The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1876-12-30
Mr.. de varirny


klns was not able to maintain himscif In the siiuA-
ton very long.
II was now April. The reply Of the French
government to TIE commnnicanon which I bad
addressed 10 Il could not be far Oh. Mons. Drooyn
de LHuys, then Minister for Foreign Affairs, had
caused ne to be infofmed thai the Emperst bad
issued a decree, on he Gath Of the preceding Feb
ruAry, authorizing me 20 aocept the high onee
which the King bad conferred upon me, without
losing my rights Of French citizenship Another
decree. dated the 5th Of March. conferred upon me
the Legion Of Honor, 30 that the Minister recog-
nized my care Of French interest in the Islands by
comforting upon me Distinguished honors. There
was no reason. therefore, why ] should not set
myself Immediately TO work. aud pursue courage
ously the task. the difficulties OF which l could not
conceal from myself, but which my ambition aud
my youth made pleasant Ia prospect
| had dwelt 10 The Islands nine years, and l
can say without false modesty, I had worked hard;
not that take 10 myself much credit for that. 1
had studied The country, iis language, origin. aud
history 1 had reckoned mp well its means OF pro
duction. its natural markets, political tendencies.
and the administrative reforms which were posai
BILE. Like all men who labor alone, ] bad arrived
at certain conclusions. a little absolute, perhaps,
bat which having become convictions In my mind,
gave me the necessary strength 10 apply them'
without allowing me 10 be deferred by the DIM
| eulties Of detail. In youth, one rarely doubts
| oneself. and when pre- conceived IDEAS are joined
to the result OF perseyering labor, confidence In
ones self quickly begets u like confidence In
others, aud rallies hesitating men around him who
has often no other merit than 10 know clearly
what be wants, aud TO wish for to-day what be
wished for yesterday and will wish ior tomorrow.
I The Cabinet was now definitely completed. Mr..
az ~ - - ntGf In - - Ar. ltmanlA..
Of Foreign Affairs for twenty years. His age and
his experience gave him great weight but habit
uhated not to meet contradiction. and 10 proceed
in his own way, he was astoninhed NJ the new
ideas Of his new colleagues, aud preached 10 ans
often (wlthout producing any eneotl Of the adyan-
tage Of the system OF balancing effects, which had
served him so long and 30 well, but which, In our
opinion, had had its. day. Mr.. Hopkins was Ill az
ease in the Department Of the Interior, which re-
quired constant labor and administrative care,
He was intelligent. but Idle, and relied entirely
upon the chief employees Of his Department.
Mr.. Harris, the Attorney General, on the contrary
was a hard worker. very absolute In bis views,
persevering 20 excess, unpopular, but always In
the breach, defending his IDEAS foot 10 foot. lie
carried bis way by the strength Of bis convictions.
Al the moment when 1 took charge OF the
Finance Department, the balance OF The Budget,
though still unbroken, was maintained with dim
Guilty. The receipts were growing lees, and tho
expenses were increasing. The credit Of the
State, which had been but little used, was good
enough, but was not much better than that OF n
solvent private gentleman. The last loan had
been negotiated at 10 per cent. The customary
rate Of interest in the Islands was from 10 10 IL
per cent. The tax collectors. who had been
watched little or not al all, caused serious damage
10 the Treasury by their indulgence to tax payers.
Every year the number Of those exempt from
taxes increased. from one cause or another. The
receipts from the customs were maintained at
about the same figure but the duties bore too
heavily on some things and not heavily enough
upon others. People had grown habituated 10
this, and habit Is all powerful. IL was necessary
however 10 change the state Of things, which gave
US only a prospect OF constantly decreasing reyo-
nue., and a budget Of expenses which the necessity
OF constructing roads and improving barbors
would constantly increase. Imports were dimin.
ishing, and general exports remained about ne
same. The receipts OF the customs OF Honolulu,
which had reached $780, 900 in 1850, had fallen 10
$4,000 in 1868. The lumber Of whaleships,
which had reached 446 In 1851, was only 50 Ia
1868. The exports Of the products Of The soil had
however increased, 30 that, from $500, 600 In 1861,
it had risen to $4,000 in 1868. Sugar, moiasses,
INV bhatog VIZ - ttoNtA nj VI
our products. Agriculture was however In ITS In
fancy, and it was TO 1t that / looked, not only for a
considerable increase OF our commerce, but for
the moral and physical regeneration Of our people.
The time was favorable for directing the efforts Of
our capitalists and agriculturists into tbis channel.
The decrease OF the whaling feet is easily OK
planned. The discovery Of oil wells IN. Pennsyl-
vania, aud the substitution Of q number Of Inven-
tons for oil, as well as OF steel for whalebone,
had considerably diminished the demand for the
product Of the whale Ashery. The whales, being
pursued murderously in the sea Of Ochotsk and
Bhering Straits, were abandoning those localities
and forcing their way more and more into the Icy
solitudes which surround the pole. The French
wbalemen were the Grst to be discouraged, and
had entirely abandoned TO the Americans tits des
cription Of enterprise. These last in their turn
were getting discouraged, and every year the
number Of their ships was diminishing. The
whalers, the principal sources Of profit 10 our
threatened to fail US altogether |; We
must needs therefore seek other resources ana
begin to cultivate, on a larger scale, products
which would yield q certain return. uaafff
Several kinds Of cultivation had been succes.
sively tried and abandoned, for one cause or
another. An epidemic which had manifested itself
among the coffee plantations had discouraged our
planters. Cotton yielded q little better, but the
end Of the war Of Secession ia the United States
would soon restore TO the Southern Btates the
monopoly Of which they had been temporarily
Rice culture had been timidly tried.
and for poor qualities the competition with China,
where labor 10 very low, was impossible. We
produced a superior quality Of rice, for which
paid us q good price but bow would ID
be when North and South Carolina should recon-
mence their exportationf
Sugar was the only industry which remained.
soil was admirably fitted for the cultivation
Of cane but labor was very scarce and our equip.
ments were not at all satisfactory. We had but a
small number OF steam engines, and capital was
NOT abundant. The araf di0oulfv ~ a fha xnost