Template:608-609

-p608-

instance, when they want a church, I give them a piece of land to put it on, and give them the use of my carpenters in building it, and help them secure the money to build it with—help them secure their churches and schools.

The CHAIRMAN. Are the natives interested in such matters as those?

Mr. SPALDING. Yes; they are all, as a rule, interested in their little churches and in their schools. We have two quite good-sized schoolhouses, which makes quite a large school, on my own plantation, a short distance from the mill. I gave the land to them and assisted them in putting up their building. The school may be said to be right under my eye. My financial clerk is the agent of the Government school board, or board of education, in all its financial transactions.

The CHAIRMAN. Do the natives participate in all these public institutions?

Mr. SPALDING. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Freely and with spirit?

Mr. SPALDING. They attend these schools. Education is compulsory up to a certain age.

The CHAIRMAN. Are the people in harmony with that sentiment of progress, improvement, and enlightenment?

Mr. SPALDING. As far as you could expect them to be.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there any antagonism to it?

Mr. SPALDING. I think not. In some cases, where the natives are by themselves, away from the plantations, they may have been imbued with the idea that the foreigners are aggressive people, trying to get possession of their property, and it is necessary to fight them off; and in political campaigns stories have been told to them by officeseekers that would, perhaps, in some instances, estrange them from foreigners with whom they would otherwise have been on good terms.

The CHAIRMAN. So that you would say that amongst the native Kanaka population the general drift of feeling or opinion would be in favor of those institutions first established by the missionaries?

Mr. SPALDING. Yes. And the natives have looked more upon the United States as the father of their Government. They always speak of the American war ships as "our war ships," in contradistinction from the British war ships; and the 4th of July, has been the gala day of the country. We have the Kamehameha day. The Kamehameha day is the first; that is the 11th of June; but they have always celebrated the 4th day of July as the gala day of the country.

The CHAIRMAN. Kamehameha I was a chief?

Mr. SPALDING. He was a high chief. He was not Royal blood but he was a nephew of one of the Kings of Hawaii.

The CHAIRMAN. At the time he came to the front there were kings over these islands?

Mr. SPALDING. A half dozen. There were three kings on Hawaii alone.

The CHAIRMAN. He established himself by uniting all these kingdoms into his empire?

Mr. SPALDING. Yes; by force.

The CHAIRMAN. And there is where the Kamehameha family took its origin as a royal dynasty?

Mr. SPALDING. Yes. One part of the island of Hawaii was left by the king of that section—there were three kings there—to Kamehameha and to the son of the old King when he, the old King, died. Afterward

-p609-

the son, through the influence of some of his chiefs, attempted to wrest from Kamehameha his share of this part of the Kingdom. He was defeated, killed, slain in battle. Then Kamehameha went to work and conquered the balance of Hawaii and the other islands.

The CHAIRMAN. I suppose you have examined Jarvis History of Hawaii?

Mr. SPALDING. In old times.

The CHAIRMAN. Is that considered authentic—a correct history?

Mr. SPALDING. I think so. One of the best histories is a short one by Prof. Alexander.

The CHAIRMAN. But Jarvis' History is a standard work?

Mr. SPALDING. It has always been so regarded on historical questions.

The CHAIRMAN. What are your annual taxes to the Hawaiian Government?

Mr. SPALDING. I pay on my plantation—of course I practically own the whole plantation; I have it in the form of a stock company, but I own 4,915 shares out of 5,000, so that my taxes amount to $8,000 or $9,000 a year.

The CHAIRMAN. What are your estates there valued at; what do you think a reasonable value on your estate?

Mr. SPALDING. My estate?

The CHAIRMAN. The estate which you control by this arrangement of which you have been speaking.

Mr. SPALDING. I should consider it worth from a million of dollars upwards. It depends somewhat upon the outlook.

The CHAIRMAN. The taxes you speak of paying, $8,000 or $9,000 a year, I suppose are direct taxes to the Government?

Mr. SPALDING. Direct taxes; yes.

The CHAIRMAN. In addition to them you pay the tariff tax?

Mr. SPALDING. Oh, certainly.

The CHAIRMAN. So that your entire taxation during the year would amount to considerably more than that?

Mr. SPALDING. Yes; $10,000 or $12,000 a year.

The CHAIRMAN. Let me ask you what is your estimate—it is not expected to be accurate—of the present value of the investments made by American citizens in the Hawaiian Islands?

Mr. SPALDING. If the times were good I should say those investments were $50,000,000; being very bad the value is not over $30,000,000; but anywhere from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000.

The CHAIRMAN. Thirty million dollars would be the minimum?

Mr. SPALDING. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Are you a citizen of Hawaii?

Mr. SPALDING. I voted in 1887, but I have not taken the oath of allegiance in Hawaii. I have not lost my citizenship in the United States.

The CHAIRMAN. That is a process of naturalization there, to take the oath of allegiance?

Mr. SPALDING. Yes; I do not know how the United States would regard it. Previous to 1887 you could not vote without having taken the oath of allegiance. That was changed under the laws of 1887 so that you could register, and you would simply have to take the oath to support the constitution, but not become a citizen.

The CHAIRMAN. Somewhat similar to the privilege granted by some of the States with regard to signifying an intention?

S. Doc. 231, pt 6----39