Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 331, 25 November 1891 — POPULATION. [ARTICLE]

POPULATION.

The greatest need of these island? is populaiion; not a pouulati6n ol degraded eoolie laborers working in herds for the suppprt of the few capitaliets who owii them and the lands they till, but an intelligent peasantry engaged in agricultural pursuits upon holdingB of theirown, and having their little homea aiid families. This is the initial point of civi).ization, and the on)y trud basis of a prosperous state. This ean never be accomplished uniil we have a government cornpetent eo grapple with the question and with courage enough to tak> possession of the puhlie lande and cut them up for homestoad settlement; andl for whieh ther© is alre»dy ample law. Of all the peoples who have been I brought here as labor immigrante v the Portuguese are certainlv the most desirable, being the most civilizod.. and haye proved to be a vok' additipu to our populathe thrifty littl'> homes the slope? of Puneh--1 and elsc\vhere. And it is crr- :tlv I<> be regrettcd that «u many " > • j ai einigrated awav ag.iin t*ini-. '.f!y they conld .not proeu.re i ■: uj>on a.s iu«tc])i:n<l- » ■ t : s .ri]ltnrists, bv reason of the ) • >' ! t iho g<>vēriniienl ;itufplant-; v. In. »>rc f"r t v kwu thc l:nids < ; i •« !m hirgo ! ' * ■ f- x \Y years over| ° so have left these ik- j p . r ■ u onv carrying a\vay an! V'■;>•:(> ot al>out Air these! '* • ! 1 '> *»;»«<' \\viv ;;to ivn:nUi an<! , wonUi nave if tlioy eouUl | have aoqviiri.Nl non;eBtc;Hi. An inti !iigent .cov*rnnient ought to have koj>t theiu heiw and «I'ouhl Uieui ot the iandi® whieh ha\\f Iwon om u»holesale to

those fortUnate sugar*planters whe had the*"pull" ' There are many unfgrtunat& traits of eharacter in the Portuguese, but less so perhaps than with other classes of people brought here. For the purpose of Vepopulating these isīands we know' of no available neople better suited for the purpose than the Portuguese. Xet ns enumerate the points of exoellenee we find in them fur set« tlers. They are a sturdy and har<3y race of people, with an illostrious past, and contain the blood, bone and sinew that will build up & new race of Christian, civilized and industrious people wherewith to multiply and roplenish our depqpulated kingdom, They are naturallv domestio and raise large families of children: They are industrious and eeonomieal and not mueh given to the criminal vices: Their earnings are banked and invested in this country, and not hoarded and sent away, as is the case with the Chinese and J apanese; and in fact they eame to make this their final home if they have the least encouragement to do so. Their highest ambition is the Jandable one of acquiring a homestead for the. family whieh they may cultivate independently. They are not a turbulent people and tbey appear to live in *harmonv with our natives; thedomestic feuds whieh mafee the slope 4 s of Punehbowl ring out .3pme nights with wild cries, injures no one but the partv, whose hair is getting pulled, but these disagreeable peculiarities would probably die out with the new generation who would be better educated. Their unfortunatp. propensity i to petty thefts is tbe result of direct ! teaching in their ntttive land, and would probably disappear after a more intimate acquaintance wHh our poliee and poliee conrts, and the education of thek children in our schools. Their necessities of life are such as to create quite an active trade with retail dealers of dry goods, hardware and provisions, and those whose prosperity ailows them a little loxu**y are generous patron« of our dealers in California winee; a weaknew pephao #feieh is lar Jrom hiruilesse They are ChrißtianB; Cathohc Cfrrmtians *>f | course, and we are aware ihat tbi|U ii' one reason why our orthodo£; missionaries object to tb«m; but their Catbolicism is fyr froni fanaiieal and ratber of a liberal a«d non-serions order. Their government does not interfere with them, and does not bother with officions red-tape inquisitious ooncerning their welft\re here. such- as haniger Japanese immigrants and hamper EaBt. lndians The Portuguese governmeat trusts to our (?hristian laws and eivilizeti governmentto give their people ample protection: they have no navv, and no inelinnUon to meddlein the peUv affairs of the people who ehi>osc to wan«lcr to t>ther parts of the world, unless perhaps some serious outrago worc committo(l. In many parts of Africa and Asia, mitside ol the Pt>rtuguuse possessiot\s, aml it\ Rrazil aiul the t T »nted BtateH are uiaiw colanies of P<m-:u:m;. v, lio aiv unknown :ina in vor interferod wilh bv the home govorninenl. Their ch:ldron lx>rii horo are just as absoiuteiy Hawaiian as the venest kunaka for their government reJinquishes aīi eioiui to them when born under a foreign llag. They are ee?entū\tiy an agri(?uUural peopie,

§nd in the Az6res wbere jnost of>> iHnr Port«guese haii ftom 'with eli- 1 mate and eoil almost Bimilar ours, they are familiar with the cu!tivatioa of such. products 33 >grow here: Wine anel sagar are their staple prodactions; but they aleo cultivate oranges, lpaes, gaavas, mangoes, lotmats, fis;s, bananas and the last two export to the London *market. Grains is ālso. caltivated irhthe-uplands. To be Continned.