The Hawaiian gazette., 1871-09-13

Sucn notions increase, Very largely, an
Assessors work, and cause some of those
errors and mistakes, or hardships, about
which those who are most dilatory and
neglectfui are generally the most active
in making complaints.
THE most important interest in this
country. at present, is the planting IN
terest. The most important production
of the country is sugar. Formerly the
annual visits Of ships here, for the pur-
pose of reftting and recruiting, was the
main dependence, not only of the seaport
towns, but of the whole people. The
grazier, who supplied beef, depended
upon the demand of the shipping for a
market; the small farmer, with his little
! field of potatoes, melons or pumpkins,
looked forward to the time when the
fwhalers should arrive. as the time when
he could dispose of his produce and real
ize a fair remuneration for the labor ex-
pended by him in the cultivation of his
crops Now the annual visit of these
ships is matter of secondary consider
ation. Enterprising and patriotic men
have, in a great measure, changed the bust
ness of the country by investing capital
in the cultivation of sugar, rice and other
staple commodities of the world in too
many cases, as we are all aware, to their
own loss. Many of them have expended
fortunes in the work of inaugurating this
change in the business of the country,
and have met with reverses. The result
of their labor, and the capital invested by
them, has in no few instances Injured to
the benefit of others, as is not unfrequent
in ot6er cases of new enterprises in new
countries. 1t may now be said that sugar
growing in this country is no longer an
experimental is a fixed fact; and we be-
lieve that nearly all of our plantations
are fairly prosperous, yielding to the
present proprietors fair returns for their
labor and the capital invested. From the
experience of the past they have found
that the only way to success is by the
utmost economy and care in their expen-
diture for labor, material and machinery
The great cost of the necessary machinery
on the sugar plantations has, we may
say, been the chief expense in starting
them. Those who have undertaken the
business have procured their machinery
from various sources-some from Glas-
gov, Scotland, some from San Francisco,
some from Boston and New York, and
some have patronized our local foundries
and machine shops for their entire plant.
From those who have procured their ma
chinery here we have heard no complaints
whatever. The sllillful and honorable
mechanics who have performed the work,
have done it in the most thorough and
substantial manner; and have not in any
instance, because their customers were
obliged to apply to them in cases of
emergency, oppressed them by unfair
charges for their labor, or by unfaith-
full work By this upright and hon
orable course they have earned and
maintained the confidence of the pub
lie and secured the assurance of the
patronage of the planters as far, as we
believe, as can reasonably be expected
The wages paid mechanics, the freight
and expenses on the raw materials, such as
Goals and iron, unmanufactured, renders
it impossible for our machinists to manu-
facture machinery at as low prices as the
same thing can be done in countries
where the raw materials are produced
1t is impossible for them, for instance, to
build sugar mill as cheaply as the same
can be done in Glasgow, when they have
to pay here one hundred and fifty per
cent more for the labor of the mechanic.
besides the freight on at least four tons
of coal and iron for one ton of manufac-
tured machinery produced, when to the
manufacturer at Glasgow the raw ma
terial is at hand and cheap, and where,
in estimating the cost of stated piece of
work, freight and duties to great
amount do not come into consideration.
Our planters owe it to themselves, in
deed, they owe it to the prosperity of the
country, to conduct their business as econ
as possible. We believe they do
so conduct it, and consequently so long
as the advantages for getting served cheap
er abroad than at home are in favor of
foreign manufacturers they will send
abroad. They are bound to, and do look
upon our local facilities as great blessings,
as institutions which they could not do
and they have fostered them as
such-but it is necessary for their inter-
ests that they should know where, in other
parts of the world, they can trade to the
best advantage
By publishing the list of prices of Plan
tiers Iron Work at Sydney, in our last
weeks issue, we gave them little infor-
nation on the subject, which was proba-
bly, not generally known; by doing so