The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1871-09-09
A PaternaI Government.

The policy of a paternal government is to
foster and encourage home enterprise and home
industries. But strangely enough-though it
must be acknowledged, quite consistently with
its general Eiciousness-the Hawaiian Govern
ment prefers to send work abroad to be done,
and to leave our own mechanics and artizans to
starve, or perhaps 90 to work on a plantation as
field hands. An instance of this illiberal policy
of the government comes to light in the leading
article of Wednesdays Gazette. 1t seems that
the Board of Education had printed a large edition
of a native school book. The printing Of course,
must be done here, but when it came to binding
the books, the proprietor of the bindery, where
the work is carried on entirely by native Ha-
waiians, was screwed down to bare living prices for
the work, and because he would not las he could
not) do the work for any less, arrangements were
made to send the books to San Francisco to be
bound, where at a large establishment it could be
done for four cents a copy cheaper than by the
natives of this country. Here was notable econ
omy. To save the immense sum of four cents on
each book, native born subjects of the King,
whose only means of obtaining a livelihood was
by the trade they had spent years in learning,
were to lay idle. A paternal government, surely.
Will the same style of close economy be found to
prevail in all government transactions Don't
shout, everybody who believes it.
But there came a check upon this peddlIng
business, which was rather unlocked for. 1t was
discovered that by the proposed sending the books
to San Francisco to be bound, and their return
here, q His Majesty's Government would have to
pay 25 per cent. on the cost here in duties So
important a matter as saving four cents apiece
on the books necessitated extra exertion, and con-
sequently the book-binder in San Francisco and
the Collector of Customs are induced to write to
the Secretary of the Treasury at Washington to
obtain a remission of the duties. Even the
" ruling genius of the Cabinet - is so exercised
upon the subject that he lends the mighty iniu-
ence of has potential lame to the request through
the Hawaiian Consul. But in vain. A curt note
from the Secretary's Deputy informs the Collector
that the application cannot be granted consist
emily TO law" Passing strange that that name, so
a~ll-powerful here, did not prove an open-sesame
to the Washington Treasury Department. And
80, after all the correspondence wasted in this
straining for ecouomy, the four cents will actually
be expended in the country, to help feed and
clothe our own people. Is it not too bad! Suf-
fcient cause indeed to make a leader of it in the
G0ze1e, and to complain, as the disappointed
Hawaiian Ministry do therein complain, that
8 The Customs laws, as administered in San Fran
cisco, seem to be adapted in a most peculiar
manner to the promotion of the trade and indus
try of that CITY," AS a paraphrase. lot us-con-
clude the policy of our government, as displayed
in our midst, seems to be adapted, in a most
peculiar manner, to the Encouragement of the
trade and industry of this country.