Nuhou, Volume I, Number 17, 22 April 1873 — "An Immigration Ring." [ARTICLE]
"An Immigration Ring."
Our 'Shepherd, who has immigiution on thc brai"n, toak part ii> &uch a " i'ing ,J as J)irjtod at, Whea in Ban Fran(:-2eco, February, 1870, he found the labor niai'ket and the Labor Esehange t crowded with people wanting to work. He entered into chat wieli the manager of the Exchaiige 5 AJ'r. Zeliandelaer, about the Isiand of Lanai', who thought that it oftered an opportunity forproiitahlē la)>or. A notīee, pi'opußing a planting experiment on Bhares was put up on the bulletin board of tJie Exehange, lo whie.h hundreds responded, Uur Shepherd toid the applicants that it \vas posJiible tor an able-bodiedman to make a verv iiandsoine ineome bj plantmg sugar eane on his island, as is now done by an enterprisingcompanj of men at Lincolnville, on the e3tate of <Japt, Jame§ Makee, und he promised to lead them | to a land flowing with goafc 7 0 miik and mntton,: and wiih molasses and eweefc potatoes, j Ile 6implj proposed that eaeh emigrant eliould deposifc with liim $35 for his passage, whieh was done with the knowledge and eoneurrenee of the Ilawaiian ConsuL Tmrty-two were seleeted outof over 500 people who were ready to aceompany tlie Shepherd. Ile reeeived $1,110 for paseage money, but he migiit have eolleeted $15,000. Witli this $1,110 he p*ud the passagcs of thirtytvyo people to Honolulei, and when lie arrived there, boarded them three ~(lays at the llome, and then shipped them to Lanai. Do you suppose there wae any margin on this ? Any Bane man wili feel that there coiild not be. tliere was a loss, a considerable sutn out of pocket, voiichers wilf plainly show. But the Shepherd j Jiad his īiopes in a share oi the labor of these J people, and our brother of the OaieMe, then of! rhe P. C, A. had sueh hopes, as will be seen in ! what he says, Mareh 12, 1870 : Immigi'ation from the right source, Thirtytwo (einigrants) eome under the auspiees of Capt. \Valter M. Gibson, who proposes to giye them employment on Lanai, where lie has been located for ten years past, and' carried on his operations with success. This example of Captain Gibson is just what is wanted here, and if we had more acfcive men of his «eal, who are ready to dosomething for the development of the resources of the eountry, instead of mere talking, we should from year to year give evidenee of more rapid growth ihan we do.' J "W hen the Shepherd and. his company arrived ou j Lānai, lie was disheartened at the appeamnee of; the iskuid. " A eontinued drought, mueh worsei than he had been prepared to espect, hie* ivBual green valleys look brown and ūnhlviting to' the iarmer enfcering ii new country. llowever, he! ēncouraged as he besfc eould, but thedrlught eou-' tinued, j\nd the people who lmd beeii demoralized in Uonolulu by the talk of idlers, who donothmg! and only Jalk, began to go away, and some, as | they r met with £ympathizers rcady to euggest evij, 1 thought they would trv to make the Shepherd pay ] for thcir loet time. 110 waa sued, and worried, I and harriedV an\l finally aāer epeuding over $-»000 in retimi passages aud in law espenses, | he saw the laet of lus Xi immigration ring. ? ? lle sajs that in this venture the drought did not hurt hiin near £o bad f nor make his eāieme a! tailure eo muehl\s the lying, eowardly slauder of I Bueh ereatures as aro now writing Tor the (» . They enebMraged sneh men Forl>es, and Perkins to defraud the Shepherd, and eo put thetti in a to «windle this eommumiy, wlneli they did to an auiount over $1,500. Aud it tho insinuations of the*e 6windlere that h\ »i w repcated In the <i\i: •a*