37 
REPORT  OF  THE  ADVISORY  LAND  LAW 
COMMISSION. 
MAJORITY  REPORT. 
To  the  Honorable  W.  F.  Frear, 
Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Hawaii. 
Sir:— This  Commission,  appointed  July  22,  1908,  to  report  dur- 
ing the  second  week  of  November,  1908,  primarily  on  legislation 
affecting  the  present  land  laws  of  the  Territory  of  Hawaii  and 
incidentally  on  the  question  of  the  administration  thereof,  respect- 
fully submits  the  following  report: 
Owing  to  the  shortness  of  the  time  within  which  to  make 
investigations  and  the  absence  from  Honolulu,  and  in  some  in- 
stances from  the  Territory,  of  a majority  of  the  members  of  the 
Commission,  this  report  should  be  considered  only  in  the  nature 
of  a partial  report.  The  Commission  finds  it  impossible  within 
the  limited  time  given  to  consider  many  of  the  details  of  the  pres- 
ent laws  and  will  accordingly  confine  its  report  to  some  of  the  most 
important  problems  presented,  principally  those  relating  to  home- 
steads. 
MEETINGS  AND  INFORMATION. 
Immediately  upon  its  appointment,  the  Commission  published 
notices  in  all  the  papers  published  in  the  Territory  in  all  lan- 
guages, requesting  suggestions  as  to  any  needed  legislation  or 
matters  of  administration,  responsive  to  which  notices,  sixty- 
three  communications  were  received.  Public  hearings  upon  duly 
advertised  notices  were  held  on  the  Islands  of  Oahu,  Hawaii, 
Maui  and  Kauai.  The  attendance  at  these  meetings  was  small. 
Except  in  the  instances  of  four  or  five  communications  and  a like 
number  of  persons  appearing  at  the  public  hearings,  very  few 
constructive  criticisms  or  feasible  remedies  for  suggested  evils 
were  received.  Discussions  were  almost  always  predicated  on 
specific  local  conditions  and  were  not  made  on  a basis  upon  which 
iaws  of  general  application  could  be  framed. 
LAND  LAWS  CONSISTENT  WITH  LOCAL  CONDITIONS. 
The  topography  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  illustrates  that  each  of 
the  principal  islands  has  a main  ridge  running  practically  across 
its  center.  The  land  inclines  from  the  center  alm'ost  to1  the  water’s 
edge.  The  surface  is  cut  by  a multitude  of  ravines  or  gulches. 
The  result  is  comparatively  few  level  stretches,  and  the  lands 
lying  on  the  incline  are  also  cut  by  gulches  and  ravines.  The 
highest  elevation  on  the  several  islands  is  as  follows : Hawaii, 
