The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1863-08-27
C. WI
THURSDAY, AUGUST p. 1865.

injecting Of merchants, and others interested in impor,a-
lions from the United States, was held on Saturday last. at the
call Of COMMITTEES appointed at a previous meeting, to request
an Interview with His Royal HlsItness the ac;iag Minister Of
Finance, fs the purpose Of presenting a communication with
reference 20 the eSact5ou By the government, ef 10 per cent.
duties o. the nominal value Of invoices from the Eastern United
States. ilvo5ced in the paper currency OF that country.
We understand the Committee reported that II. L. II. was
unable to receive them, but had received the communication
Of the merchants, and his reply was read to the meeting. This
reply WIS deemed un4vorabSe to the interests represented at
The meeting, and therefore the meeting voted % iay the CORES
pJHdence, with a statement Of the case, before the United States
Minister Resident AID appointed a Committee to call upon the
Minister. and requrs, his intercession ia behaIfO OF the CONNER
eial interests Of the United States with this Kingdom, which
they deemed had. AMI would suffer By this action Of the
Hawaiian Government.
The statement Of the case, as we have learned it, is as fol-
lows: On the arrival Of the bark Aretie here rom Boston,
last March. n number OF importers ~ her PettioEed the acting
Minister Cf Finance TO make certain deduction from the appa-
rent value Of ,heir invoices, on which the duty Of 10 per cent.
was TO be levied, on the grsInd that they were irvoiced in the
legal tender Paper Currency o. the United States, and that
the sum did not represent the actual adj uaiOie en- cost of the
same, in the currency Of this Kingdom, by Il ; much as the
difference between the values Of Gold and Paper Currency at
the date Of their purchase This principle hal already been
recognized by the Government Of Canada ia ali cases of ad
raIOrem duties. Tin England and France the duties being
moSty specific, the case did not call for special action)
ne reply Of thu Minister to this petition, was to the effect
that the government acknowledged the justice Of the principle
upon which the claim was based. but tia; the merchants
should have presented documentary evidence as t0 the amount
Of deduction which should be allowed. This some Of the parties
Interested immediately proceeded to do, but befor. they could
obtain the evidence required, the government issued The circu-
lar Of April ISth, which We r-pubIshed in our commercial
Column Of the l3sh August, and, when the certificate Of the
Hawaiian Consul at Boston, certifying to the relative values of
Gold and Paper Currency at the date of the ATt tics sailing
was presented, the government replied, that the action of tn.
ruiz established by their circular was not retrospective, thus
pvirJuaiy excluding, by their action of April lstl, from the
benefits Of tire rule, those, who, relying on the acknowledgement
BY the government on March 3Oth, of the justice Of their claim,
hMA I-ur TO- ..- ,-.=. - rr,mur,-y "a vGr.r arETcE fIa
government had stated as necessary to substAntiate their
claim.
On the arrival OF the bark Helen Mar. from Boston, there
was received by one Of the con-igD-es a certihcs:e from the
Hawaiian Consul at Boaon, sent to be placed in the Custom
House here for the benefit OF all concerned. and th,s who had
applied to that official in Boston for the uecessary certificates
for their invoices, we're told that the one certificate furnished
would be sufficient tor all the invoices. As compIialce with the
Custom House regulations here was clearly impossible, owing
to the failure Of the government to notify their Consul what
form Of certificate To send, with the same Dispatches the mer-
chants had ordered their correspondents to obtain. the certih-
Gates, the importers BY that vessel requested the government
TO either allow that certificate TO apply to their int1ices, or to
grant time to obtain new certificates in the prescribed form. To
this request We learn the government replied, th:t unless all
the requirements OF the circular of the 18th April were COM
piled with IA thing impossible, az shown above) ~ deduction
couLt be made, thus excluding importers by those Eessels from
the benefits Of the rule. by making Its conditions Impossible to
fulfil, and as Gold is steadily falling in the United States max
ing its concession amount to little or nothing The matter hay
ing nov bsen passed into the hands Of the United ssates Minis
ter Resident, to be treated automatically, We presume IL viii be
questioned whether under this decision of the government,
American commerce has not been subjected TO die aiities con-
trary to the spirit Of the Treaty between this gov 'mnent and
the United States.
1t has always been the custom here to reduce all invoices
made out In the currencies Of foreign nations when presented to
the Custom House. to their values in the currency CT this king
dom by acknowledged standards OF their specie vsIues, and it
would seem but justice under the Treaty to allow American i'm
porters the same privilege the difference in this case being that
the currency in which the invoices are made out is fuctuating.
anil therefore n necessity exists to prove the actual deprpciatiOn
Of value at time Of purchase hut surely when such an amount
has been exacted al paid under protest, it would be Tut right
TO allow sufficient time to procure proper evidence Of the amount
thus oyerpaid and to return H.
To exact a duty % 10 per cent on the nominal value OF the
invoice when gold was at q premium of so per cent is virtually
TO exact an al uaIorem duty Of Is per cent. on the go,t values,
which il the standard applied to goods of other countries the
Treaty with the United States reads;
mo duty Of customs, OF other impost, shall be charged upon
any goods. the produce or manufacture OF one country,
Importation from such country into the other. other or
higher than the duty q imPost charged upoa goods Of
the same kind the produce or manGfletHre Of r import
ton" That the subjects o r citizens of any other state shall
commerce and navigatiun which shall MOI, also at the same
time be extended to the subjects or citizens of ths other con-
Now, unless the government is prepared to demsnd duties Of
10 per cent. on English and German Invoices on their value in
the PAPER Currency Of the United States, it cannot demand
upon American Invoices in that currency, nor can it evade
its obligation to do justice by promuIgating an orIer which it
would be impossible to fulfill, in time TO meet the cxigencirs Of
the case.
The ruling OF the government is more plainly wrong, we
think, in the matter Of English and German goods imported in
American vessels an article Of English manufacture may be
bought in Manchester by u German house, and carried to Bre-
and then brought TO this port, paying 10 per cent. on its
actual cost and sea charges TO Bremen, computed according to
the gold standard, while if bought in the same place by an
American house and carried to Boston and thence to this port,
the refusal Of the government TO allow its invoice II be reduced
20 the gold standard, obigcs it to pay nearly double the rate of
duties paid in the other case
We understand such a case to have actually occurred, The
Treaty with the United StLes expressly stpulates;
All goods and articles Of whatever description not being Of
he produce or manufacture of the United states which can he
egally imported into the Sandwich Islands. shall, when so i'm
ported in vessels OF the Uuite,i States, pay no Other or higher
Iuties. fmposts or charges, than shall be payable upon the like
foods AMI articles. when imported in the vessels pi the most
svorei foreign nation other than the nati'u % which the said
,oods and articles are the produce and manufacture"
II su h a case can be proven, We think it will be considered
violation Of the Treaty obligation
In this connection We would say that v presume His Majes-
vs. Government have acted advisedIy in this matter. hut we
hInk tina: the weight of responsibility now resting on the in
umtent Of the Office OF Minister Ct Finance, and holding other
IinisteriaI anil important stations, il Of 50 IT at and compIi-
a nature a. hardly TO allow of that special consideration
rhich a 4rstiJns OF this kind demand
ship Maii-.
-. - I'LL III H.