The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-10-17
RECIPROCITY.
The Proposed Treaty of 1855.

Washington for the purpose Of negotiating \
Treaty Of Reciprocity with the Government OF
the United States, if not in every particular all
that we might wish it to be, is however in its per
sonnet, eminently well fitted for the important
and arduOus service. The whole community of
these Islands takes a deep interest in the mission,
and Will watch with solicitude from time 10 time,
the progress Of its labors. As has been stated
quite recently, the present is believed to be q
more favorable opportunity for the accomplish
ment Of the proposed treaty than has ever oc-
CURED before, and the hopes Of the more sanguine
friends Of the measure are propoTtionably high.
The administration Of President Grant, it is well
known, has decidedly and repeatedly expressed
itself in favor Of the policy Of treaties having in
view the extension of commerce, and it is believed
that the present Secretary of State, Mr.. Fish, en-
tertains the most friendly and liberal sentiments
towards us Islanders. But the Senate of the
United States, before whom our treaty must come
for ratification, and in which it will require a
twO-thirds vote, is a large body and composed of
men from I'll sections Of that great and diYersely
interested nationality. 1t is likely to prove no
small task for our Commissioners to undertake to
convince such n body of statesmen that it will be
to the interest Of the United States to admit Ha-
waii to the benefits Of reciprocal commercial re-
lations. Approaching then the magnitude of
the task that is set before our Commissioners, let
US on our part be careful that nothing shall fol
low them from hence of a character to impede or
obstruct their labors.
The persistency with which we have sought to
obtain reciprocal commercial relations with our
nearest neighbOr, as eyincing our appreciation of
their Importance to ourselves at least, should
entitle US TO success. 1t is now nearly twenty
years since we made the first attempt, when
in 1855 the late Judge Lee entered into negotia-
tions at Washington with William l.. Marcy, the
then Secretary Of State. Mr.. Marcy was a strong
friend Of Hawaii, and there then appeared to be
well-grounded hopes that the treaty as framed
would pass the Senate. Ill-health compelled
Judge Lees return to the islands, where he died
during 1856. In the meantime, Judge Allen,
who was then Minister of Finance, was sent on
to Washington to complete the labor begun by
Lee. Arriving late in the session however, and
meeting with the strong opposition of Senators
Slidell and Benjamin from Louisiana, in the sugar
interest, and of Collamer of Vermont, in that of
wool, Judge Allen failed to accomplish anything
for the treaty, and we believe that it never reached
n vote in the Senate. Some ten years elapsed
before we made any further attempts in the
direction of reciprocity. But the history of the
five different embassies sent from here in this
cndeavor, would take up too much room and
besides, it is by no means an agreeable retrospect.
The archives of the Foreign Office for the years
lSG6-67, would reveal a story of divided counsels
in the Cabinet, and n peryerse and mischieyous
Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose constant aim
seemed to be TO cripple and defeat the labors of
our Commissioner abroad. Add to this the oppo-
sition, both open and covert, with which the
measure was met by a small party of unreason-
ing indictments among ourselves, and it is no
wonder that VIC failed. We repeat, it is to be
hoped that there is nothing left of that element
at the present time.
The G0zetie of this week reprints the draft of
the treaty proposed in 1867, with the unqualified
assertion that it : : will form the basis of the new
one" We should hope not, and moreover we do
not believe that the Ga4effe, notwithstanding it's
quasi official character, is warranted in making
the statement. The draft of 1867 was by no
means a satisfactory one, either to the community
of the islands or to the government of that day.
The Ministry hesitated long before they accepted
it, and then only for the reason that it was evil
IDENTIFY n question of that or none, and on the
principle that half a loaf is better than no
bread 1t is possible that our present Commits
sioners may not be able to get any better terms
than were obtainabIe in 1867 but we believe
that the draft of the proposed treaty of 1855 is
iairer in the matter of equivalents to both sides,
as it is certainly more suited to our circum-
stances, than was the former. And we have
to believe that it nearly if not quite meets
the views of His Majesty government. For the
of our readers We give here tie text
of the Lee and Marcy treaty:
His Majesty the King Of the Hawaiian Islands and
the United States of America, equally animated by
which have heretofore uniformally existed
between them, and to consolidate their commercial
have resolved to enter into q Convention
for Commercial Reciprocity. For this purpose, His
the King of the Hawaiian Islands has con-
ferred full powers on the Honorable William Little
Lee, Chancellor and Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of those Islands, a member of His Hawaiian
Priyy Council OF State and Cabinet; Presi-
lent Of the Board Of Land Commissioners; and His
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni-
po%tentiary TO the United States Of America;
And the President of the United States of America
has conferred like powers on William L. Marcy, Sec
rotary Of State;
And the said Plenipotentiaries, after having ex-
changed their full powers, which were found to be in
form, have agreed to the following articles:
ARTICLE 1.
For, and in consideration Of the rights and privi-
eges granted by His Majesty the King of the Ha-
Haiian Islands, in the next succeeding article of this
and as an equivalent therefor, the United
of America hereby agree to admit all the arti
named in the following schedule, the same being
he growth or produce of the Hawaiian Islands into
al the ports of the United States of America, free of
luty:
SCHEDULE.
Muscovsdo, brown, clayed, and all other unre6ned h
Sugars N
Syrups Of Sugar. ~
Molasses. n
Coffee, ArroW-root.
Livestock, and animals Of all kinds. !
Cotton, manufactured
Seeds, and vegetables not preserved.
Undried fruits not preserved.
Poultry, eggs