the importance of those islands to the United States?
+Senator {{sc|Frye.}} How would the building of the Nicaragua canal increase the importance of those islands to the United States?
-Mr. SPALDING. It would make Honolulu just so much more important as a stopping place in crossing the Pacific Ocean.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} It would make Honolulu just so much more important as a stopping place in crossing the Pacific Ocean.
-Senator FRYE. If the Nicaraguan canal were built, what, in your judgment, would be the result upon our country's interests to have the Hawaiian Islands go into the hands of the English Government?
+Senator {{sc|Frye.}} If the Nicaraguan canal were built, what, in your judgment, would be the result upon our country's interests to have the Hawaiian Islands go into the hands of the English Government?
-Mr. SPALDING. Since 1867 I have felt that it would be a very bad thing for the islands to go into the hands of Great Britain with or without the Nicaraguan canal. During the civil war we had the privateers up north among our whaling ships, and those privateers never could have gotten up there if one of our war ships had rendezvoused at Honolulu. The Hawaiian Islands are in a direct line between the British possessions of North America and the British possessions of Australia.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} Since 1867 I have felt that it would be a very bad thing for the islands to go into the hands of Great Britain with or without the Nicaraguan canal. During the civil war we had the privateers up north among our whaling ships, and those privateers never could have gotten up there if one of our war ships had rendezvoused at Honolulu. The Hawaiian Islands are in a direct line between the British possessions of North America and the British possessions of Australia.
-The CHAIRMAN. Without the annexation of Hawaii in connection with the Nicaraguan canal, but taking the conditions as they are, you think the construction of a cable to the United States between San Francisco and Honolulu would be of great importance?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} Without the annexation of Hawaii in connection with the Nicaraguan canal, but taking the conditions as they are, you think the construction of a cable to the United States between San Francisco and Honolulu would be of great importance?
-Mr. SPALDING. Yes. I tried to bring it about some years ago. We had a concession from the Hawaiian Government which we proposed to turn over to any company that might be formed under the auspices of the United States, but we could not get the aid of the United States in building the cable, and, of course, there was not enough business to attempt it without that.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} Yes. I tried to bring it about some years ago. We had a concession from the Hawaiian Government which we proposed to turn over to any company that might be formed under the auspices of the United States, but we could not get the aid of the United States in building the cable, and, of course, there was not enough business to attempt it without that.
-The CHAIRMAN. What is the general character of the Portuguese who occupy Hawaii?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} What is the general character of the Portuguese who occupy Hawaii?
-Mr. SPALDING. The Portuguese who came there were mostly men brought out from the Madeira Islands for laboring on the plantations. So long as we paid them pretty good prices for their labor, of course, they remained. They were under agreement to remain with us for a term of years, three years I think, and at the expiration of their agreement
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} The Portuguese who came there were mostly men brought out from the Madeira Islands for laboring on the plantations. So long as we paid them pretty good prices for their labor, of course, they remained. They were under agreement to remain with us for a term of years, three years I think, and at the expiration of their agreement
 {{p|615}}
@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 a good many of them went to California, thinking that they could do better. They are not a people who are reliable as settlers; we can not depend upon their settling in the community.
-The CHAIRMAN. You mean, remaining in the community?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} You mean, remaining in the community?
-Mr. SPALDING. Remaining. They move about. If they think they can get a small addition in the way of wages they think it better for them to go. I was instrumental in erecting a Catholic church on my plantation, gave them the land and helped them put it up, because I had quite a number working for me. But I find that most of them have gone away after the expiration of their contracts.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} Remaining. They move about. If they think they can get a small addition in the way of wages they think it better for them to go. I was instrumental in erecting a Catholic church on my plantation, gave them the land and helped them put it up, because I had quite a number working for me. But I find that most of them have gone away after the expiration of their contracts.
-The CHAIRMAN. As to their citizenship?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} As to their citizenship?
-Mr. SPALDING. I do not think they are very advantageous people as citizens.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} I do not think they are very advantageous people as citizens.
-The CHAIRMAN. Are they disadvantageous?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} Are they disadvantageous?
-Mr. SPALDING. Not if you have them in small numbers. If you have them in large numbers, yes; if you had too many of them, that would be disadvantageous.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} Not if you have them in small numbers. If you have them in large numbers, yes; if you had too many of them, that would be disadvantageous.
-The CHAIRMAN. Are they turbulent?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} Are they turbulent?
-Mr. SPALDING. They are apt to be quarrelsome, and not always reliable.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} They are apt to be quarrelsome, and not always reliable.
-The CHAIRMAN. How do they got along with the native population?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} How do they got along with the native population?
-Mr. SPALDING. I do not think they have any trouble with the native population. They are a very saving people—in some respects a very hard working people—especially where they are working for themselves.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} I do not think they have any trouble with the native population. They are a very saving people—in some respects a very hard working people—especially where they are working for themselves.
-Senator FRYE. They are pretty thrifty people?
+Senator {{sc|Frye.}} They are pretty thrifty people?
-Mr. SPALDING. Pretty thrifty.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} Pretty thrifty.
-The CHAIRMAN. How about the Japanese. What kind of citizens do they become?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} How about the Japanese. What kind of citizens do they become?
-Mr. SPALDING. We have not had them long enough to say. We do not expect citizens on the plantations to do as in the towns and cities.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} We have not had them long enough to say. We do not expect citizens on the plantations to do as in the towns and cities.
-The CHAIRMAN. But the Portuguese have the right as citizens to vote?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} But the Portuguese have the right as citizens to vote?
-Mr. SPALDING. Yes.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} Yes.
-The CHAIRMAN. The Japanese have not the right?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} The Japanese have not the right?
-Mr. SPALDING. The Japanese and Chinese. The Japanese Government have claimed that right, but we have never allowed it. I say we; I speak of the country. I was not an official.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} The Japanese and Chinese. The Japanese Government have claimed that right, but we have never allowed it. I say we; I speak of the country. I was not an official.
-The CHAIRMAN. The Chinese—how do they demean themselves in that country?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} The Chinese—how do they demean themselves in that country?
-Mr. SPALDING. Fairly well.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} Fairly well.
-The CHAIRMAN. Do they intermarry with the natives?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} Do they intermarry with the natives?
-Mr. SPALDING. They do not intermarry with the natives very much.
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} They do not intermarry with the natives very much.
-The CHAIRMAN. Now, taking the Portuguese, the Europeans, the Americans, and the Kanakas, with their present rights of suffrage regulated by the constitution of 1887, and suppose you were to continue that and have your Government republican in form, under a written constitution, would you consider that a safe form of government for that country?
+The {{sc|Chairman.}} Now, taking the Portuguese, the Europeans, the Americans, and the Kanakas, with their present rights of suffrage regulated by the constitution of 1887, and suppose you were to continue that and have your Government republican in form, under a written constitution, would you consider that a safe form of government for that country?
-Mr. SPALDING. No; I should not consider that a republican form of government, with the suffrage as we have had it since 1887 (which was very liberal), a good form of government for that country, because there is not enough to the country. The country is not valuable enough; it is of no use to divide it up into small farms, because one farmer would have to sell to another farmer. I have known but one
+Mr. {{sc|Spalding.}} No; I should not consider that a republican form of government, with the suffrage as we have had it since 1887 (which was very liberal), a good form of government for that country, because there is not enough to the country. The country is not valuable enough; it is of no use to divide it up into small farms, because one farmer would have to sell to another farmer. I have known but one